Black Dog A72037 ATOM BOMB MARK 41/B-41

Mark 41 (another designation: B41 nuclear bomb) was an American free-fall thermonuclear (hydrogen) aircraft bomb. The weapon entered service in the early 1960s. The weight of the bomb was about 4.85 tons, its length was 3.76 meters, with a diameter of about 1.3 meters. The detonation force of the Mark 41 bomb was estimated at a maximum of 25 MT. The bomb remained in the line in 1961-1976. In total, about 500 bombs of this type were created. Design work on the Mark 41 bomb began in 1955, and from 1956, it was very clearly based on conclusions drawn from a series of atomic tests codenamed Operation Redwing. At the time of its introduction, the Mark 41 bomb was the most powerful hydrogen weapon in the US military's arsenal, and it is also often assumed that it was one of the most powerful hydrogen bombs in active service in the 1960s in the world. The main carriers of this powerful weapon were the B-52 Stratofortress and B-47 Stratojet strategic bombers. As a curiosity, it can be noted that although the Mark 41 bomb entered service in 1961, as early as 1963 it began to be successively replaced by the Mark 53 (B-53) bomb!