Early Soviet Atomic Bombs

(1) At the end of the year, 30 pcs.

(2) Revised in RDS-2 and RDS-3.

(3) According to plans by mid-1953, everyone should be dismantled.

(4) " II. To change the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of February 8, 1948, No. 234-98, to terminate the development of RDS-2 in KB-11 , inasmuch as the uranium-235 necessary for this design (...) can be more effectively used in construction RDS-5. III. To change the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of June 10, 1948 No. 1989-773 and June 5, 1949 No. 2243-879, to suspend the development of RDS-3 in KB-11 , in connection with the fact that the RDS-5 design is currently being developed, providing better use of uranium-235. " Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 591-236ss / op "On the plan for research and design work KB-11." February 14, 1950 "Atomic Project of the USSR", vol.2, book 7, from 30.

(5) From November.

(6) " With a multilayer charge (from several concentric layers of natural uranium and compounds of tritium, deuterium and lithium-6) with a fuse from the RDS with plutonium." "On the state of work on the development of the nuclear industry. Not earlier than November 16, 1951. "The Atomic Project of the USSR, vol. 2, book. 5, p. 714 -

(7) Khariton U.B .: " It should be noted that an estimate of the capacity of 6s was given in the range of 150-800 thousand tons. " Minutes of the meeting of KB-11 from 16 and 17.7.1954. " Atomic Project of the USSR ", v. 3, book. 2, p. 202

(8 ) "According to preliminary calculations by physicists, this variant should consist of a main charge of several hundred kilograms of liquid deuterium at a temperature of minus 250 ° C, enclosed in a thin (not more than half a millimeter) metal alloy shell, an intermediate detonator from a mixture of tritium with deuterium and fuse (a RDS product with a charge of plutonium or uranium-235). " " Atomic Project of the USSR ", v. 2 kn. 5, p. 715

(9) In 1951 work on RDS-6T was postponed for a year. However, on July 9, 1953 (ie, even before the RDS-6c test), in the draft report of the MSM, G.M. Malenkov was invited " to strengthen the theoretical and theoretical work on elucidating the possibility of creating a hydrogen (deuterium) bomb of the RDS-6T type . " On January 26, 1954, the " Meeting on" T "issues with the Chief Designer KB-11 was held , where" ... the participants of the meeting agreed unanimously that it is currently expedient to work on super-power products in other areas, ways to create large items such as RDS-6S. " "Atomic Project of the USSR", v. 3, book. 2, p. 135 The beginning of research on "atomic compression" led to the complete cessation of work on RDS-6t. By early February 1955 the project was closed.

(10) Initially, it was planned to perform a ground test. But the plans changed: " Simultaneously, we ask you to allow us to test the RDS-5 atomic bomb (with a small charge) by dropping the Tu-4 from the aircraft, because the tower and the building for testing RDS-5 on the ground were badly damaged when testing the RDS-6s hydrogen bomb, which we did not expect, tk. these facilities were located at a distance of 7 kilometers from the site of the explosion of the hydrogen bomb. In addition, as test practice has shown, a test on the ground causes a significant contamination of the surrounding area with radioactive dust. " Note VA. Malysheva and BL Vannikova G.M. Malenkov on the fabrication and testing of hydrogen and atomic bombs, August 18, 1953. "Atomic Project of the USSR", v. 3, book. 2, p. 69

(11) 1951 - " According to preliminary calculations of design bureau No. 11, the atomic charge of such an RDS product should consist of (...) uranium-235 with a small additive (...) of plutonium. " Since 1953 - a compound uranium core (uranium of two different concentrations).

(12) Uranium components of RDS-7 are used to fabricate the bomb RDS-6sd (which was also not tested).