The Mark 39 nuclear bomb and W39 nuclear warhead were versions of an American thermonuclear weapon , which were in service from 1957 to 1966.
46-407: B39 or B-39 may refer to: Bundesstraße 39 , a German road B39 nuclear bomb XB-39 Superfortress Soviet submarine B-39 , a Foxtrot class submarine HLA-B39 , an HLA-B serotype B39 (New York City bus) [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title formed as
92-533: A C-124 crashed on takeoff from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana , with three Mark 39 Mod 2 weapons aboard. One weapon was completely destroyed by the fire, the other two were disassembled and salvaged. There was no detonation of high explosives in any of the weapons. On January 24, 1961, two Mark 39 Mod 2 nuclear bombs that were carried by a B-52 Stratofortress which broke up in the air and crashed near Goldsboro, North Carolina . The bombs were flung from
138-420: A ballistic trajectory towards its target. Due to the sudden shift in its center of gravity caused by separation, the fuselage would have performed an abrupt pitch-up maneuver in order to avoid a collision with the warhead. The resulting break-up of the missiles structure added clutter which confused enemy radar. In May 1957, a Detachment of Air Force instructors was formed at Amarillo Air Force Base , Texas as
184-607: A different contact fuze (as the original piezoelectric crystals would not reliably operate at the relatively low impact speeds contemplated). A new tail system was developed for the weapon, and it became re-designated as the Improved Big Tail, or the Mark 39 Mod 2 bomb. The new tail used a two-stage parachute: first a 28-foot diameter chute, then a 100-foot diameter chute. Mark 39 Mod 1 weapons could be converted to Mark 39 Mod 2 weapons by changing their fuzing hardware and adding
230-405: A high-voltage safing switch to prevent detonation in the event that fire or extreme heat igniting the high-voltage batteries. The pit of the "primary" stage of both Mark 39 Mods 1 and 2 was entirely made of enriched uranium ("all-oralloy") and known as VIPER II. Test "Lacrosse" of Operation Redwing was of this primary system and yielded 40 kilotons. The Mark 39 Mod 2 was initially pursued with
276-498: A letter–number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=B39&oldid=1059158387 " Category : Letter–number combination disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages B39 nuclear bomb The Mark 39 design
322-649: A missile for delivery for an atom bomb began immediately after the existence of the atomic bomb was revealed. Due to protracted security concerns of the Manhattan Project the Army Air Force’s new Project Mastiff was a years long “Fiasco” Despite the failure of Project Mastiff the Army Air Force started a group of programs intended to create atomic bomb carrying missiles. During the significant first decade of American strategic missile development
368-543: A modification to the Mark 39 known as Alt 197 was approved which would replace the switch with the MC-1288 Arm/Safe switch, which would additionally prevent the weapon's low-voltage thermal batteries from charging if the Arm/Safe switch was in the "Safe" position, as an additional safety measure. The weapons involved in the 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash a year later, did not have Alt 197 implemented. A consequence of
414-496: A new, larger missile. The resulting Northrop N-69 was originally powered by a J71 engine and in later variants a J57. While 10 of 25 N-25 missiles were recovered, only 11 of 39 N-69s were recovered. As the available space for tests of an intercontinental ranged missile did not exist at Holloman, testing was moved to the Atlantic Missile Test Range at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Test Snarks were recovered to
460-718: A possible warhead to use in the SM-64 Navaho missile prior to the latter's cancellation. A lower-yield variant of the Mark 39 was developed for use with the Redstone missile. Sources indicated it may have been as low as 425 kilotons , or as high as 500 kilotons. A total of 700 Mark 39 bombs (of three "mod" variants) were produced between February 1957 and March 1959. Retirement of the Mark 39 began in January 1962 and concluded in November 1966. 60 W39 warheads were produced for
506-568: A runway at the Joint Long Range Proving Ground which is still known as the "Skid Strip". Unfortunately facilities at Cape Canaveral were still being constructed at the same time aerodynamic problems with the intended dive by the Snark on the target persisted. The Snark, which was originally projected to become operational in 1953, suffered a protracted test program which involved significant redesigns. Development of
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#1732772253287552-434: A top speed of about 650 miles per hour (1,050 km/h) and a maximum range of about 5,500 nautical miles (10,200 km). Its complicated celestial navigation system gave it a claimed CEP of about 8,000 feet (2,400 m). The Snark was an air-breathing missile, intended to be launched from a truck-mounted platform by two solid-fueled rocket booster engines. The Snark was propelled by an internal turbojet engine for
