Talk:W80 (nuclear warhead)

message: I think the article would benefit from
* A mention of where the warheads were made (which facility) and by whom (which contractor)
* A link, or explanation of, what "supergrade" fuel is
* The numbers don't add up in the second-to-last paragraph.  I imagine this means the remaining warheads were retained as a reserve; if this is true, we should explicitly say that, and if possible say where.
* Other than the lower-than-expected yield experiment mentione in the article, did teh W80 program require any other nuclear tests?
-- Finlay McWalter |  Talk 13:27, August 12, 2005 (UTC)
: In answer to my first question, I guess the pits were made at Rocky Flats Plant and the whole bombs assembled at Pantex - as this seems to be the only way US nuclear weapons are made. -- Finlay McWalter |  Talk 13:49, August 12, 2005 (UTC)
++The W80 is probably a fission only weapon, an "atomic bomb", not a fusion weapon "hydrogen bomb".
:Looks like a hydrogen bomb to me, and all of the specs on it claim it is one. --Fastfission 14:20, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Please see the B61 nuclear bomb and B61 Family pages for more details about these family of weapons, including a declassified picture of the internal nuclear components (not the explosives, just the fission and fusion components) of a B61 bomb, which the W80's design is derived from.  It's clearly a two-stage fission-fusion bomb, and the variable yield options make it clear that the fission primary is boosted (about a 0.5 kt unboosted yield, about 10 kt boosted, and then you can fire the secondary or not).  See also the Nuclear Weapons FAQ at nuclearweaponarchive.org  Georgewilliamherbert 21:55, 12 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Need more info

message: The article BGM-109 Tomahawk lists a warhead option as the W80 with a 200 kt yield. - MSTCrow 06:14, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: According to this source (Cochran, Thomas, et al. Nuclear Weapons Databook, Volume I: US Nuclear Forces and Capabilities. NRDC/Ballinger: Cambridge, 1984.), the W80 yield was selectable, circa 200 kT. The book's footnotes quote Military Balance for the 200 kT figure, and note a claim of 250 kT from Aviation Week and Space Technology. Christopher Campbell's Nuclear Weapons Fact Book claims 200 kT. GlobalSecurity supports the 200 kT figure, as well. Basedc on this, I think it's reasonable to post 200 kT as the yield for the time being. Sacxpert 17:09, 22 August 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Contradiction 

message: I'd delete the word "small" in the first sentence "The W80 is a small thermonuclear warhead ...".
Generally as a nuclear weapon this could be considered "small", as in comparison to the nuclear bombs dropped on Japan measuring 3 or 3.3 meter in length the W80 with 0.8 meters is rather small. But as a "warhead" - head on a missle - I wouldn't know why this is considered "small". If this warhead is small, which warhead is then medium in size and which one is big? I don't know of any significantly larger warheads that would make the W80 to be considered "small". --Orangwiki (talk) 19:45, 28 May 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: If no one objects I will delete the word "small". Any objections? --Orangwiki (talk) 19:37, 2 July 2011 (UTC)
replies: text: Definitely smaller in comparison to russian warheads.Mphil1805 (talk) 20:15, 2 July 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  "small" thermonuclear warhead? 

message: Strictly speaking that object in the photo isn't a "physics package".  That would be the radioactive, explode-y assembly inside.  I think the outer case is called the "ballistic case"  (and it's rather likely that thing is an inert trainer anyway). 
Basesurge (talk) 05:54, 23 April 2014 (UTC)
thread_title: ...And another thing...

message: "Submarine crew members routinely operate in proximity to stored weapons in torpedo rooms, in contrast to the air force where exposure to warheads is relatively brief."
is dropped in without lead in or followup.   Dbrower (talk) 20:09, 25 June 2020 (UTC)
thread_title:  Submarine/Exposure seems to come out of nowhere, and not explained.