Mark 14 nuclear bomb

The bomb is often listed as the TX-14 (for "experimental") or EC-14 (for "Emergency Capability"). It has also been referred to as the "Alarm Clock" device though it has nothing to do with the design by the same name proposed earlier by Edward Teller and known as the Sloika in the Soviet Union. The fusion fuel used by the bomb was 95% enriched Lithium isotope 6 lithium deuteride, which at the time was a scarce resource, this scarcity being chiefly responsible for its limited deployment. The Castle Bravo test showed that unenriched Lithium isotope 7 functioned as well for nuclear fusion reactions as isotope 6. The Mk-14 bomb had a diameter of 61.4 inch and a length of 222 in. They weighed between 28950 and, and used a 64 ft parachute. The version tested at Castle Union used a RACER IV primary. 5 Mt of its total yield came from fission, making it a very "dirty" weapon.

• Name — Mark 14 nuclear bomb • Type — Thermonuclear gravity bomb • Origin — United States • Is Explosive — yes • Service — 1954-1956 • Wars — Cold War • Designer — Los Alamos National Laboratory • Design Date — 1954 • Production Date — Feb-Oct 1954 • Number — 5 • Detonation — Air burst • Yield — MtTNT (deployed Mk-14) MtTNT (Castle Union test device) • Illustration — A test device in a Mark 14 casing during Operation Castle, possibly the Castle Union test of the Mark 14 design. • Illustration — The Castle Union test of the Mark 14 design.