598-489: A true contact-burst capability along with a barometric fuze option for airbursts that could be chosen in flight (with the contact-burst serving as a backup capability in that case). It had an in-flight insertion (IFI) system. The Mark 39 Mod 1 notably used a boosted, sealed-pit core, eliminating the IFI system. This "reduced weapon weight, lowered power requirements, and resulted in the use of smaller and lighter batteries." It also
644-451: The 702d Strategic Missile Wing was formed. Snark launches for developmental purposes continued through 1958 but the training activities of the 556th were reduced. Training of Snark missile men at the Cape continued until December 1959. From December 1950 until December 1960 118 N-25, N-69 and SM-62 test flights were made. The jet propelled , 67-foot (20.5 m) long Snark missile had
690-413: The 702nd Wing was inactivated. Many in the U.S. Military were surprised the Snark, due to its dubious guidance system, was ever operational. The most accurate of the seven full-range flights from June 1958 and May 1959 had fallen 4.2 nautical miles (7,800 m) left of and 0.3 nautical miles (560 m) short the target. In flight tests many were lost. A missile launched from Cape Canaveral in 1956 that
736-558: The Air Force’s attention was upon developing air-breathing missiles. Designations for individual programs changed over time and thus they are best known by their MX numbers. Following the end of WWII the Guided Missile Committee decided that the development of guided missiles should be shifted from the existing ad hoc programs in order to concentrate upon basic research. Northrop was selected to study two concepts,
782-458: The Cold War. The Snark was named by Jack Northrop and took its name from the author Lewis Carroll 's character the "snark" . The Snark was the only surface-to-surface cruise missile with such a long range that was ever deployed by the U.S. Air Force. Following the deployment of ICBMs , the Snark was rendered obsolete, and it was removed from deployment in 1961. Project Mastiff, to create
828-772: The Defense Atomic Support Agency, "post-mortem analysis indicates a probable cause of the activation of the low voltage thermal batteries of the one weapon was a cable short which permitted the energy from the MC-845 Bisch Generator to bypass the MC-1288 Arm/Safe Switch. It is suspected that the MC-845 pulse resulted from the mechanical shock sustained upon impact and was passed to the MC-640 [thermal batteries] through one of
874-544: The N-69 dragged on with many failures which caused wags to jest of the “Snark Infested Waters” off Cape Canaveral. As the prospective operational date of the Snark slipped continuously into the future, Strategic Air Command (SAC) grew more skeptical of the missile. Criticism of the Snark grew from doubts by SAC in 1951 to serious objections in 1954. A high-level study by the Teapot Committee in early 1954 described
920-546: The Redstone missile and stockpiled between 1958 and 1963, and 30 W39 warheads were produced for the Snark missile in 1958 and retired between August 1962 and September 1965. The Mark 39 Mod 0 bomb was an offshoot of proposals to improve the Mark 15 nuclear bomb . The Mk 39 Mod 0 differed from the Mark 15 in that it used contact fuzes instead of proximity fuzes, and it had thermal batteries instead of nickel-cadmium batteries. It also weighed about 1,000 pounds (450 kg) less. It had
966-414: The Snark allowed its most accurate test, which appeared to fall 4 nautical miles (7.4 km) wide of the target. However, even with the decreased CEP, the design was notoriously unreliable, with the majority of tests suffering mechanical failure thousands of miles before reaching the target. Other factors, such as the reduction in operating altitude from 150,000 to 55,000 feet (46,000 to 17,000 m), and
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#17327722532871012-425: The Snark to achieve the necessary accuracy for the original W-8 nuclear weapon (striking within 1,500 feet (460 m) of target) was offset somewhat by the change to the much more powerful W-39-Y1 Mod 1 thermonuclear bomb (striking within 8,000 feet (2,400 m) of target). Extensive flight testing, weight reduction efforts, an improved 24 hour stellar navigation system, and the addition of pylon fuel tanks below
1058-431: The accident was that all Mark 39 Mod 2 weapons lacking Alt 197 were "red-lined" and removed from deployment until the change could be enacted. In the 1961 Yuba City B-52 crash a few weeks later, the Mark 39 Mod 2 bombs involved did have Alt 197 applied to them, but the low-voltage thermal batteries were nonetheless activated in one of the weapons despite the MC-1288 Arm/Safe switch being in the "Safe" position. According to
