B43 nuclear bomb
The
B43 was a
United States air-dropped
nuclear weapon used by a wide variety of
fighter bomber and
bomber aircraft.
The B43 was developed from 1956 by
Los Alamos National Laboratory, entering production in
1959. It entered service in April
1961. Total production was 2,000 weapons, ending in
1965.
The B43 was built in two variants,
Mod 1 and
Mod 2, each with five yield options. Depending on version, the B43 was 18 inches (45 cm) in diameter, and length was between 12 ft 6 in and 13 ft 8 in (3.81 m and 4.15 m). The various versions weighed between 2,060 lb and 2,125 lb (935 kg to 960 kg). It could be delivered at altitudes as low as 300 ft (90 m), with fusing options for airburst, ground burst, free fall, contact, or
laydown delivery. Explosive yield varied from 70
kilotons of
TNT to 1
megaton of TNT.
The B43 used the
Tsetse primary design for its first fission stage, along with several mid and late 1950s designs.
Carrier aircraft included most
USAF and
USN fighters and bombers, including the
A-4 Skyhawk,
A-6 Intruder,
A-7 Corsair II,
B-47 Stratojet,
B-52 Stratofortress,
F-4 Phantom II,
F-15 Eagle,
F-16 Fighting Falcon,
F-105 Thunderchief,
F/A-18 Hornet, and
FB-111A. (The
B-1B Lancer was intended to carry the B43 as well, but it is unclear if it was ever cleared.)
The B43 was never used in anger, but it was involved in a
nuclear accident when an
A-4 Skyhawk of the
USS Ticonderoga (VA-56) was lost off the coast of
Japan on
5 December 1965. Neither the aircraft, the pilot, nor the bomb were found.
The B43 was phased out in the
1980s, and the last B43 weapons were retired in
1991 in favor of the newer
B61 and
B83 weapons.
*
B83 nuclear bomb*
B61 nuclear bomb*
List of nuclear weapons*
Tsetse primary*
Allbombs.html data page at nuclearweaponarchive.org
