Red Beard (nuclear weapon)

A Red Beard weapon on its bomb trolley

Red Beard was the first British tactical nuclear weapon. It was carried by the English Electric Canberra and the V bombers of the Royal Air Force, and by the Blackburn Buccaneers and Supermarine Scimitars of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It entered service in 1962 and was withdrawn in 1971.

Red Beard was about 4 meters (12 feet) long and weighed about 1,750 lb (794 kg). It was produced in two versions, the Mk 1, with a yield of 15 kilotons, and the Mk 2, with a yield of 25 kT. In service it was sometimes called (euphemistically) the "Target Marker Bomb."

It was replaced by the WE.177 in the early 1970s.

External links

* Photo of Red Beard
* Red Beard