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Medium Atomic Demolition Munition (MADM) was a
tactical nuclear weapon A tactical nuclear weapon (TNW) or non-strategic nuclear weapon (NSNW) is a nuclear weapon that is designed to be used on a battlefield in military situations, mostly with friendly forces in proximity and perhaps even on contested friendly territo ...
developed by the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
during the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...
. It was an
Atomic demolition munition Atomic demolition munitions (ADMs), colloquially known as nuclear land mines, are small nuclear explosive devices. ADMs were developed for both military and civilian purposes. As weapons, they were designed to be exploded in the forward battle a ...
, a combat engineering device for demolition of structures and for battlefield shaping. The device contained a
W45 The W45 was a multipurpose American nuclear warhead developed in the early 1960s, first built in 1962 and fielded in some applications until 1988. It had a diameter of 11.5 inches (292 mm), a length of 27 inches (686 mm) and weighed 150 pounds ( ...
warhead with an estimated yield of . Each MADM weighed in its transportation container. They were deployed between 1962 and 1986. In service, the MADM was known as the M167, M172 and M175 Atomic Demolition Charges (ADCs).


History

The history of the MADM began in 1954 with the proposal for a light-weight multi-purpose warhead. Its predecessor, the first atomic demolition munition (ADM), was deployed in the same year. This was a low-yield weapon () used by special forces and commando teams to destroy enemy infrastructure such as bridges tunnels, and harbors, among others. The MADM warhead was designed to be economical in nuclear material, having a diameter of less than , and it was hoped that the device could be broken down into sub- components for carriage and assembly in the field. The program languished for several years, with Los Alamos and Sandia in a joint letter suggesting that warheads in the range of were possible. At one point, the W25 warhead for the
AIR-2 Genie The Douglas AIR-2 Genie (previous designation MB-1) was an unguided air-to-air rocket with a 1.5 kt W25 nuclear warhead. It was deployed by the United States Air Force (USAF 1957–1985) and Canada (Royal Canadian Air Force 1965–68, Air Com ...
missile was considered for the application. The program for the W45 was authorized in January 1956. In addition to MADM, the program was to develop warheads for Nike I,
Little John Little John is a companion of Robin Hood who serves as his chief lieutenant and second-in-command of the Merry Men. He is one of only a handful of consistently named characters who relate to Robin Hood and one of the two oldest Merry Men, alo ...
,
Terrier Terrier (from Latin ''terra'', 'earth') is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. Terrier breeds vary ...
and
ASROC The RUR-5 ASROC (for "Anti-Submarine Rocket") is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed ...
. Possible devices for the program were tested in Operations Redwing and Plumbbob. In August 1956, it was decided that the ASROC warhead would be assigned to LASL as the XW-44, while the other warheads including MADM would be given to the University of California Radiation Laboratory (UCRL) (now
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a federal research facility in Livermore, California, United States. The lab was originally established as the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Livermore Branch in 1952 in response ...
) with the designation XW-45. In February 1957, it was believed that the weapon could be design released by mid-1958 with production beginning a year later. In March 1957, it was suggested that the W44 and W45 programs be consolidated. This proposal was later abandoned. At this point, it was believed the design would have a maximum diameter of , a length of , and a weight of . Major components of the weapon were sourced from other weapon systems. In September 1957, the warhead operational availability date was delayed by 14 months. In February 1958, for still-classified reasons, the weapon received a significant redesign and a new developmental name: XW-45-X1. This, however, increased the weapon diameter to and made the warhead incompatible with Little John without substantial redesign. In the interest of economics and stockpile simplification, it was decided to revert to the original XW-45 design in February 1959. In January 1960, the MADM version of the W45 was assigned the name W45 Mod 1. This version of the warhead was only different from the W45 Mod 0 used in Little John and Terrier in that it had no environmental sensing device, the ADM role having precluded the possibility of such a device. Instead, the warhead received a three-digit combination padlock to restrict access to the device. War reserve production was achieved in April 1962. In October 1963, the army informed the Atomic Energy Commission that the usefulness of the weapon was limited by the inability to emplace the weapon underwater or in backfilled holes. Sandia and Livermore replied in December 1963, proposing a watertight case for the weapon featuring waterproof cables and connectors. A prototype was demonstrated in January 1963 and production of the case was authorized the following month. At about the same time, it was proposed that the weapon be fitted with a
Permissive Action Link A permissive action link (PAL) is an access control security device for nuclear weapons. Its purpose is to prevent unauthorized arming or detonation of a nuclear weapon. The United States Department of Defense definition is: The earliest PALs ...
(PAL), consisting of a five-digit coded switch. This was accepted and implemented on the subsequent W45 Mod 2. When the Mod 2 weapon was incorporated into its new protective case, the weapon became the W45 Mod 3. Early production of the Mod 3 began in July 1965. The MADM was retired in 1984.


Design

The weapon was a boosted, externally-initiated device. It was allegedly a Swan-type weapon utilizing an air-lens. The yield was reportedly . The weapon was designed so it could be detonated by a timer of up to 21 days, by radio or by field wire, and featured a waterproof protective case. In its waterproof case, the weapon was long, wide, high and weighed .


MADM use


Offensive use

ADM employment manuals describe the use of ADMs tactically in both offensive and defensive operations. In offensive operations, ADMs are described as being useful for improving flank and rear security of a unit, impeding counterattacks, and assisting in enemy entrapment.


Engineering and defensive use

ADM employment manuals describe the use of ADMs defensively for combat engineering purposes. Possible targets described include bridges, dams, canals, tunnels, airfields, railroad marshaling yards, ports and industrial plants, and power facilities. Extensive tables were provided to enable the selection of the correct yield for each particular target. These tables accounted for various employment particulars such as depth of burial, fallout considerations, and minimum safe separation distances between adjacent weapons and personnel.


See also

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Special Atomic Demolition Munition The Special Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM), also known as the XM129 and XM159 Atomic Demolition Charges, and the B54 bomb was a nuclear man-portable atomic demolition munition (ADM) system fielded by the US military from the 1960s to 1980s ...


References


Bibliography

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External links


"Atomic Demolition Munitions"
Nuclear mines Nuclear weapons of the United States Cold War weapons of the United States Tactical nuclear weapons 1965 introductions 1965 establishments in the United States Military equipment introduced in the 1960s {{ColdWar-stub