Stats about 'The Bomb'

[The Andy-Man]

Could some one give me (with a source) some stats aboutthe bomb (atomic of course ) from 45-49?

Radius of Damage
Power
Cost
How many the US had
etc



thanks!

[Dauphin]

First three is variable, the last one IIRC (year 2000ish):

Russia/Former USSR ~ 30,000
USA ~ 10,000
UK, France, China ~ 500 each
Israel ~ 100?
India ~ 100?
Pakistan ~ 50?
Korea ~ 2?

Not sure of the ranges, yields or obsolescence status of those weapons though. Most of the USSR ones are probably just good for scrap.

[mrmitchell]

My impression if it, from several informational television programs, was that the USSR didn't even know what it had, and the USA's was becoming rapidly expensive to maintain considering we don't even know if they still work after sitting for 50 years

[GePap]

go to fas.org

The first ones were about 20 kT, the whole pogram to make them cost at least 2 billion 1945 dollar, which was cheap when you think the US spent 350 billion plus on the war. Numbers? no clue.

maps of the Hiroshima radius are evrywhere..man, just google.

[mrmitchell]

The BBC helps us out here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A676352

[The Andy-Man]

ty everyone!

[:) Smiley]

The two less suicidal methods would be either using a mobile phone, simply hooking the wires from the vibrator of a mobile phone into a simple amplifier circuit, and then to the detonators. The disadvantage of this system would be that if a complete stranger dialled the wrong number at the wrong moment, the effects could be catastrophic. The advantage is that the device can be detonated at any time, from anywhere in the world.

Less catastrophic than detonation in intended target?

[Bosh]

South Africa also used to have some.

[Saint Marcus]

South Africa destroyed theirs.

the only nation on earth to have ever done so I believe.

[General Ludd]

Originally posted by Saint Marcus
South Africa destroyed theirs.

the only nation on earth to have ever done so I believe.

Interesting, the only country sane enough to destroy nuclear weapons also brings us the flame-thrower car security system.

[Bosh]

Originally posted by Saint Marcus
South Africa destroyed theirs.

the only nation on earth to have ever done so I believe.

Didn't some of the ex-Soviet states do so?

[Saint Marcus]

Didn't some of the ex-Soviet states do so?

didn't they just hand them back to Mother Russia?

[Az]

What Mark said.

[Dinner]

Kazakstan, Belarus, and the Ukraine all handed them back to Russia because the west refused to give them foreign aid unless they did so.

Also Argentina and Brazil didn't have nukes but they had nuke programs and fizzil material. Both of them agreed to dismantle their programs in exchange for increased foreign aid.

[CerberusIV]

A bit after the period requested but relevant.

From "Janes War at Sea 1897-1997" published by Harper Collins.

The first carrier nuclear capability of the USN was the deployment of P2V Neptune and AJ-1 Savage bombers to Morocco in 1951. The aircraft were stationed ashore to be deployed aboard the Coral Sea and Franklin D Roosevelt during emergencies.

The bombs were the Mk4 with a 20-40 kiloton yield and weighed 10,800 pounds.

The following year the Mk 7 was introduced with a 70 kiloton yield wieghing only 1,700 pounds which could be carried by the normal carrier strike aircraft.

Relevant because it marks the availability of nuclear weapons to US forces other than SAC and the point where they could be deliverd by a wide range of aircraft, rather than dedicated units.

I have come across estimates that the US possibly had less than a dozen nuclear weapons available at the start of the Korean War.