B28 nuclear bomb

B28
Diagram of the B28FI bomb.
TypeNuclear bomb
Service history
Used byUnited States
Production history
Designed1954 to 1958 (EX and IN), 1955 to 1958 (RE), 1958 to 1960 (RI) and 1959 to 1962 (FI)[1]
ProducedStarted 1958 (EX and IN), 1959 (RE), 1960 (RI) and 1962 (FI), ended 1966.[1][2]
No. built~4,500[2]
Specifications
Blast yield70 to 1,450 kilotonnes of TNT (290 to 6,070 TJ)[2]

The B28, originally Mark 28, was a thermonuclear bomb carried by U.S. tactical fighter bombers, attack aircraft 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. It was also supplied for delivery by UK-based Royal Air Force Valiant and Canberra aircraft[3] assigned to NATO under the command of SACEUR. In addition, certain U.S. Navy carrier based attack aircraft such as the A3D (later A-3B) Skywarrior, A4D (later A-4) Skyhawk, and A3J (later A-5A) Vigilante were equipped to carry the B28.

  1. ^ a b History of the Mk 28 Weapon (Report). Sandia National Laboratories. August 1968. SC-DR-66-397. Archived from the original on 2021-07-07. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  2. ^ a b c Sublette, Carey (12 June 2020). "Complete List of All U.S. Nuclear Weapons". Nuclear weapon archive. Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  3. ^ B28 Nuclear bomb (United States), Jane's Information Group, archived from the original on 2009-06-04, retrieved 2008-11-10