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Mk6

Designer
?
Type
Implosion
Dimension(s)
128″ x 60″
Weight(s)
~8,550lbs
Yield(s)
~8-160Kt
Application(s)
(BOMB) B6 Mod 0, 1, 2, 3
Tests
Operation Greenhouse, shot Dog #12( 1951/04/07 )9.1
Proof test of the Mk6 at Enewetak Atoll. 81Kt10.1

The Mk6 was 60-inches in diameter not including the spoiler bands and 128-inches long, the same as the Mk4, weighing 8,550lbs.1.2

Equipped with a baro-fuze so the height of burst could be changed while airborne. Was stockpile from 1951 to 1962.7.1

Proof tested at the Nevada Test Site (Area 5) by airdrop from a B-50 in shot Encore of Operation Upshot-Knothole with a yield of 27Kt6.1

Due to size and weight constraints it was decided to use the Mk6 as a missile warhead design.2.1

In service from 1951-19618.1 with a nominal yield of 8-160Kt3.1 The Mk6 utilized the 130/240, 110/170/260, 150/260 capsule assemblies.5.1

Correcting in-flight insertion problems, Mk6 Mod 2 entered stockpile January 1952.1.1 The Mod 3 moved the antenna back to its original position on the nose plate, it entered stockpile June 2nd 1952.1.1

3 bombs were reportedly stored in igloos at Lakenheath Royal Air Force Station.4.1

Carried by the B-29, B-36, B-47, B-50, XB-52, AJ-1, A2J and A3D1.2

Mk6 at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum, Nebraska
What appears to be, from left to right, a Mk6, Mk7, Mk12, and Mk8 stored within an aircraft carrier special weapons magazine
  1. Sandia National Laboratory Information Research Division 3434. (1967). History of the Mk6 Bomb (Including the TX/XW-13, Mk18, and TX-20) (RS 3434/4). https://osf.io/46sfd/
    1. p.8
    2. p.13
  2. Sandia National Laboratory Information Research Division 3434. (1967). History of the Mk5 Warhead (RS 3434/3). https://osf.io/46sfd/
    1. p.16
  3. Norris, R. S., & Kristensen, H. M. (2016). Declassified US Nuclear Weapons at Sea During the Cold War. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 2016.
    1. p.60
  4. Center for Defense Information. (1981). U.S. Department of Defense Nuclear Weapons Accidents 1950-1980 Introduction. The Defense Monitor. ISSN: 0195-6450.
    1. p.4
  5. Office of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. (1978). History of the Custody and Deployment of Nuclear Weapons: July 1945 through September 1977. https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu//news/19991020/04-01.htm
    1. p.336
  6. Norris, R. S., & Cochran, T. B. (1994). United States Nuclear Tests July 1945 to 31 December 1992 (NWD 94-1). https://fas.org/nuke/cochran/nuc_02019401a_121.pdf
    1. p.24
  7. Shelton, F. H. (1988). Reflections of a Nuclear Weaponeer. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/35454336
    1. p.5-10(278)
  8. Polmar, N., & Norris, R. S. (2009). The US Nuclear Arsenal: A History of Weapons and Delivery Systems Since 1945. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/690381240
    1. p.41
  9. National Association of Atomic Veterans. (2010). NAAV Newsletter—2010/11. https://www.naav.com/assets/2010_11_NAAV_Newsletter.pdf
    1. p.4
  10. Nevada Field Office. (2015). United States Nuclear Tests July 1945 through September 1992 (DOE/NV–209-REV 16; p. 129). National Nuclear Security Administration. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1351809
    1. p.29 (PDF Page)