Fair enough–I’m just thinking local mods are not the best idea when dealing with things like nukes (and airplanes, FTM). I mean, if you only get a 299 megaton burst instead of the expected 300 MTs because of your little brazed piece of artistry in the nosecone of the nuke, well then good job, traitor. 
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Actually they only had a big enough budget to buy three rolls of red tape, and even then accounting wouldn’t spring for the name brand stuff.
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Perhaps you mean 300kT. The largest thermonuclear device ever developed by the soviets was Tsar Bomba–which yielded 50-58 MT. The largest bomb detonated by the US was the 25 MT Mk 41 bomb;
US Bombs/Warheads in active service include
w62–170 kt
w76–100 kt
w78–335-250 kt
w80-1–5 kt, 170-200 kt (variable, or “dial a yield”, perhaps the low end arises from only detonating the primary)
w80-2–5 kt, 150-170 kt (variable)
w87-300 kt
w88-475 kt
b83–variable, up to 1.2 Mt
I suppose the planners decided that strategic value lay in weapons that were small enough to fit on MIRVed ballistic missiles, and not in 10,000 pound bombs dropped by slow moving aircraft.
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Certainly quite possible(or at least merged, aquired, divested, and merged again). Still no excuse for not looking up a suitable replacement and stocking that(even something modestly esoteric like some fiddly non-sparking torque wrench should have another source); but it’s entirely possible that just hitting harbor freight isn’t sufficient.
Mostly I was being snarky as I don’t honestly believe a brazed screw inside any particular warhead is going to shave off a kiloton or megaton or fuckton of the final yield. It was an arbitrary number I (obviously) pulled out of the air, but I appreciate the information nonetheless. It’s good to know how much we can kill the shit out of the planet…
I’d also like to note that your “numbers” make no mention of the Doomsday Machine.
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Nuclear literacy, however distasteful it might seem is still important
From the linked article, on the design of the hydrogen bomb.
Secrecy itself, especially the power of few designated “experts” to declare some topics off limits, contributes to a political climate in which the nuclear establishment can conduct business as usual, protecting and perpetuating the production of those horror weapons.
In the 1950s, the UK War Office had developed plans to emplace atomic bombs in Germany, in order to thwart Soviet invasion forces. But the bombs were not high yield devices,
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Again, you’ll have to forgive my snark–I completely agree about the necessity of that information. I think I first heard from Dr. Sagan the idea that civilizations like ours stand a good chance of destroying ourselves through war before being able to put our best technologies towards reaching out to the stars (among many other things, of course).
I spent time in the USAF, and some of that time was expended working on the tanker fleet that was intended to refuel B-52s (primarily) and other bombers on their way to drop their nukes on Russia*. I’ve spent time sitting on an alert pad with an aircraft that was entirely ready to help destroy the world, and every time that klaxon went off, a sizeable chunk of my mind was occupied with the possibility that this time might be the last. Scared the shit out of me, to say the least, and it gave me a healthy respect for Dr. Sagan’s words.
*And it always made me laugh when the mission briefers would talk about our landing spot being different from where we launched, because our base was likely to be targeted. As though the whole damned US wouldn’t be reduced to molten glass and ash.
Nukes actually aren’t that much dangerous, direct damage-wise. The bitch is in the destroyed infrastructure, following society collapse, and famines. (See the “Threads” movie for an artist vision.)
Aren’t the refueling boom operators paid handsomely for laying on their stomach and passing gas?
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In flight refueling is a thing of beauty.
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Heeee! That one is priceless!
(Todo: watch more MST3K.)
And I pay you back with this one:
The recording is lousy, probably from nonstabilized gramophone, but carries the message well.
Other Oscar Brand’s military music is also good.
(For more modern military stuff, try also Dos Gringos, e.g. “World War Three” or, perhaps the best, “JDAM Blues”, describing how fighter-bomber pilots feel about the GPS guided “smart munition”.)
Atomic war themed music can be acquired as the collection named “Atomic Platters - Cold War Music from the Golden Age of Homeland Security”,
…and a tangential honorary note of the in-flight refueling above Palomare that resulted in that international incident and deep-sea fishing expedition for a nuke… so well described in Barbara Moran - “The Day We Lost the H-Bomb - Cold War, Hot Nukes, and the Worst Nuclear Weapons Disaster in History”.
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you are confusing the wrench with the raunch 
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Ahhh… I see it contains my personal favorite of the genre! Always relevant for reposting at any occasion!
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Ugh. Loadmasters could, at least, help with things on the ground. Booms were like that one ugly rich kid who’s been let into the group only because he’d buy everyone beer. That said, they made for good canon fodder during poker games.
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The Soviets were slightly less competent
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Read “Command and Control” a scary dissertation about the USA nuclear deterrent, and check the “dropped wrench” story which nearly obliterated part of eastern USA
CWW
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I read that one. I strongly suggest it. Nom!
N2O4 is a fun stuff.
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