US Air Force Museum - Cold War - Convair B-36J Peacemaker / 08 Mk17 Thermonuclear Bomb
Bill Maloney
2/3/2007

Previous Home Next

08 Mk17 Thermonuclear Bomb

08 Mk-17 Thermonuclear Bomb

Mk 17 Thermonuclear Bomb:

Length: 24 feet, 8 inches
Diameter: 5 feet, 4 inches
Weight: 42,000lbs
Weight of Fissionable Plutonium:
Explosive Yield: 10-15 Megatons
Configuration: Plutonium implosion bomb primary stage, lithium deuteride second stage
Delivery Method: Convair B-36, Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, airburst or ground contact fuse retarded by one 64 foot parachute
Est. # of Mk 17 Nuclear Weapons Produced: 200
Production Date: 1954-1955, Retired from service in 1956

Seeing it in person you can only think This is One Big Honking Bomb!