Nuclear artillery

Nuclear artillery is a subset of limited-yield tactical nuclear weapons, in particular those weapons that are launched from the ground at battlefield targets. Nuclear artillery is commonly associated with shells delivered by a cannon, but in a technical sense short-range artillery rockets or tactical ballistic missiles are also included.

The development of nuclear artillery was part of a broad push by nuclear weapons countries to develop nuclear weapons which could be used tactically against enemy armies in the field (as opposed to strategic uses against cities, military bases, and heavy industry). Nuclear artillery was both developed and deployed by a small group of states, including the United States, the Soviet Union, and France. The United Kingdom planned and partially developed such weapon systems (the Blue Water missile and the Yellow Anvil artillery shell) but did not put them into production.

A second group of states has derivative association with nuclear artillery. These nations fielded artillery units trained and equipped to use nuclear weapons, but did not control the devices themselves. Instead, the devices were held by embedded custodial units of the developing countries. These custodial units retained control of the nuclear weapons until they were released for use in a crisis. This second group has included such North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) countries as Belgium, Canada, West Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, and the United Kingdom.

Today, nuclear artillery has been almost entirely replaced with mobile tactical ballistic missile launchers, carrying missiles with nuclear warheads.

United States developments resulted in nuclear weapons for various artillery systems. After the short-lived M65 Atomic Cannon, standard howitzers were used. Delivery systems include, in approximate order of development:

The first artillery test was on May 25, 1953, at the Nevada Test Site. Fired as part of Operation Upshot–Knothole and codenamed Shot GRABLE, a 280 mm (11 inch) shell with a gun-type fission warhead was fired 10,000 m (6.2 miles) and detonated 160 m (525 ft) above the ground with an estimated yield of 15 kilotons. This was the only nuclear artillery shell ever actually fired in the world. The shell was 1,384 mm (4.5 ft) long and weighed 365 kg (805 lb). It was fired from a special, very large artillery piece, nicknamed "Atomic Annie", built by the Artillery Test Unit of Fort Sill, Oklahoma. About 3,200 soldiers and civilians were present. The warhead was designated the W9 nuclear warhead and 80 were produced in 1952 to 1953 for the T-124 shell. It was retired in 1957.

Development work continued and resulted in the W19, a 280 mm shell, a longer version of the W9. Only 80 warheads were produced and the system was retired in 1963 coinciding with the introduction of the W48 warhead.

The W48 was 846 mm (33.3 in) long and weighed 58 kg (128 lb); it was in a 155 mm M-45 AFAP (artillery fired atomic projectile) for firing from standard 155 mm howitzer. The fission warhead was a linear implosion type, consisting of a long cylinder of subcritical fissile material which is compressed and shaped by explosive into a supercritical sphere. The W48 yielded an explosive force of just 100 tons of TNT.