W79 Artillery-Fired Atomic Projectile

The W79 Artillery-Fired Atomic Projectile (AFAP),[1] also known as the XM753 (Atomic RA)[2][3] was an American nuclear artillery shell, capable of being fired from any NATO 8 in (203 mm) howitzer e.g. the M115 and M110 howitzer.[4] Produced in two models, the enhanced radiation W79 Mod 0 and fission-only W79 Mod 1. Both were a plutonium-based linear-implosion nuclear weapons.

  • The Mod 0 was a variable yield device with three yields, ranging from 100 tons of TNT (420 GJ) up to 1.1 kt (4.6 TJ) and an enhanced-radiation mode which could be turned on or off
  • The Mod 1 was fission with a fixed 0.8 kt (3.3 TJ), corresponding with the maximum fission only yield of the Mod 0
W79 AFAP on display (right)

Both models were 8 in (203 mm) in diameter, 44 in (1,100 mm) long and weighed 200 lb (91 kg) and was produced starting at least as early as 1976 and continuing into 1986. All units were retired from active service by the end of 1992 with the last shell dismantled at the Pantex Plant in Texas in August 2002.[5]

The W79 was developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, starting in 1975. Production of the different mods took place from July 1981 through August 1986. A total of 550 warheads (325 Mod 0s, 225 Mod 1s) were produced.[6]

See also

References
  1. W79 Artillery-Fired Atomic Projectile (AFAP)
  2. Henry E Hudgins (January 1977). Aerodynamics, Dimensions, Inertial Properties and Performance of Artillery Projectiles (PDF) (Report). Picatinny Arsenal. p. 4.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  3. Thomas B Cochran; William M Arkin; Milton M Hoenig (1984). Nuclear Weapons Databook, Volume I: US Nuclear Forces and Capabilities (PDF) (Report). Natural Resources Defense Council. p. 77.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  4. LLNL achievements in the 1970s
  5. Workers Dismantle Final U.S. Nuclear Artillery Shell
  6. Hansen, Chuck (2007). The Swords of Armageddon, version 2. Chukelea Publications. pp. VI-521, VI-522.
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