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Top photo by Gail Thueson, 3AD
PAO
Bottom from The Brookings Institution archives |
Nuclear
Index NEXT |
155mm W-48 NUCLEAR ARTILLERY SHELL
3AD M-109 Howitzer
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Above: The Spearhead M-109A2 Howitzer had nuclear
capability in the late 1970's and 1980's when W-48 shells were
under direct 3AD control (i.e., no longer limited to special
V Corps artillery units). The W-48, a linear implosion plutonium
weapon, had a yield of less that 0.1 kiloton. Detonation was
by mechanical time-delay or proximity airburst, or contact. Only
limited and specially trained small units in Division Artillery
would have access to these shells. |
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Above: In a 1960's photo, government scientists
examine a mock-up of the warhead of a W-48 155mm nuclear artillery
shell. This weapon, first manufactured in 1963, represented yet
another breakthrough in nuclear miniaturization, coming on the
heels of its predecessor, the W-33 203mm (8-inch), first manufactured
in 1957. |
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