After the United States and the USSR developed the first nuclear bombs, the development of this type of weapon went in two directions. The first of them consisted in "weighting" - an increase in power and the creation of new delivery vehicles, which ultimately led to the emergence of strategic ballistic missiles and charges, whose destructive capabilities are beyond common sense. The second way, now half-forgotten, is to reduce the size and power of nuclear devices. In the United States, this path culminated in the creation of a system called "Davy Crockett" and firing small nuclear missiles.
The only possible delivery vehicle for the first nuclear bombs developed in the USA and the USSR in the 40s of the 20th century was heavy bomber aircraft. Meanwhile, the military dreamed of getting their hands on nuclear weapons that could be used in the field, without the use of heavy aircraft. For this, the dimensions of the bombs had to be significantly reduced. Already in the late 1950s, significant progress was noted in this area. The first nuclear weapons appeared, which were able to be placed inside an artillery shell.
At the same time, the first nuclear cannons were clumsy and cumbersome enough to be used with sufficient efficiency during hostilities. Instead of dragging huge artillery systems to combat positions, which were necessary to launch shells weighing a ton, it was much easier to use conventional bombers. However, by the beginning of the 1960s, the size of nuclear charges was reduced so much that they could be fired from ordinary field howitzers. It was then that nuclear weapons became a full-fledged part of a tactical type of weapons.
The Davy Crockett recoilless gun, created in the USA in 1961, became the limit of minimization and simplicity of the ever created nuclear artillery systems. This development was based on a primitive recoilless gun that fired projectiles developed on the basis of the W-54 nuclear warhead. The use of a recoilless design significantly reduced the firing range, while allowing you to completely get rid of recoil, making the gun stable, high-speed and fairly easy to use.
Davy Crockett (American politician and military leader who lived in the 19th century and became a folk hero) is the ultimate expression of the tendency to saturate the ground forces with tactical nuclear weapons. In fact, it was a battalion-level tactical nuclear weapon. 2 of these guns were included in the motorized infantry and airborne battalions. This weapon system consisted of two launchers - M28 and M29 and an M388 over-caliber projectile. The projectile had a caliber of 279 mm and a weight of about 34 kg, its adjustable power ranged from 0.01 to 0.25 kilotons. The projectile could be used in both installations. The main damaging factor of this nuclear weapon was penetrating radiation.
The M28 and M29 launchers differed in caliber. The first had a caliber of 120 mm., The second - 155 mm, they also differed in weight - 49 and 180 kg. and a firing range of 2 km and 4 km, respectively. The lighter installation - M28 - was intended primarily for arming the airborne units. At the same time, the outwardly attractive system had a number of fatal flaws. In particular, low firing accuracy (dispersion when firing from the M29 at the maximum range reached about 300 meters), insufficient range, and, as a result, a high probability of hitting its own troops. This was the reason that the system, which was put into service in 1961, lasted only 10 years in the army and was withdrawn from service in 1971.
In appearance, the shells for installation most of all resembled an oblong melon with small stabilizers. With dimensions of 78 by 28 cm and a weight of 34 kilograms, the projectile was too large to fit inside the barrel. Therefore, it was attached to the end of a metal rod extending into the barrel. The 120-mm installation made it possible to throw such a "melon" for 2 km, and the 155-mm analogue for 4 km. At the same time, the system was easily installed on any movable chassis, including an army jeep. If necessary, the crew could quickly enough dismantle the gun from the vehicle and put it on a tripod.
Under the main barrel of the recoilless gun, a 37-mm gun was attached, serving as a sighting gun. It was necessary to calculate the trajectory of the shot (after all, you can't really target with nuclear shells). Of course, the spread when firing at long distances could exceed 200 meters, but this was compensated by the power of the charge and the penetrating radiation. Immediately after the shot, the crew had to hide in the nearest folds of the terrain or in pre-dug trenches in order to protect themselves from the damaging factors of a nearby nuclear explosion. The detonation of the bomb was carried out using a timer, which had to be set before firing in such a way that the tactical ammunition exploded while still in the air, being over the target. This significantly increased the lethality.
Less than one minute after the shot, the projectile was detonated over the affected area. Today, little is known about the internal structure of this projectile, but, most likely, it contained a 12-kg piece of plutonium in a beryllium sheath. When detonating, a special explosive charge, using carefully calculated shock waves, created a cavity in the center of the plutonium charge and pressed the radioactive material, starting a nuclear reaction. The beryllium coating increased the effectiveness of the weapon by reflecting the generated neutrons back into the work area, allowing them to fission as many nuclei as possible. This growing chain reaction generated tremendous energy.
Every person within a radius of 400 meters from the epicenter of the explosion of this charge almost inevitably died. Those who found themselves within a radius of 150 meters received such a dose of radiation that they died within minutes or hours, even if they were under the cover of tank armor. People located at a distance of 300 meters from the epicenter experienced bouts of nausea and temporary weakness, which passed quickly enough, but this was a deceptive phenomenon, after a few days they would die a painful death. Those fortunate enough to be more than 400 meters away had the best chance of survival, but many of them would require intensive treatment, and some would never be able to get rid of their wounds. Individuals more than 500 meters from the epicenter would be lucky enough to avoid most of the damaging factors of the explosion, but the subsequent mutation of their DNA could eventually lead to the development of cancer.
The timers used to equip the shells of the Davy Crockett recoilless gun made it possible to detonate even at a distance of 300 meters from the launch point, in which case the calculation of the gun itself perished. But such an application was considered only as a last resort. It was planned to meet the approaching troops of the Warsaw Pact member states at a distance of 1.5 km, which excluded the possibility of hitting the gun crew with radiation. Even if the inaccuracy of the installation led to insignificant losses among the enemy troops, radioactive contamination of the terrain would make it impassable for a period of at least 48 hours, which would give the NATO armed forces time to mobilize and regroup.
The main purpose of the "Davy Crockett" was to confront the Soviet tank columns, which, according to Western strategists, could attack Western Europe at the beginning of the Third World War. These recoilless guns were equipped with special battle groups that were on duty at the borders of the Warsaw Pact countries in the period from 61 to 71 years of the last century. In total, about 2,000 of these guns were deployed throughout Europe. However, in the early 1970s, the parties came to the conclusion that full-scale hostilities between them were apparently impossible, and small nuclear charges quickly lost their significance. All this led to the decline of Davy Crockett, while conventional weapons were quite enough for waging wars in the third world.
In addition to being the smallest nuclear device ever built in the United States, Davy Crockett was also the last nuclear weapon ever tested in the atmosphere. An experimental pilot launch in 1962, carried out in the Nevada desert, confirmed the effectiveness of the idea inherent in it. With a destructive capacity of 20 tons in TNT equivalent and the size of a melon, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to bypass this munition in terms of destruction efficiency per 1 cubic centimeter of volume. At the same time, even such a small ammunition could trigger such a chain reaction that could lead to the complete extinction of humanity.
