Blue Danube bomb

E858360

The Blue Danube bomb was the United Kingdom’s first operational nuclear weapon, an early free-fall atomic bomb developed in the 1950s for delivery by strategic bombers.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Blue Danube 0

Statements (41)

Predicate Object
instanceOf free-fall bomb
gravity bomb
nuclear weapon
thermonuclear-era fission bomb
basedOn experience from Operation Hurricane test
category Cold War nuclear bomb of the United Kingdom
countryOfOrigin United Kingdom
deliveryPlatform Avro Vulcan NERFINISHED
Handley Page Victor NERFINISHED
Vickers Valiant NERFINISHED
deploymentMethod internal bomb bay carriage
deploymentRole strategic deterrent
designedBy Atomic Weapons Research Establishment NERFINISHED
designedFor strategic bombing
designedYieldOptions variable yields around 10 kilotons
designOrigin British nuclear weapons programme NERFINISHED
developedIn 1950s
era Cold War
firstTested early 1950s GENERATED
guidanceSystem unguided free-fall
historicalSignificance first operational British nuclear bomb
introduced early 1950s
length approximately 24 feet
namedAfter The Blue Danube waltz NERFINISHED
nuclearConfiguration plutonium core fission device
nuclearYield approximately 10–12 kilotons of TNT
operator Royal Air Force
partOf British nuclear deterrent
productionStatus limited production
replacedBy Red Beard NERFINISHED
Yellow Sun NERFINISHED
retiredFromService 1960s
safetyFeatures early mechanical safing systems
serviceEntry 1953
status retired
storageSites RAF bases in the United Kingdom
testAssociation British nuclear tests in Australia
usedBy United Kingdom NERFINISHED
usedInConflict no
warheadType implosion-type fission warhead
weight approximately 10,000 pounds

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Vickers Valiant bomber nuclearWeaponCompatibility Blue Danube bomb
subject surface form: Vickers Valiant