Cyclotol is an
explosive
An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An exp ...
consisting of
castable mixtures of
RDX
RDX (abbreviation of "Research Department eXplosive") or hexogen, among other names, is an organic compound with the formula (O2N2CH2)3. It is a white solid without smell or taste, widely used as an explosive. Chemically, it is classified as a ...
and
TNT. It is related to the more common
Composition B
Composition B, colloquially Comp B, is an explosive consisting of castable mixtures of RDX and TNT. It is used as the main explosive filling in artillery projectiles, rockets, land mines, hand grenades and various other munitions. It was als ...
, which is roughly 60% RDX and 40% TNT; various compositions of Cyclotol contain from 65% to 80% RDX.
[
] Typical ranges are from 60/40 to 80/20 RDX/TNT, with the most common being 70/30, while the military mostly uses 77/23 optimized in warheads.
Properties
Use
Cyclotol is not commonly used, but was reportedly the main explosive used in at least some models of US
nuclear weapons
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
. Sublette lists Cyclotol as the explosive in the US
B28 nuclear bomb
The B28, originally Mark 28, was a thermonuclear bomb carried by U.S. tactical fighter bombers, attack aircraft and bomber aircraft. From 1962 to 1972 under the NATO nuclear weapons sharing program, American B28s also equipped six Europe-bas ...
and possibly related weapons that used the common
Python primary
According to researcher Chuck Hansen, the W34 Python was a gas-boosted fission primary used in several designs of American thermonuclear weapons.
Hansen's research indicates that the W34 Python primary was used in the US B28 nuclear bomb, W28, ...
-
W34,
W28,
W40, and
W49.
It was used in the
B53 nuclear bomb
The Mk/B53 was a high-yield bunker buster thermonuclear weapon developed by the United States during the Cold War. Deployed on Strategic Air Command bombers, the B53, with a yield of 9 megatons, was the most powerful weapon in the U.S. nucl ...
and associated W53 warhead.
[
] In a modern military industry last 20 years Cyclotol can be used as filler and main charge most of
cluster submunition, especially with a
piezoelectric crystal igniter
In pyrotechnics, a pyrotechnic initiator (also initiator or igniter) is a device containing a pyrotechnic composition used primarily to ignite other, more difficult-to-ignite materials, such as thermites, gas generators, and solid-fuel rockets. The ...
.
It was also used in the
Mecca Masjid bombing which killed 16 people.
References
{{Reflist
Explosives
sv:Hexotol