Mk 101 Lulu

Last updated
Mk-101 Lulu NDB (Nuclear Depth Bomb). Mk-101 Lulu NDB.jpg
Mk-101 Lulu NDB (Nuclear Depth Bomb).

The Mark 101 Lulu was an airdropped nuclear depth charge developed by the United States Navy and the Atomic Energy Commission during the 1950s. It carried a W34 nuclear warhead, with an explosive yield of about 11 kilotons. It was deployed by the U.S. Navy for the purposes of antisubmarine warfare, in at least five different models, from 1958 through 1971. These nuclear weapons were also stockpiled overseas at the bases of NATO allies, under American military guard and control, for the potential use by maritime patrol planes of NATO. Thus was most notable at the air base of RAF St. Mawgan in Cornwall, for potential use by British Avro Shackleton patrol planes and the Royal Netherlands Navy's P-2 Neptune and P-3 Orion patrol planes. Neither the Lulu nor any other kind of nuclear antisubmarine or antiship weapon was ever used in combat by any country.

Contents

The Mk-101 "Lulu" started to be replaced by the multipurpose B57 nuclear bomb during the mid-1960s. The B-57 was a bomb that could be used by tactical aircraft against land targets, as well as a nuclear depth charge. [1]

The Mk-101 "Lulu" had a length of 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m), diameter of 1 ft 6 in (46 cm), and weighed 1,200 lb (540 kg). In RAF service for carriage by Shackleton MR2 and MR3 maritime patrol bombers it was known as Bomb, AS, 1200 lb, MC.

The Lulu lacked an important safety/arming device: it had no sensors to detect the freefall from an aircraft that would follow from the depth charge's being intentionally dropped. As a result, if an armed Mk 101 bomb accidentally fell off an aircraft while it was parked on the deck of a warship, and then it rolled overboard, it would detonate at the preset depth. [2]

The weapon's W34 nuclear warhead was also used in several other weapons such as the Mark 45 torpedo and Mk 105 Hotpoint. An Anglicanised version, codenamed "Peter", was used as the primary for the thermonuclear Yellow Sun weapon, and with the codename Python in the American B28 nuclear bomb.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RUR-5 ASROC</span> Anti-submarine missile system

The RUR-5 ASROC is an all-weather, all sea-conditions anti-submarine missile system. Developed by the United States Navy in the 1950s, it was deployed in the 1960s, updated in the 1990s, and eventually installed on over 200 USN surface ships, specifically cruisers, destroyers, and frigates. The ASROC has been deployed on scores of warships of many other navies, including Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Republic of China, Greece, Pakistan and others.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawker Siddeley Nimrod</span> Maritime patrol aircraft family by Hawker Siddeley, later British Aerospace

The Hawker Siddeley Nimrod is a retired maritime patrol aircraft developed and operated by the United Kingdom. It was an extensive modification of the de Havilland Comet, the world's first operational jet airliner. It was originally designed by de Havilland's successor firm, Hawker Siddeley; further development and maintenance work was undertaken by Hawker Siddeley's own successor companies, British Aerospace and, later, BAE Systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Depth charge</span> Anti-submarine weapon

A depth charge is an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon. It is intended to destroy a submarine by being dropped into the water nearby and detonating, subjecting the target to a powerful and destructive hydraulic shock. Most depth charges use high explosive charges and a fuze set to detonate the charge, typically at a specific depth. Depth charges can be dropped by ships, patrol aircraft, and helicopters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avro Shackleton</span> British long-range maritime patrol aircraft

The Avro Shackleton is a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) which was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the South African Air Force (SAAF). It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber, which itself had been a development of the famous wartime Avro Lancaster bomber.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maritime patrol aircraft</span> Military aircraft designed to reconnoiter oceans and other bodies of water

A maritime patrol aircraft (MPA), also known as a patrol aircraft, maritime reconnaissance aircraft, maritime surveillance aircraft, or by the older American term patrol bomber, is a fixed-wing aircraft designed to operate for long durations over water in maritime patrol roles — in particular anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-ship warfare (AShW), and search and rescue (SAR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WE.177</span> Free-fall gravity nuclear bomb

The WE.177, originally styled as WE 177, and sometimes simply as WE177, was a series of tactical and strategic nuclear weapons with which the Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Air Force (RAF) were equipped. It was the primary air-dropped nuclear weapon in the United Kingdom from the late 1960s into the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Beard (nuclear weapon)</span> British tactical nuclear weapon

