At the beginning of the 60-ies of the twentieth century, the whole world froze in anticipation of a nuclear apocalypse. In the American sky, strategic bombers B-52 “Stratofortresses” were on duty all day long. They carried two very powerful nuclear bombs “B53” on board. The weight of each bomb was 4,5 t, and if such a bomb suddenly fell into the White House, the destruction was all the suburbs of Washington would be destroyed.All people at a distance of 30 km would be killed by B53 light, and within the 6 radius of the blast epicenter there would be nothing left but a scorched desert. Even in a protected bunker, the chances of survival would be zero.
The epoch of this weaponsFortunately, it is coming to an end: the last B53 bomb was dismantled in the United States. This superbomb was stored at the Pantex plant of the US Department of Energy near the town of Amarillo in Texas. The charge, consisting of 136 kg of explosives, was separated from the core of enriched uranium. The core for subsequent disposal was placed in the warehouse.
Dispatched to dismantle the super warfare cold war
The first B53 arrived at the military warehouses of the US Air Force in 1962. The superbomb differed in the big weight and low accuracy. However, all the shortcomings compensated for its power. The nuclear bomb that destroyed Hiroshima was the power of 12 kilotons. “B53” at the same time had a charge of power up to 9 megatons (9000 kilotons). It was not just a superbomb, but the only and first-of-its-kind absolute anti-bunker weapon.
According to the US nuclear doctrine, a “B53” nuclear attack was supposed on Soviet bunkers, where the Soviet command was located, as well as military command and control points. "В53" on the site of fortifications would have to leave a huge melted crater, completely excluding the possibility of surviving not only in the epicenter of the explosion, but also far beyond its borders.
During the Cold War, the United States had 400 bombs "B53". Rare combat power "B53" relished the military of the US, and they used it as a warhead of ballistic intercontinental missiles "Titan". This warhead was considered the most powerful warhead in all stories American nuclear forces. A release of the thermonuclear version “W53” with a capacity of up to 9 megatons was also launched.
By the middle of the 80-ies of the twentieth century, the B53 superbomb was removed from service. However, it was then returned back, since a weapon with similar anti-bunker capabilities was unparalleled. And already in 1997, a light 540-kilogram B61 thermonuclear bomb and a morally obsolete nine-megaton "monster" was sent for recycling into the US Army.
The end of the B53 bomb marks the end of an era in which humankind created the unique in its incredible destructive power of the B53 superbomb. Fortunately, such megabombs exploded only at test sites.