The W40 nuclear warhead was an American nuclear warhead developed in the late 1950s and which saw service from 1959 to 1972. It was a fusion boosted fission (but not themonuclear) bomb type.

The W40 design was reportedly the common Python primary

Python primary

According to researcher Chuck Hansen, the W34 Python was a gas-boosted fission primary used in several designs of American thermonuclear weapons....

 or fission core used by the US B28 nuclear bomb

B28 nuclear bomb

The B28, originally Mark 28, was a thermonuclear bomb carried by U.S. tactical fighter bombers and bomber aircraft. From 1962 to 1972 under the NATO nuclear weapons sharing program, American B28s also equipped six Europe-based Canadian CF-104 squadrons known as the RCAF Nuclear Strike Force...

, W28 nuclear warhead, W40 nuclear warhead, and W49 nuclear warhead

W49

The W49 was an American thermonuclear warhead, used on the Thor, Atlas, Jupiter, and Titan I ballistic missile systems. W49 warheads were manufactured starting in 1958 and were in service until 1963, with a few warheads being retained until 1975....

.

The W40 was 18 inches in diameter, 32 inches long, and weighed around 385 pounds. It had a design yield of 10 kilotons.

The W40 was used in the MGM-18 Lacrosse

MGM-18 Lacrosse

The MGM-18 Lacrosse was a short-ranged tactical ballistic weapon intended for close support of ground troops.Its first flight test was in 1954 and was deployed by the United States Army beginning in 1959, despite being still in the development stage...

 surface to surface missile (SRBM) and Bomarc Missile Program

Bomarc Missile Program

The CIM-10 Bomarc was the only surface-to-air missile ever deployed by the United States Air Force. All other U.S. land-based SAMs were and are under the control of the United States Army....

surface to air missiles (SAM).

External links

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