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Mk14

  • Designer
    • Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory
  • Service
    • Cancelled, October 1954
  • Type
    • Implosion
  • Dimensions
    • 222″ x 61.5″
  • Yield(s)
    • ~40Mt
  • Prototype
    • TX-14
  • Emergency Capability
    • EC-14

The first thermonuclear bomb to be considered for Emergency Capability (EC), meaning it would have no drogue parachute and would utilize arming and fuzing systems simplified to the point of being hazardous to their delivery crews.1.2 Designed by Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory3.1, canceled after limited stockpiling October 1954.1.1, 2.2 Once retired in October 1954 the fissile material was recycled into the Mk17 & 24 weapons.2.2

The TX-14 used a 64′ diameter drogue parachute, its pack weight, including pilot chute and deployment hardware was 897lbs.1.4 The variant that did not utilize a parachute used the name EC-14 for emergency capability.1.3

Weighing 29,500lbs, the TX-14 was 61.5″ in diameter and 222″ long.2.1

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  1. Hansen, C. (1988). US Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History. Crown Publishers Inc. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/16404602
    1. p.106
    2. p.65 (PDF Page)
    3. p.100 (PDF Page)
    4. p.115 (PDF Page)
  2. Information Research Division 3434. (1967). History of the Early Thermonuclear Weapons Mks 14, 15, 16, 17, 24, and 29 (RS 3434/10). Los Alamos National Laboratory. https://osf.io/46sfd/
    1. p.21
    2. p.23
  3. Cochran, T. B., Arkin, W. M., & Hoenig, M. M. (1984). Nuclear Weapons Databook Volume 1: U.S. Nuclear Forces and Capabilities (Vol. 1). Ballinger Publishing Company. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/566100883
    1. p.29 (PDF Page)