W56 warhead

E861281

The W56 warhead is a high-yield thermonuclear warhead developed by the United States during the Cold War, primarily deployed on Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missiles.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
W56 warhead canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf thermonuclear warhead ⓘ
classification ICBM warhead ⓘ
compatibleReentryVehicle Mk-11 reentry vehicle ⓘ
Mk-11C reentry vehicle ⓘ
countryOfOrigin United States ⓘ
deliverySystem ballistic missile ⓘ
intercontinental ballistic missile ⓘ
deployedWarheadCountPeak over 1000 units ⓘ
deploymentMode single-warhead ICBM ⓘ
deploymentPlatformType land-based ICBM ⓘ
deploymentRole strategic nuclear deterrent ⓘ
deploymentStart 1963 ⓘ
designedAt Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory ⓘ
designedBy Lawrence Radiation Laboratory ⓘ
designFeatures miniaturized thermonuclear design ⓘ
reentry vehicle integration ⓘ
designYield 1.2 megatons of TNT ⓘ
approximately 1.2 Mt ⓘ
developedBy United States ⓘ
developedFor LGM-30 Minuteman ⓘ
intercontinental ballistic missile ⓘ
enteredService mid-1960s ⓘ
era Cold War ⓘ
followedBy W78 warhead ⓘ
W87 warhead ⓘ
generation second-generation thermonuclear design ⓘ
governingProgram US nuclear weapons stockpile ⓘ
guidance none (carried by missile guidance system) ⓘ
nuclearWeaponType two-stage thermonuclear ⓘ
precededBy earlier high-yield ICBM warheads ⓘ
propulsion none (payload only) ⓘ
purpose strategic deterrence against Soviet Union ⓘ
retired 1993 ⓘ
retirementPeriod early 1990s ⓘ
safetyFeatures enhanced nuclear safety mechanisms ⓘ
serviceBranch United States Air Force ⓘ
status no longer deployed ⓘ
retired ⓘ
strategicUse counterforce targeting ⓘ
countervalue targeting ⓘ
treatyStatus removed from deployment prior to New START ⓘ
usedBy Strategic Air Command ⓘ
usedOnWeaponSystem LGM-30A Minuteman I ⓘ
LGM-30B Minuteman I ⓘ
LGM-30F Minuteman II ⓘ
linked to: Minuteman II ICBM
warheadFamily US strategic thermonuclear warheads ⓘ
yieldClass high-yield ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.