1104-490: The aircraft in such a way that initiated their firing sequences. One bomb left the plane at a high-enough altitude, and with a functioning parachute, allowing the firing sequence was able to go through every stage up to the Arm/Safe Switch, which functioned as intended and prevented a full detonation. The other left the plane at a lower altitude, and its parachute failed to open, and its firing sequence failed to prepare
1150-506: The base design and requirements of the missile. In late 1957 SAC’s 556 Strategic Missile Squadron launched its first N-69E to begin the Snark Employment and Suitability Test program. In December 1957 the 556th Strategic Missile Squadron was activated and began training to launch operational SM-62 Snark Missiles. In January 1958, SAC began accepting delivery of Snark missiles at Patrick Air Force Base for training, and in 1959,
1196-438: The bomb to arm even prior to the Arm/Safe Switch, and the weapon broke up upon contact with the ground prior to its fuzing system being armed. When its Arm/Safe Switch was recovered, it indicated visually that it was in the "Arm" position. However, further inspection found that this was only superficial (it was not actually electrically "armed"), and related to damage the switch sustained upon impact. The thermonuclear "secondary" of
1242-598: The first cadre of Air Force personnel supporting an Intercontinental missile system. None of the detachment members had any previous training or experience in missile maintenance. They were trained at the Northrop factory in California and then returned to Amarillo to establish the training school for the Snark maintenance personnel. On January 1, 1959 the 702nd Strategic Missile Wing was activated at Presque Isle, Maine. On 27 May 1959, Presque Isle Air Force Base , Maine,
1288-451: The goal of providing the Mod 1 with a low-level ( laydown ) release capability, where the weapon would "detonate some time after the weapon struck the target and came to rest". Work was initially done on creating a new parachute system, and the weapon system was initially called to Mark 39 Mod 1 Big Tail. Difficulties arose that necessitated reworking the parachute arrangement as well as developing
1334-612: The guidance subsystem and creation of a guidance test vehicle. The guidance test missile was the Northrop N-25. Development of the heavy stellar navigation system intended for the N-25 Snark was very difficult and required many hundreds of hours of flight aboard aircraft. Twenty-one flights of the N-25 occurred at Holloman AFB, New Mexico between April 1951 and March 1952. A new requirement for intercontinental range required
1380-411: The inability of the Snark to detect countermeasures and perform evasive maneuvers also made it a questionable strategic deterrent. A total of 97 N-25, N69 and SM-62 Snarks tests were made between December 1950 and December 1960. SAC then changed requirements to require the launch 20% of Snarks within 15 minutes of notification, 40% within 75 minutes, and all in four hours. A daunting requirement given
1426-419: The large tail system. The Mark 39 Mod 2 fuzing system only permitted a contact burst. The original Mark 39 Mod 2 used an MC-772 Arm/Safe switch to keep it from firing inadvertently should it be accidentally dropped from an aircraft at sufficient height and under the right circumstances to otherwise start its arming sequence. This would be engaged from the cockpit by the a T-380 Readiness Switch. In January 1960,
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1472-517: The nascent Atlas ICBM project as beset by technical and administrative problems while advising that the ballistic missile offered the best means of delivering a thermonuclear weapon over intercontinental range. Also in early 1954 the Strategic Missile Evaluation Committee concluded that the Snark was an “overly complex” and would not become operational until “substantially later” than scheduled. The failure of
1518-581: The only Northrop program. By March 1948 the MX-775A Snark was the preferred missile while the super-sonic MX-775B Boojum had been reduced in importance to a speculative prospect. Further intense budgetary pressure in 1949 saw the USAF surface to surface missile program reduced to two programs of which one was the MX-775A Snark. By July 1950 the Snark program was further reduced to development of
1564-489: The only Snark missile base, received its first missile. It was ten months before the 702nd placed its first Snark on Alert on March 18, 1960. The first far superior Atlas D had already gone on Alert on October 31, 1957. Exercises in 1960 indicated that only 20% of the missiles at Presque Isle met SAC standards of effectiveness. Reliability improved over time with reliability achieving 95% in February 1961. The 702nd Wing
1610-517: The possible random short circuits." The Mark 39 bomb is known to have been involved in at least four serious "Broken Arrow" nuclear accidents between 1958 and 1961. On November 4, 1958, a B-47 with a Mark 39 Mod 1 (sealed pit) weapon on board crashed and exploded shortly after takeoff (for a training mission) from Dyess Air Force Base , near Abilene, Texas . The high-explosives in the weapon's primary detonated, dispersing depleted uranium , highly enriched uranium , and lead . On July 6, 1959,
