Posted on 08/12/2012 3:45:46 PM PDT by moonshot925
I used to wonder for years about the smoke trails, then read that they were to get a reading on shock waves. There are actually two shock waves of interest to weaponeers figuring out optimum burst height, an air wave and ground wave. These join up and interesting things happen. The smoke gives them an idea what is going on.
At 15-20 kt, it would have made a hell of a shore bombardment.
Andlele, andele! Vamos muchachos.......
Cheers!
As many have answered here, they are markers to help gauge the yield.
More significantly, back in those days, say early 50s, guys like Feshbach and Morse out of MIT were considered experts in “Acoustics”. Acoustics was the 50’s buzzword for studying atmospheric phenomenon associated with atomic/nuclear blasts. While much could be calculated, the clouds and trails provided hard evidence of how the detonations actually effected the physical domain.
Explosions tend to be many rates of reaction occuring in very short periods of time, with the products of one reaction also effecting subsequent reactions, with many having exponentially rapid rates of reaction.
While theoretical calculations indicated what blast yields might evolve, it wasn’t known if other rates of reaction of targeted areas wouldn’t exponentially further the initial detonation. Nor was it clearly known how the atmosphere at various elevations, temps and pressures might react to the event.
This became more prolific with thermonuclear tests. I had read some at the Bikini tests had posited the detonation could trigger a self sustaining reaction consuming all the planet’s oxygen, though not shown to be the case.
Cheers!
Yes. Development began in 1952 and the first W23 projectile was delivered in 1956. A total of 50 were produced. USS Iowa, USS New Jersey and USS Wisconsin had an alteration made to Turret II magazine to incorporate a secure storage area for these projectiles(USS Missouri was decommissioned in 1955 which is why she was not altered). This meant that an Iowa class battleship could fire several Hiroshima sized weapons to a range of up to 23 miles and have them hit target very accurately.
My LANCE battalion was part of that group when I was in West Germany, well after the time Atomic Annie had been sent to the Field Artillery Museum at Fort Sill OK. The article doesn't state but the cannon follow-ons for the group were the 8" howitzer and the 175mm gun. The rocket/missile units were Honest John and Sergeant. My battalion converted from the Sergeant system about 5 years before I got there.
That gif has me laughing!
Love to know how fuzing was done and adjusted........
She might also be remembered for ending Goldwater's chances at the presidency. I think this is what he meant by "tactical nuclear weapons" that he might be willing to unleash in Vietnam. That made a lot of people's jaws drop. Barry's penchant for speaking his mind in those days might have been just a bit injudicious.
He might have lost anyway; but I think this issue made it a nuclear defeat.
I laugh every time I look at it :)
I had a toy one in the fifties. It was one of the best toys I ever had because not only did it have the cannon which shot a 2”-3” projectile a good 80’, but it also came with the two trucks (front and back) that transported it. Three toys in one. When my mother discovered that I was shooting cars that passed the house she took the rubber tipped projectiles and hid them from me. I then discovered it would shoot sticks or arrows just as effectively. With the two tractors, the whole thing was about three feet long and I think it was made by the Marx Toy Company.
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