Test of nuclear artillery piece, Nevada test range, 1953
Posted on 12/12/2003 9:44:15 AM PST by chance33_98
NNSA Dismantles Last Nuclear Artillery Shell; Battefield Weapons Were Retired by President George H.W. Bush
12/12/03 11:40:00 AM
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To: National Desk
Contact: Bryan Wilkes of U.S. Department of Energy, 202-586-7371
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has dismantled the last nuclear artillery shell in the U.S. nuclear stockpile, eliminating the vestiges of a type of battlefield nuclear weapons that comprised a key element of America's Cold War arsenal.
Employees at NNSA's Pantex facility in Amarillo, Texas, dismantled the last W-79 warhead earlier this year. Pantex officials will hold a ceremony at the plant today to mark the achievement.
"This administration is committed to reducing the threat of nuclear weapons worldwide," said U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham. "We have completed dismantlement of another class of nuclear weapons -- weapons that were a very important deterrent during the Cold War."
"Eliminating the last nuclear artillery warhead marks the end of an era in U.S. defense policy that included ground-launched battlefield nuclear weapons," said NNSA Administrator Linton Brooks. "This completes a historic step begun by the United States in 1991. I congratulate our employees at Pantex who were involved in this piece of history."
The United States introduced artillery-fired atomic weapons in its defense arsenal in 1957. Six types were deployed over the years. The W-79 was designed to be fired from an 8-inch artillery piece. These weapons strengthened deterrence by improving the capability of NATO battlefield commanders to stop a Warsaw Pact armored thrust into Western Europe.
In 1991, President George H.W. Bush announced his decision to retire artillery-fired atomic weapons in the U.S. stockpile. The President made his decision unilaterally, apart from any arms control agreement with the former Soviet Union. The weapons, including all W-79s, were returned to NNSA for dismantlement at the Pantex plant.
The Pantex Plant plays a critical role in the surveillance of the U.S. nuclear deterrent. Each year approximately 100 weapons from the active stockpile are sent to Pantex where they undergo a comprehensive diagnostic exam. While most of the weapons are reassembled and returned to the military services, the remaining weapons are subject to destructive evaluation, providing us additional insights into the health of the stockpile. Pantex also refurbishes nuclear weapons in the current stockpile as part of the Stockpile Life Extension Program. The dismantlement of the W79 and other weapons took place over the years as scheduling permitted.
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NNSA is a semi-autonomous agency of the Department of Energy. It enhances U.S. national security through the military application of nuclear energy, maintains the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, promotes international nuclear nonproliferation and safety, reduces global danger from weapons of mass destruction, provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion, and oversees its national laboratories to maintain U.S. leadership in science and technology.
This is how countries can exploit the Gap between conventional bombs and multi-mega-ton nuclear weapons.
If, for instance, a country such as France or Germany used a very low yield nuclear weapon in the 1 kt range, what could the United States do about it?
Use a B-52 and drop 500 lb bombs with minimal effect, or fire off ICBMs and cause a global nuclear war?
America must (MUST) develop tactical nuclear weapons ASAP.
That would be a big surprise to the thousands of army and marine artillerymen currently manning the M110A2 in Iraq and other places around the world.
see: http://www.army.mil/cmh-pg/books/www/260b.htm
B-2 arrives, deposits a 200kt care package, and leaves. President asks new leadership "Y'all sure you want to play another hand?"
Use a B-52 and drop 500 lb bombs with minimal effect, or fire off ICBMs and cause a global nuclear war?
False dichotomy.
Your enemy has already started a "global nuclear war" by attacking the US with a nuke.
We wouldn't cause it. We would simply end it.
Test of nuclear artillery piece, Nevada test range, 1953
We trained used a 50 foot lanyard (rope) to fire the Howitzer when loaded with a nuclear shell. You dig a fox-hole to protect yourself first. From that fox-hole, you then pull the lanyard and watch the howitzer destroy itself. The nuclear artillery shell goes down-range, and the tube will exit in the opposite direction.
For obvious reasons, you can only fire one nuclear artillery shell per howitzer.
With 6 Howitzers per Field Artillery Battery, that would make the Russians think twice.
http://www.vce.com/grable.html
In many pictures and films of atomic tests there are a series of vertical smoke trails to one side of the blast. These are identified in one of the frames on the page you posted. I assume that these trails are not caused by the blast, but serve some sort of testing function, perhaps to measure some parameters of the shock wave. Anyone know for sure?
To this day, I will alway remember how important these nuclear artillery shells were in our effort to prevent the Russians from invading West Germany.
To me, this will never be forgotten.
Hmmmmmmmm, I didn't know that. It makes me wonder if that's a possble reason Kennedy abandoned the Cubans at the Bay of Pigs. Maybe he knew Castro would sling a few nukes at them?
In the test and images that you talked about, the military fired rockets into the air to provide smoke trails.
After the nuclear explosion, they were able to measure the displacement of the smoke trails in an effort to understand the effects of the weapon as a function of distance and altitude.
Correct!
Actually, I was rather busy at the time for obvious reasons. After the two Cobra helicopters finished with the idiot, there was not much left of him.
As I was told later, it was an East German shooter responsible.
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