Mark 10

The Mk.10 atomic bomb was starated in 1950. A light version of Mk.8, designed for an air explosion. Mark 10 - an American nuclear bomb based on the design of Mark 8. This was a gun-type bomb. Unlike Mk.8, which was a penetrating weapon, the Mark 10 was to become a general purpose multipurpose bomb. Its weight was 660 - 770 kg, and the power from 12 to 15 kt.

At the same time, tactical bombs Mk.5, Mk.7 and Mk.12 of implosive type were created, but they were all based on a new 92-lens charge, the confidence in the success of which was not yet certain. So in fact Mk.10 was considered as a backup version of a simple tactical bomb, although the low utilization factor of fissile materials, generally characteristic of cannon-type charges, excluded its production in large quantities.

After the successful tests and the beginning of the serial production of Mk.7 and Mk.12, further work on Mk.10 lost its meaning, and in 1952 they were terminated. The Mark 10 program was closed in 1952 in connection with the development of the implosion-type nuclear bomb Mark 12, which was lighter and required much less fissile material.