The RDS-2 (Russian: РДС-2) was the second atomic bomb developed by the Soviet Union as an improved version of the RDS-1. It included new explosive lenses along with a new core design to decrease the probability of pre-detonation or 'fizzle'.[1] The RDS-2 weighed approximately 3,200 kilograms (7,055 lb) and had a diameter of 1.25 m.[a][2] The RDS-2 was tested on September 24, 1951 and produced a 38.3 kiloton yield. It was detonated from the top of a tower thirty meters high. The detonation was controlled by a bomber flying over the testing site instead of the detonation being controlled by a ground control center.
See also
Notes
- ^ RDS-2 and RDS-3 differed only in nuclear core, hence similar weight and diameter
References
Citations
Bibliography
- Bukharin, Oleg; Von Hippel, Frank (2001). Podvig, Pavel Leonardovich (ed.). Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Cambridge Massachusetts: The MIT Press. ISBN 9780262162029.
- Andryushin, I.A.; Chernyshev, A.K.; Udin, Yu.A. (2003). УКРОЩЕНИЕ ЯДРА [Nuclear taming] (PDF) (in Russian). Sarov: Red October. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 31, 2018.
- "РДС-27" [RDS-27] (in Russian). 20 March 2013. Archived from the original on January 3, 2019.
- "РДС-2 (1946 г., проект)" [RDS-1 / product 501]. Military Russia (in Russian). Archived from the original on April 10, 2018.
- "РДС-1 / изделие 501" [RDS-2 (1946, project)]. Military Russia (in Russian). Archived from the original on April 24, 2018.