W59
| W59 | |
|---|---|
The Mark 5 Reentry Vehicle that housed the W59 warhead | |
| Type | Nuclear warhead |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1962 to 1969 |
| Used by | United States |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 550 pounds (250 kg) |
| Length | 47.8 inches (121 cm) |
| Width | 16.3 inches (41 cm) |
Detonation mechanism | Contact, airburst |
| Blast yield | 800 kilotonnes of TNT (3,300 TJ) |
The W59 was an American thermonuclear warhead used on some Minuteman I ICBM missiles from 1962 to 1969, and planned to be used on the cancelled GAM-87 Skybolt air-launched ballistic missile. A British development of the system using a new primary became the WE.177, which was widely used as an air-dropped weapon into the 1990s.