The history of British nuclear weapons is a fascinating story that has never been fully covered in print. It is an unusual mix of determination to develop indigenous designs, coupled with the realization that US development was advanced both in technology and scale.
Great Britain had some of the foremost physicists at the turn of the century, and British scientists played key roles in the development of the atomic bomb. However, Britain lacked the enormous infrastructure required in the mid-to-late 1940s to process weapons-grade materials in significant quantities, and weapons development lagged.
As a result, British nuclear weapons reflected contemporary US designs—but with a unique twist. One particularly interesting difference was the British practice of assigning colour-based code names rather than numerical designations. Names like Blue Bunny, Green Granite, and Indigo Hammer were all nuclear warhead designs that never entered service.
Blue Danube
The first British operational nuclear weapon, Blue Danube, was a 20 kt plutonium design similar to the US Mk 4.
However, while the US weapon was fitted into an improved Fat Man-style stubby casing, the UK warhead was housed inside a large, streamlined casing, with aerodynamic roots in the WWII Grand Slam bomb design.
This physically large weapon had a major influence on aircraft design, as it dictated bomb bay dimensions and load requirements for the V-bombers.
- Diameter: 60 inches
- Length: 24 feet
- Weight: 10,000 lb
Only about 20 units entered service beginning in 1953.