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Since the range of the W54 fired from a recoilless gun is only a mile or two, what does the operator who personally performed the firing do afterwards? Start d

Since the range of the W54 fired from a recoilless gun is only a mile or two, what does the operator who personally performed the firing do afterwards? Start driving away at a high rate of speed? How can I find out the degree and risk of radioactive fallout from a warhead equivalent to 2 - 10,000 tons of TNT? Maybe don't fire on a windy day from downwind..

deleted 2y ago
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imglorp 2y ago
https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap At 1kt (max for the W54?) most of the effects are under 1 km: eg the radiation radius is only 0.84 km. Looks like if you shoot 1 mile away up wind, take cover from the flash, and then run away upwind you'd be fine with some hearing protection.
- metadat 2y ago
  Sorry to be a pedant, and I also want to confirm my understanding is correct (yes, I've attempted checking definitions, but.. :) In this case I think firing the device upwind would be ill-advised, as then the fallout will be blowing back to you. Edit: thank you for the correction @erikerikson! Noted, and best wishes!
  - erikerikson 2y ago
    You seem to have reversed the terms. Being upwind means the wind is blowing away from you towards your target and proceeds past your target further away from you.
    - imglorp 2y ago
      Parent is right too, I mixed up one of them. I should have said: shoot toward s downwind and run away towards upwind.
      - erikerikson 2y ago
        Ah, indeed you did. My brain slipped over that, thank you for helping me see it.
itishappy 2y ago
> Since the warhead also posed a threat to the crew firing it, the Army recommended that soldiers manning the Davy Crockett select firing positions in sheltered locations, such as the rear slope of a hill. Soldiers were also encouraged to keep their heads down to protect themselves from the warhead’s detonation. https://armyhistory.org/the-m28m29-davy-crockett-nuclear-weapon-system/ https://armyhistory.org/the-m28m29-davy-crockett-nuclear-wea... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nuclear_device) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nuclear_device)
- me_me_me 2y ago
  ie. good luck, you will be remembered
- jcgrillo 2y ago
  According to the nukemap calculator if you're ~1km away in the open you'd be fine, and firing from cover (e.g. behind a berm or hill) you could be as close as 200m away with hearing protection and make it out alive so long as you immediately run upwind.
Bjorkbat 2y ago
I always assumed firing one of these things was a suicide mission, but some NATO guy on Quora has suggested otherwise, and it seems pretty convincing. https://www.quora.com/Would-the-Davy-Crockett-tactical-nuclear-weapon-pose-any-danger-to-its-operators https://www.quora.com/Would-the-Davy-Crockett-tactical-nucle... Basically, even though the W54 had a max yield of a 1kt, the Davy Crockett used a warhead with a far lower yield, as low as 10 tons
openasocket 2y ago
The Davy Crockett variant seems to just have had a yield of 20 tonnes. Per nukemap (https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/ https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/ ) the fatal radiation range (of 500 rem) is like 500 meters. If you fire from, say, 5k the radiation exposure should be significantly lower. I don’t know how the radiation exposure scales over distance, but if it’s an inverse square law that means at 5k you’re getting like 5 rem. Which isn’t great, it’s like the equivalent of a CT scan

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imglorp 2y ago

https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap At 1kt (max for the W54?) most of the effects are under 1 km: eg the radiation radius is only 0.84 km. Looks like if you shoot 1 mile away up wind, take cover from the flash, and then run away upwind you'd be fine with some hearing protection.

metadat 2y ago
Sorry to be a pedant, and I also want to confirm my understanding is correct (yes, I've attempted checking definitions, but.. :) In this case I think firing the device upwind would be ill-advised, as then the fallout will be blowing back to you. Edit: thank you for the correction @erikerikson! Noted, and best wishes!
- erikerikson 2y ago
  You seem to have reversed the terms. Being upwind means the wind is blowing away from you towards your target and proceeds past your target further away from you.
  - imglorp 2y ago
    Parent is right too, I mixed up one of them. I should have said: shoot toward s downwind and run away towards upwind.
    - erikerikson 2y ago
      Ah, indeed you did. My brain slipped over that, thank you for helping me see it.

itishappy 2y ago

> Since the warhead also posed a threat to the crew firing it, the Army recommended that soldiers manning the Davy Crockett select firing positions in sheltered locations, such as the rear slope of a hill. Soldiers were also encouraged to keep their heads down to protect themselves from the warhead’s detonation. https://armyhistory.org/the-m28m29-davy-crockett-nuclear-weapon-system/ https://armyhistory.org/the-m28m29-davy-crockett-nuclear-wea... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nuclear_device) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nuclear_device)

me_me_me 2y ago
ie. good luck, you will be remembered
jcgrillo 2y ago
According to the nukemap calculator if you're ~1km away in the open you'd be fine, and firing from cover (e.g. behind a berm or hill) you could be as close as 200m away with hearing protection and make it out alive so long as you immediately run upwind.

Bjorkbat 2y ago

I always assumed firing one of these things was a suicide mission, but some NATO guy on Quora has suggested otherwise, and it seems pretty convincing. https://www.quora.com/Would-the-Davy-Crockett-tactical-nuclear-weapon-pose-any-danger-to-its-operators https://www.quora.com/Would-the-Davy-Crockett-tactical-nucle... Basically, even though the W54 had a max yield of a 1kt, the Davy Crockett used a warhead with a far lower yield, as low as 10 tons

openasocket 2y ago

The Davy Crockett variant seems to just have had a yield of 20 tonnes. Per nukemap (https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/ https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/ ) the fatal radiation range (of 500 rem) is like 500 meters. If you fire from, say, 5k the radiation exposure should be significantly lower. I don’t know how the radiation exposure scales over distance, but if it’s an inverse square law that means at 5k you’re getting like 5 rem. Which isn’t great, it’s like the equivalent of a CT scan