What are the top 10 most powerful nuclear bombs?

Answer 1

10. Mark 27/W27

Built for the US Navy SSM-N-8 Regulus cruise missile, the W27 was a 2 megaton nuclear device. There were 700 built.

9. Chinese DF-3A

The Donfeng 3A was a single stage, liquid fueled, medium range nuclear missile with a blast yield of 3.3 mt.

8. Chinese Dongfeng 5

The DF 5 missile carried 6 MIRV warheads of 4-5 mt., was a three stage liquid fueled missile that took about an hour to prepare for launch.

7. W-39/TX-15-X3

The W-39 was an improved model of the Mark 15, was in service from 1957 to 1966, and had a yield of 3.9 mt.

6. Mark 36

The Mark 36 was an improved version of the Mark 21. A two stage thermonuclear device, the Mark 36 had a yield of 10 mt., with 920 built.

5. Mark 24/EC24

The Mark 24 was the result of the Castle Yankee nuclear tests and resulted in the EC24, the largest sized and heaviest device ever built for the US arsenal. Only five EC24s were stockpiled until 1956, but the Mark 24 remained in the arsenal from 1954 to 1056 with 105 built. The Mark 24 had a test yield of 13 mt. but was rated at 10-15 mt.

4. Soviet 8F675 (Mod2) 20 megaton warhead for R-36M2 / SS-18 Satan ICBM

All that is known in the west of the Model 2 warhead is the yield and delivery system. While at its height, the USSR maintained an arsenal of several hundred SS-18 Voyevoda missiles, only about five remained deployed as of 2006.

3. Mark 17 & improved Mark 21

Around 20 Mark 17s and 150 Mark 21s were built. Both bombs had an approximate yield of 25 mt.

2. Mark 41

Based on the B-34 Bassoon device, the Mark 41 was the largest nuclear weapon in the US arsenal, with a blast yield of 25 mt. The US claimed the yield could be increased to approximately 35 mt., and proposed mating them to the top of a Titan II missile. About 500 Mark 41s were built.

1. Tsar Bomba (AN602 Hydrgen Bomb)

The largest nuclear device ever detonated was the Tsar Bomba of the former Soviet Union. The yield of this nuclear weapon was intended to be 100 megatons, and the Soviets claimed to built at least two, but was reduced to 57 megatons for the test, to protect the drop plane and reduce fallout. Tested on 30 October 1961, in the Novaya Zemlyaarchipelago, at Sukhoy Nos, this was the only detonation of a Tsar Bomba.