Nuclear — fission · United States · 1961
Davy Crockett
M388 Davy Crockett (W54 warhead)
One of the smallest nuclear weapons ever built, fired from a launcher operated by a few soldiers.
See Davy Crockett in the 3D simulator- Yield
- 20 tDocumented
- Energy
- 83.7 GJ
- Mass
- 34 kgDocumented
- Dimensions
- 0.79 m · Ø 0.28 mDocumented
- Type
- Tactical nuclear weapon (recoilless projectile)
- Period
- Cold War
- Status
- Retired
Davy Crockett releases about 750 times less energy than Little Boy (Hiroshima, 1945).
Key points
- Its yield (≈ 20 t) is close to that of a MOAB (≈ 11 t): scale alone does not always distinguish nuclear from conventional.
- Unlike a conventional bomb, it emitted intense nuclear radiation at short range.
History
Designed for infantry facing Warsaw Pact armored forces, it illustrates the doctrine of “battlefield” nuclear weapons.
- 1961 Enters service.
- 17 July 1962 Little Feller I test in Nevada.
- 1971 Withdrawn from service.
How does it work?
A fission weapon releases energy by splitting heavy nuclei (uranium-235 or plutonium-239). Each fission releases about 200 MeV and a few neutrons.
If these neutrons cause further fissions, a chain reaction runs away in less than a millionth of a second.
The energy heats matter to tens of millions of degrees: fireball, thermal radiation and shock wave.
Deliberately general explanations: the application provides no design or manufacturing information.
Frequently asked questions
How powerful is Davy Crockett?
Davy Crockett has an estimated yield of 20 t of TNT equivalent, about 83.7 GJ of energy.
What is the history of Davy Crockett?
Deployed in Europe from 1961 to 1971; tested in 1962 (Little Feller test). Designed for infantry facing Warsaw Pact armored forces, it illustrates the doctrine of “battlefield” nuclear weapons.
What does the Davy Crockett explosion look like?
The Bomb Simulator shows the fireball, shock wave and cloud of Davy Crockett at real scale, over Paris, London or New York, with the sources and reliability of each value.
Sources
- Davy Crockett (nuclear device) — Wikipedia (overview, to be cross-checked)
Other weapons
- Trinity — 25 kt
- Little Boy — 15 kt
- Fat Man — 21 kt
- RDS-1 — 22 kt
- Hurricane — 25 kt
- RDS-6s — 400 kt
- Gerboise Bleue — 70 kt
- 596 — 22 kt
- Ivy Mike — 10.4 Mt
- Castle Bravo — 15 Mt
- RDS-37 — 1.6 Mt
- Mk 17 — 15 Mt
This application is an educational tool. The animations and effect zones are simplified representations meant to illustrate orders of magnitude. They are neither a prediction of the effects of a real weapon nor a military planning tool.