RDS-37 hydrogen bomb: characteristics, history

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The first decade after the Great Patriotic War (WWII) laid a heavy burden on the shoulders of the Soviet people. The restoration of industry, agriculture, the transition from martial law back to civil law took place under the gradually growing oppression of the arms race and the silent confrontation between the two great superpowers of that time: the USSR and the USA.

Engineering geniuses of both countries every year developed and embodied in metal more and more terrible weapons of mass destruction of people. In this chilling race, the Soviet Union broke into the lead even during the Second World War, and did not let go of its positions until the so-called "Caribbean Crisis". It was our country that first showed the world a two-stage thermonuclear hydrogen bomb with a capacity of more than 1 Mt, namely RDS-37.

New weapons

Engineering research to create a new super powerful hydrogen bomb began in the Soviet Union back in 1952 intop-secret and closed design bureau KB-11. However, the main development of theoretical studies and performance modeling did not begin until two years later.

In the same 1954, the greatest minds of that time joined the cause: Ya. B. Zeldovich and A. D. Sakharov. RDS-37 - a new generation hydrogen bomb - was supposed to say a completely new word in the military power of the Soviet Union. And already on May 31, 1955, the Minister of Medium Machine Building and Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Zavenyagin A. P. made a decision to approve the experimental scheme of the new weapon proposed by KB-11.

RDS-37, the abbreviation of which, according to various sources, sounds like: "Russia makes itself" or "Stalin's Jet Engine", but in fact it is "Special Jet Engine", got its start in life.

Development

Evolving from the RDS-3, the new technology took away the basic theoretical ideas of implosion, the so-called inward explosion, gravitational collapse. Some of the calculations were borrowed, among other things, from the RDS-6s, which was being developed in parallel with the superbomb, however, of a single-stage type, which was successfully tested in August 1953 at the Semipalatinsk test site.

The principle of hydrodynamic implosion of a two-stage charge was chosen as the basis for the RDS-37. Precisely calculating the sequential reaction mechanism was quite difficult at that time. The computing power of the early fifties cannot even be compared withexisting computer technology. Simulation of the compression mode of the secondary module, close to the spherically symmetric mode (implosion, from the English implosion - "internal explosion") was carried out on the domestic "supercomputer" of that time - on the Strela electronic computer.

Differences RDS-37

The characteristics of the new weapon were sacredly kept secret from ordinary people. Even today it is sometimes difficult to find reliable materials about its parameters. It is known for sure that the main difference between the new bomb was the use of uranium-238 isotope nuclei. The charge was made from lithium-6 deuterium, a very stable substance that precludes spontaneous detonation.

The energy of the secondary explosion, based on the principles of hydrodynamic implosion, should not have been lower than the energy of the primary explosion. Observers noted a double bang during the passage of the shock wave with a sound reminiscent of the strongest and sharp crack of a lightning discharge. The light emission was of such intensity that at a distance of three kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion, the paper instantly ignited and burned.

Polygon

To test the new RDS-37 thermonuclear bomb, the yield of which was estimated at approximately 3 Mt, the 2nd State Central Test Site (2 GCIP) was chosen in the closed city of Kurchatov, 130 km northwest of Semipalatinsk (the territory of modern Kazakhstan). In some maps and secret materials, this city was also designated as"Moscow-400", "Bereg" (the Irtysh River flows nearby), "Semipalatinsk-21", "Terminal" (by the name of the railway station), as well as "Moldary" (a village that became part of the city of Kurchatov). It was decided to halve the charge power during the tests, to approximately 1.6 Mt.

Preparation

To reduce the radiation impact on the surrounding infrastructure, it was decided to activate the RDS-37 charge at an altitude of 1500 meters above ground level. To reduce the detrimental effects of the explosion on the carrier aircraft, measures were taken to increase the distance and measures to reduce the thermal impact on it. The Tu-16 was chosen as the carrier aircraft. The varnish was washed off the lower part of the fuselage, all dark surfaces were painted over in white, seals were replaced with more fire-resistant ones. The bomb itself was equipped with a parachute to reduce the exit to the planned explosion height.

The Soviet Union prepared very carefully for the test of the new RDS-37 bomb. The tests were carried out in a closed airspace, the carrier aircraft was guarded by MiG-17 fighters, flight and equipment control was carried out from the command posts of the aircraft.

Several Il-28s were specially allocated for taking air samples from the consequences of the explosion and monitoring the movement of the radioactive cloud. November 20, 1955, in the morning, at 9:30 o'clock, the plane with a bomb mounted on special hangers started from the Zhana-Semey airfield. However, things did not go as planned.

Emergency

For the summaryThe chief meteorologist of the country E. K. Fedorov personally answered the weather forecast for the time of testing. The day was supposed to be clear and sunny. However, nature had its own plans for this. During an idle approach to the target, the weather deteriorated, and the sky was overcast with clouds. It was decided to carry out guidance on the radar installation on board the aircraft, but it also failed. The center sent only one command to all dispatcher requests: "Wait".

A serious emergency has occurred. There has never been an emergency landing of an aircraft with a thermonuclear bomb on board. The Center considered various options, including the release of the RDS-37 far from populated areas in the mountains, in the "NOT EXPLOSION" mode, that is, without initiating a nuclear explosion of the charge. For various reasons, they were all rejected.

When the fuel was already almost at zero, the plane was allowed to land. This was done only after Zeldovich and Sakharov personally signed a written conclusion on the safety of landing an aircraft with a hydrogen bomb on board.

Explosion

Two days later, the tests were successfully carried out. An RDS-37 was successfully dropped from a carrier aircraft at an altitude of 12 km, which exploded at an altitude of 1550 m. Moving at a speed of 870 km / h, the Tu-16 was already at a distance of 15 km from the epicenter of the explosion, but the shock wave reached it exactly through 224 seconds. The crew felt a strong thermal effect on exposed areas of the body.

7 minutes after the RDS-37 explosion, the diameter of the "mushroom" reached 30 km, and its heightwas 14 km.