Mark 7 Nuclear Bomb
The Mark 7 "30-inch nuclear bomb" bomb was the first tactical nuclear weapon developed by the United States and the first atomic bomb to be used by all three armed services. It was deployed in more models and served for a greater length of time than any other atomic weapon in the U.S. arsenal, entering service in 1952 and withdrawing in 1967. The Mark 7, which could be carried on the outside of an airplane rather than in a bomb bay, added nuclear capability to smaller, faster fighter aircraft.
The nuclear weapons programs had to keep pace with changing aircraft designs and evolving military tactics, foremost among these, the use of fighter and attack jets to carry a nuclear weapon. Initially only aircraft such as the B-29 Superfortress, the B-36 Peacemaker, and the all-jet B-47 Stratojet, could carry atomic bombs that weighed upwards of 10,000 pounds (the Mark II-IV series). Operation Buster-Jangle tested the innovative, compact-sized Mark 7 nuclear bomb. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) succeeded in greatly reducing the size of the bomb (the Mark 7 weighed 1,680 pounds).
Like the Mark 6 and many other nuclear devices of the time, the Mark 7 was a capsule bomb, carrying its fissionable elements in a separate container which was inserted just prior to weapon delivery. The Mark 7 tactical nuclear weapon used a new delivery method, the Low Altitude Bombing System (LABS). With LABS, a tactical aircraft flies toward an "initial point," then commences a "4G" climb, and releases the bomb at a designated point in the climb. By the time the bomb detonates, the aircraft is a safe distance away.
With its retractable stabilizer fins, the Mark 7 could be carried by a wide variety of strike aircraft. The bomb could also be fused for either air or ground burst. USAF aircraft that carried the Mark 7 were the B-45, B-57, F-84, F-100, and F-101. The U.S. Navy also carried the bomb on its A-1, A-3, F2H, F3H-2N, and FJ-4B aircraft.
| Length: | 15 ft 2.5 in |
| Weight: | 1,600 lbs |
| Diameter: | 2 ft 6.5 in |
| Yield: | 20 Kilotons |
BOAR
The 30.5-Inch BOAR (Bureau of Ordnance Atomic Rocket or Bombardment Aircraft Rocket), one of the earliest rockets designed to carry a nuclear warhead, was a tactical standoff weapon in service 1956-63; a bombing technique and release computer (the forerunner of the CP-741) were also developed at China Lake.
Mk 90 Alias Betty
The Warhead Mk 7 was used in the Mk 90 Alias Betty, an ASW depth charge for the S2 and P5.
MGM-5A/B Corporal SSM
The Mark 7 was the warhead on the Army Corporal and Honest John short- range ballistic missiles.
