The W79 Artillery-Fired Atomic Projectile (AFAP), also known as the XM753 (Atomic RA)
was an American
nuclear artillery
Nuclear artillery is a subset of limited- yield tactical nuclear weapons, in particular those weapons that are launched from the ground at battlefield targets. Nuclear artillery is commonly associated with shells delivered by a cannon, but in ...
shell, capable of being fired from any
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
howitzer
A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...
e.g. the
M115 and
M110 howitzer
The 8 inch (203 mm) M110 self-propelled howitzer is an American-made self-propelled artillery system consisting of an M115 203 mm howitzer installed on a purpose-built chassis. Before its retirement from US service, it was the largest a ...
. Produced in two models, the
enhanced radiation W79 Mod 0 and fission-only W79 Mod 1. Both were
plutonium
Plutonium is a radioactive chemical element with the symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, and forms a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibi ...
-based linear-
implosion nuclear weapon
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 ...
s.
* The Mod 0 was a
variable yield
Variable yield, or dial-a-yield, is an option available on most modern nuclear weapons. It allows the operator to specify a weapon's yield, or explosive power, allowing a single design to be used in different situations. For example, the Mod-10 ...
device with three yields, ranging from up to and an enhanced-
radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
mode which could be turned on or off
* The Mod 1 was
fission-only with a fixed yield, corresponding with the maximum fission only yield of the ''Mod 0''
Both models were in diameter, long and weighed . The W79 was developed by
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 ...
, starting in 1975. Production of the different mods took place from July 1981 through August 1986. A total of 550 warheads (325 Mod 0s, 225 Mod 1s) were produced. All units were retired from active service by the end of 1992 with the last shell dismantled at the Pantex Plant in Texas in August 2002.
Workers Dismantle Final U.S. Nuclear Artillery Shell
/ref>
Design
The weapon had a range of or with rocket assist.[
The weapon utilized the M735 proximity fuze. It contained a dual-channel fuze system, target sensor, electronic programmer and power supply.]
Gallery
See also
* Neutron bomb
A neutron bomb, officially defined as a type of enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), is a low-yield thermonuclear weapon designed to maximize lethal neutron radiation in the immediate vicinity of the blast while minimizing the physical power of the b ...
* Nuclear weapon design
Nuclear weapon designs are physical, chemical, and engineering arrangements that cause the physics package of a nuclear weapon to detonate. There are three existing basic design types:
* pure fission weapons, the simplest and least technically ...
* 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
External links
Allbombs.html list of all US nuclear weapon models at nuclearweaponarchive.org
{{United States nuclear devices
Nuclear warheads of the United States
Linear implosion nuclear weapons
Military equipment introduced in the 1970s