Red Beard was the first British tactical nuclear weapon. It was carried by Royal Air Force (RAF) English Electric Canberra medium bombers and the V bomber force and by Supermarine Scimitars, de Havilland Sea Vixens, and Blackburn Buccaneers of the Royal Navy's (RN) Fleet Air Arm (FAA). Developed to Operational Requirement OR.1127, it was introduced in 1961, entered service in 1962. It was replaced by the WE.177 in the early 1970s and was withdrawn from service in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B57 nuclear bomb</span> Tactical, Free fall, Nuclear Weapon

The B57 nuclear bomb was a tactical nuclear weapon developed by the United States during the Cold War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ilyushin Il-38</span> Soviet-Russian Maritime patrol & ASW aircraft

The Ilyushin Il-38 "Dolphin" is a maritime patrol aircraft and anti-submarine warfare aircraft designed in the Soviet Union. It was a development of the Ilyushin Il-18 turboprop transport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Netherlands and weapons of mass destruction</span>

Although the Netherlands does not have weapons of mass destruction made by itself, the country participates in NATO's nuclear weapons sharing arrangements and trains for delivering US nuclear weapons. These weapons were first stored in the Netherlands in 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark 7 nuclear bomb</span> Nuclear bomb

Mark 7 "Thor" was the first tactical fission bomb adopted by US armed forces. It was also the first weapon to be delivered using the toss method with the help of the low-altitude bombing system (LABS). The weapon was tested in Operation Buster-Jangle. To facilitate external carry by fighter-bomber aircraft, Mark 7 was fitted with retractable stabilizer fins. The Mark 7 warhead (W7) also formed the basis of the 30.5 inches (775 mm) BOAR rocket, the Mark 90 Betty nuclear depth charge, MGR-1 Honest John rocket, and MGM-5 Corporal ballistic missile. It was also supplied for delivery by Royal Air Force Canberra aircraft assigned to NATO in Germany under the command of SACEUR. This was done under the auspices of Project E, an agreement between the United States and the UK on the RAF carriage of US nuclear weapons. In UK use it was designated 1,650 lb. H.E. M.C. The Mark 7 was in service from 1952 to 1967(8) with 1700–1800 having been built.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-submarine warfare</span> Branch of naval warfare

Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations are typically carried out to protect friendly shipping and coastal facilities from submarine attacks and to overcome blockades.

According to researcher Chuck Hansen, the W34 Python was a gas-boosted fission primary used in several designs of American thermonuclear weapons.

The W34 was an American nuclear bomb developed and deployed during the mid-1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark 90 nuclear bomb</span>

The Mark 90 nuclear bomb, given the nickname "Betty", was a cold war nuclear depth charge, developed by the United States in 1952.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuclear depth bomb</span> Nuclear weapon for use underwater

A nuclear depth bomb is the nuclear equivalent of a conventional depth charge, and can be used in anti-submarine warfare for attacking submerged submarines. The Royal Navy, Soviet Navy, and United States Navy had nuclear depth bombs in their arsenals at one point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Project E</span> Cold War project for the US to provide the UK with nuclear weapons

Project E was a joint project between the United States and the United Kingdom during the Cold War to provide nuclear weapons to the Royal Air Force (RAF) until sufficient British nuclear weapons became available. It was subsequently expanded to provide similar arrangements for the British Army of the Rhine. A maritime version of Project E known as Project N provided nuclear depth bombs used by the RAF Coastal Command.

A nuclear torpedo is a torpedo armed with a nuclear warhead. The idea behind the nuclear warheads in a torpedo was to create a much bigger explosive blast. Later analysis suggested that smaller, more accurate, and faster torpedoes were more efficient and effective.

The Mark 105 Hotpoint was an airdropped nuclear bomb developed for the United States Navy using the 11 kiloton W34 warhead. It was developed in the 1950s as the first nuclear bomb purposely designed for laydown delivery but could also be used for airburst or as a depth charge. The laydown mechanism utilized both a retarding parachute to slow its descent, a nose cone that is ejected by a small explosive charge prior to impact, and a reinforced steel "cookie cutter" nose that absorbs the shock of impact with the ground. Detonation occurred via a time delay system which could be adjusted depending on intended use. The bomb was 8 to 12 feet long depending on how it was carried, 19 inches (48 cm) in diameter, and weighed 1,700 pounds (770 kg). The bomb was deployed from 1958 to 1965.

The Naval Weapons Evaluation Facility (NWEF) operated through the Cold War investigating aircraft-weapon interfaces to provide United States Navy aircraft with nuclear weapons delivery capability.

References

Notes

  1. "Comments and Corrections: Ask Infoser". Warship International. 52 (4): 294–303. 2015. ISSN   0043-0374. JSTOR   44893540.
  2. TNA AVIA 65/2082 Proceedings of the Ordnance Board in Joint Session with the Aeroplane and Armament Experimental Establishment

Bibliography