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On the development and production of the primary US H-Bomb, the B-61 Thermonuclear Bomb. The B61 is of the variable yield (“dial a yield”) design with a yield of 0.3 to 340 kilotons.
Originally a public domain film from the Library of Congress Prelinger Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and/or equalization (the resulting sound, though not perfect, is far less noisy than the original).
Wikipedia license:
The B61 nuclear bomb is the primary thermonuclear gravity bomb in the United States Enduring Stockpile following the end of the Cold War. It is a low to intermediate-yield strategic and tactical nuclear weapon featuring a two-stage radiation implosion design.
The B61 is of the variable yield (“dial a yield”) design with a yield of 0.3 to 340 kilotons in its various mods. It has a streamlined casing capable of withstanding supersonic flight speeds. The weapon is 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m) long, with a diameter of about 13 inches (33 cm). Basic weight is about 700 pounds (320 kg), although the weights of individual weapons may vary depending on version and fuze/retardation configuration…
The B61, known before 1968 as the TX-61, was designed in 1963. It was designed and built by the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. It began from a program for a lightweight, streamlined weapon launched in 1961. Production engineering began in 1965, with full production beginning in 1968 following a series of development problems.
Total production of all versions was approximately 3,155, of which approximately 540 remain in active service, 415 in inactive service, and 520 are awaiting dismantlement as of 2012.
180 B61 bombs (in tactical variants) are deployed with NATO allies in Europe as part of the Nato Nuclear Weapons Sharing Program. NATO has agreed to vastly improve the capabilities of this force with the increased accuracy of the B61 Mod 12 upgrade and the delivery of the stealthy F-35. This will, for the first time, add a modest standoff capability to the B61.
Nine versions of the B61 have been produced. Each shares the same “physics package”, with different yield options. The newest variant is the B61 Mod 11, deployed in 1997, which is a ground-penetrating bunker buster. The Russian Continuity of Government facility at Kosvinsky Kamen, finished in early 1996… is protected by about 1,000 feet (300 m) of granite…
The B61 has been deployed by a variety of U.S. military aircraft. Aircraft cleared for its use have included the FB-111A, B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, B-52 Stratofortress; F-101 Voodoo, F-100 D & F Super Sabre, F-104 Starfighter, F/A-18 Hornet, F-111 Aardvark and F-4 Phantom II fighter bombers; A-4 Skyhawk, A-6 Intruder and A-7 Corsair II attack aircraft; the F-15 Eagle, F-15E Strike Eagle and F-16 Falcon; British, German and Italian Panavia Tornado IDS aircraft. USAFE and all NATO dual role aircraft can carry B61s. The Lockheed S-3 Viking was also able to deploy the B61 as a nuclear depth bomb.
The B61 can fit inside the F-22 Raptor’s weapons bays and will also be carried by the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II…
In May 2010 the National Nuclear Security Administration asked Congress for $40 million to redesign the bomb to enable the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II to carry the weapon internally by 2017. This version is designated Mod 12. The four hundred B61-12 bombs will be used by both tactical aircraft (such as the F-35) and strategic aircraft (such as the B-2) and the Tail Subassembly (TSA) will give them Joint Direct Attack Munition levels of accuracy, allowing the fifty kiloton warhead to have strategic effects from all carrying aircraft. However, refitting the 400 weapons is now expected to cost over $10 billion. The B61 Mod 12 tail assembly contract was awarded to Boeing on November 27, 2012 for $178 million. Boeing will use their experience with the Joint Direct Attack Munition to yield JDAM equivalent accuracy in a nuclear bomb. This contract is only the first part of the billion dollar expense of producing and applying the tail kits, over and above the $10 billion cost to refurbish the warheads. The B61-12 uses an internal guidance system and can glide to its target. The bomb has four selectable yields: 0.3; 5; 10; and 50 kilotons…
