The B77 was a
nuclear bomb
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 ...
designed in 1974 to match the delivery capabilities of the
B-1A bomber. This included the ability to be dropped from supersonic speeds at altitudes of , or in a laydown delivery at high subsonic speeds at altitudes as low as . Meant to replace the
Mk 28 and
Mk 43 in the strategic role, the program was cancelled in December 1977 due to rising costs and the cancellation of the bomber it had been designed to serve. Many components of the B77 including its already tested physics package (the actual bomb core) were incorporated in the
B83 which was developed in its place.
The specifications for the B77 required Full Fuzing Option (FUFO) and the ability for a low altitude, transonic laydown delivery, as well as a free fall from supersonic speeds and altitudes of delivery. To achieve the low-level delivery capability, the B77 employed a
gas generator
A gas generator is a device for generating gas. A gas generator may create gas by a chemical reaction or from a solid or liquid source, when storing a pressurized gas is undesirable or impractical.
The term often refers to a device that uses a ...
for roll control and a lifting parachute as the initial part of a two-stage parachute system. This combination would actually lift the bomb from a drop altitude of for main parachute opening. The roll control/parachute system was tested at Mach 2.2. From a delivery altitude of at mach 2.2, the B77 could be slowed to allowing the delivery aircraft to be past ground zero. Actual detonation time could be varied after the laydown had occurred.
See also
*
List of nuclear weapons
This is a list of nuclear weapons listed according to country of origin, and then by type within the states.
United States
US nuclear weapons of all types – bombs, warheads, shells, and others – are numbered in the same sequence starting wi ...
References
*Hansen, Chuck. ''U.S. Nuclear Weapons''. Arlington, Texas, Areofax, Inc., 1988. .
* Hansen, Chuck,
Swords of Armageddon U.S. Nuclear Weapons Development since 1945" (CD-ROM & download available). PDF-2.67 Mb. 2,600 pages, Sunnyvale, California, Chucklea Publications, 1995, 2007. (2nd Ed.)
{{United States nuclear devices
Cold War aerial bombs of the United States
Nuclear bombs of the United States