1656-453: The rest of its flight. The engine was a Pratt and Whitney J57 , which was the first jet engine featuring a thrust of 10,000 lbf (44,000 N) or more. Since the Snark lacked a horizontal tail surface, it used elevons as its primary flight control surfaces, and it flew with an unusual nose-high angle during level flight. During the final phase of its flight, its nuclear warhead would have separated from its fuselage and then followed
1702-494: The second weapon was never recovered. The high-explosives in neither bomb detonated. The Goldsboro crash is considered by many, including safety engineers at Sandia National Laboratories , to be one of the "closest" calls for an accidental nuclear detonation, as the Arm/Safe Switch in the Mark 39 was known to be capable of accidental engagement. On March 14, 1961 a B-52 carrying two Mark 39 Mod 2 (Alt 197) weapons crashed 15 miles (24 km) west of Yuba City, California . One of
1748-531: The sub-sonic MX-775A Snark, and the super-sonic MX775B Boojum . The defense budget cuts of what was called the Black Christmas of 1946 drastically reduced the number of Army missile programs. Few of those programs which survived resembled the later missiles which they eventually produced. In March 1947 the MX-775B Boojum supersonic 5,000 mile range and not the subsonic MX-775A Snark was
1794-685: The weapons was relatively intact. The other had separated from the aircraft after impact, tumbled several times, and had its internal components ("the primary and most of its secondary") thrown out of its ballistic case. The high explosives did not detonate for either weapon. A Mark 39 Mod 2 casing is on display in the Cold War Gallery of the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio . The bomb
1840-552: The wings to restore range capabilities eventually resulted in the N-69E Snark which became the prototype for the SM-62 Intercontinental Missile (ICM) By late 1957 N-69E Snarks had complete two flights down range to Ascension Island, showing the Snark achieved an estimated circular error probable (CEP) of 17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi). By 1958, the celestial navigation system used by
1886-524: Was 35 inches (89 cm) in diameter and 106 inches (270 cm) long, with a weight of 6,230 pounds (2,830 kg) to 6,400 pounds (2,900 kg). It was essentially identical to the Mark 39 bomb, but lacked its parachute, fins, and "false" nose. It was used on the SM-62 Snark missile , PGM-11 Redstone short-range ballistic missile , and in the B-58 Hustler weapons pod. It was designated as
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1932-470: Was a thermonuclear bomb and had a yield of 3.8 megatons . It weighed 6,500–6,750 pounds (2,950–3,060 kilograms), and was about 11 feet, 8 inches long (3.556 meters) with a diameter of 35 inches (89 cm). The design is an improved Mark 15 nuclear bomb design (the TX-15-X3 design and Mark 39 Mod 0 were the same design). The Mark 15 was the first lightweight US thermonuclear bomb. The W39 warhead
1978-543: Was adaptable into a warhead (the W39) which would eventually be adaptable to a B-58 Hustler external weapons pod, the SM-62 Snark missile, and the PGM-11 Redstone missile. As the weapon now always contained all components needed to fire it, several safety systems were added to avoid inadvertent detonation, including safing pins that would hold in the arming rods, arming rods that required considerable force to pull, and
2024-491: Was not declared to be fully operational until February 1961. A total of 30 Snarks were deployed to the USAF's first and only long-range cruise missile base. The duration of the SM-62 in active service was brief before the reality which had haunted the program since the Teapot Committee caught up with it. In March 1961, President John F. Kennedy declared the Snark to be "obsolete and of marginal military value", and on 25 June 1961,
2070-587: Was received from the National Atomic Museum at Kirtland Air Force Base , N.M., in 1993. SM-62 Snark The Northrop SM-62 Snark is an early-model intercontinental range ground-launched cruise missile that could carry a W39 thermonuclear warhead . The Snark was deployed by the United States Air Force 's Strategic Air Command from 1958 through 1961. It represented an important step in weapons technology during
2116-559: Was supposed to fly to Puerto Rico and back, flew so far off course that it was last seen on radar off the coast of Venezuela. The wreckage of the wayward Snark missile was found in northeastern Brazil in 1983. Many of those connected with the program commented in jest "that the Caribbean was full of 'Snark infested waters'." The Snark suffered from deficiencies in missile technology, design, and development which delayed its entry into service until it had been overtaken by development of
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