The Mark 8 nuclear bomb was a nuclear bomb designed late 1940s and early 1950s, which was in service from 1952 to 1957.

Description

The Mark 8 was a gun type

Gun-type fission weapon

Gun-type fission weapons are fission-based nuclear weapons whose design assembles their fissile material into a supercritical mass by the use of the "gun" method: shooting one piece of sub-critical material into another...

 nuclear bomb, which rapidly assembles several critical mass

Critical mass

A critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties A critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The...

es of fissile nuclear material by firing a fissile projectile or "bullet" into a hollow opening in a larger fissile "target", using a system which closely resembles a medium sized cannon barrel and propellant.

The Mark 8 was an early earth penetrating bomb (see nuclear bunker buster

Nuclear bunker buster

Bunker-busting nuclear weapons, also known as earth-penetrating weapons , are a type of nuclear weapon designed to penetrate into soil, rock, or concrete to deliver a nuclear warhead to a target. These weapons would be used to destroy hardened, underground military bunkers buried deep in the ground...

), intended to dig into the earth some distance prior to detonating. According to one government source, the Mark 8 could penetrate 22 feet (6.7 m) of reinforced concrete, 90 feet (27.4 m) of hard sand, 120 feet (36.6 m) feet of clay, or 5 inches (12.7 cm) of hardened armor plate steel.
The Mark 8 was 14.5 inches (36.8 cm) in diameter across its body, 116 to 132 in (294.6 to 335.3 cm) long depending on submodel. It weighed 3230 to 3280 lb (1,465.1 to 1,487.8 ), and had a yield of 25-30 kilotons.

A total of 40 Mark 8 bombs were produced.

The Mark 8 was succeeded by an improved variant, the Mark 11 nuclear bomb

Mark 11 nuclear bomb

The Mark 11 nuclear bomb was an American nuclear bomb developed from the earlier Mark 8 nuclear bomb in the mid 1950s. Like the Mark 8, the Mark 11 was an earth-penetrating weapon, also known as a Nuclear bunker buster bomb.- Description :...

.

Variants

The Mark 8 was considered as a cratering warhead for the SSM-N-8 Regulus

SSM-N-8 Regulus

The SSM-N-8A Regulus was a ship and submarine launched, nuclear armed cruise missile deployed by the United States Navy from 1955 to 1964.-Design and development:...

 cruise missile. This W8 variant was cancelled in 1955.

A lighter Mark 8 variant, the Mark 10 nuclear bomb

Mark 10 nuclear bomb

The Mark 10 nuclear bomb was a proposed American nuclear bomb based on the earlier Mark 8 nuclear bomb design. The Mark 10, like the Mark 8, is a Gun-type nuclear weapon, which rapidly assembles several critical masses of fissile nuclear material by firing a fissile projectile or "bullet" into a...

, was developed as a lightweight airburst (surface target) bomb. The Mark 10 project was cancelled prior to introduction into service, replaced by the much more fissile material efficient Mark 12 nuclear bomb

Mark 12 nuclear bomb

The Mark-12 nuclear bomb was a US designed and manufactured lightweight nuclear bomb which was built starting in 1954 and saw service from then until 1962...

implosion design.

External links

• Allbombs.html list of all US nuclear warheads at nuclearweaponarchive.org