The W62 was an American thermonuclear warhead designed in the late 1960s and manufactured from March 1970 to June 1976. Used on some Minuteman III ICBMs, it was partially replaced by the W78 starting in December 1979, and fully replaced by W87 warheads removed from MX Peacekeeper missiles and retired in 2010.[1][2]
The exact dimensions of the W62 are classified, but it fits within the Mark-12 reentry vehicle which is 22 inches (56 cm) in diameter and 72 inches (1.8 m) long. The weight of the W62 has been described as both 253 pounds (115 kg) and 700 to 800 pounds (320 to 360 kg),[2] however a declassified document circa 1963 stated that the combined weight of the warheads in the three warhead configuration for Minuteman would be approximately 750 pounds (340 kg).[3] Two or three warheads were carried on Minuteman III, depending on the desired maximum range.[4]
The yield of the W62 is publicly believed to be 170 kilotonnes of TNT (710 TJ).[2] The W56 warhead on Minuteman III's predecessor had a yield of 1.2 megatonnes of TNT (5.0 PJ),[5] while its successor the W78 has a yield of 330 to 350 kilotonnes of TNT (1,400 to 1,500 TJ).[1]
A total of 1,725 W62 warheads were produced during its production run.[2] The last W62 was dismantled in August 2010.[6]
See also
References
- ^ a b Sublette, Carey (1 September 2001). "The W-78 Warhead". Nuclear Weapons Archive. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ a b c d Sublette, Carey (9 January 2007). "The W62 Warhead". Nuclear Weapon Archive. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ DCI Briefing to Joint Chiefs of Staff (PDF) (Report). 1963-07-30. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-11-06. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
- ^ Hansen, Check (2007). Swords of Armageddon Volume VI. p. 344. ISBN 978-0-9791915-6-5.
- ^ Sublette, Carey (12 June 2020). "Complete List of All U.S. Nuclear Weapons". Nuclear Weapon Archive. Retrieved 22 January 2022.
- ^ Schueler, John (12 August 2010). "Dismantling History: The Final W62 Warhead". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 22 January 2022.