W49
The MK43, W44, W50, MK57, and W59 share a common "Tsetse" primary. Both the "Tsetse" and "Python" primaries were plagued by a tritium cross-section miscalculation uncovered during the early 1960s, after the nuclear testing moratorium ended.
The Starfish Prime test took place on July 9, 1962. A Thor rocket was launched from Johnston Island carrying a 1.45 megaton W49 thermonuclear warhead. When the warhead detonated at a height of 248 miles, it unexpectedly lit up the night skies all over Hawaii hundreds of miles away for six minutes.
| Length: | 54.3-in - 57.9-in |
| Diameter: | 20-in |
| Weight: | 1,640 - 1,680-lbs |
| Yield: | 1.44 MT |
| Fusing : | Airburst or contact |
| Manufactured: | 9/58 - 1964 |
| : | LASL (Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory) |
| : | Used in Thor (Mod 0,1, 3), RVs used Mk-2 heat sink. |
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