3 ms·
FYI: The article mentions that this weapon had a 2 kiloton yield. This is to be compared to the 15-20 kiloton yields of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Naga
by jessriedel 9y ago
FYI: The article mentions that this weapon had a 2 kiloton yield. This is to be compared to the 15-20 kiloton yields of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and modern thermonuclear warheads which typically have maximum yields in the 300-500 kiloton range.
- badosu 9y agoThere were not guided missiles yet, and the US was anxious due to the development of the atomic bomb and bombers by Soviet Russia. So it was devised as a missile that could compensate the lack of accuracy with the higher yield than conventional ammunition, even though it was not as potent as a bomb.
- chiph 9y agoCorrect - the guidance on these missiles were more of the "point and fire" variety. So to ensure that you shot down the Soviet bomber (which also had nuclear weapons on it), you compensated by increasing the size of the explosion. Even a miss might have been good enough, as the shockwave could potentially tear a wing or tail off.