This is an unflown Mark 4 reentry vehicle (RV) used on U.S. Air Force Titan I and Atlas E/F intercontinental ballistic missiles that were deployed in the early 1960s. It carried a W-38 nuclear warhead. The size and weight of nuclear warheads had to be reduced before they could be carried by long-range missiles. The nuclear warhead for the Titan I ICBM yielded a blast 250 times more powerful than the one that destroyed Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.

Photographer:

Mark Avino

ID#:

NASM2018-00918

Credit:

Photo by Mark Avino, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM2018-00918)

Source:

National Air and Space Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution

Copyright/Owner:

Smithsonian Institution

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