W54 - Hackdot

Re:W54 by metadat on Wednesday December 18, 2024 @12:26PM (#42452603)

Since the range of the W54 fired from a recoilless gun is only a mile or two, what does the operator who personally performed the firing do afterwards? Start driving away at a high rate of speed?

How can I find out the degree and risk of radioactive fallout from a warhead equivalent to 2 - 10,000 tons of TNT?

Maybe don't fire on a windy day from downwind..

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Re:W54 by itishappy on Wednesday December 18, 2024 @12:33PM (#42452685)

> Since the warhead also posed a threat to the crew firing it, the Army recommended that soldiers manning the Davy Crockett select firing positions in sheltered locations, such as the rear slope of a hill. Soldiers were also encouraged to keep their heads down to protect themselves from the warhead’s detonation.

https://armyhistory.org/the-m28m29-davy-crockett-nuclear-wea...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davy_Crockett_(nuclear_device)

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Re:W54 by jcgrillo on Wednesday December 18, 2024 @01:06PM (#42453091)

According to the nukemap calculator if you're ~1km away in the open you'd be fine, and firing from cover (e.g. behind a berm or hill) you could be as close as 200m away with hearing protection and make it out alive so long as you immediately run upwind.

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Re:W54 by me_me_me on Wednesday December 18, 2024 @12:36PM (#42452739)

ie. good luck, you will be remembered

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Re:W54 by imglorp on Wednesday December 18, 2024 @12:33PM (#42452684)

https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap

At 1kt (max for the W54?) most of the effects are under 1 km: eg the radiation radius is only 0.84 km. Looks like if you shoot 1 mile away up wind, take cover from the flash, and then run away upwind you'd be fine with some hearing protection.

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Re:W54 by metadat on Wednesday December 18, 2024 @12:39PM (#42452796)

Sorry to be a pedant, and I also want to confirm my understanding is correct (yes, I've attempted checking definitions, but.. :)

In this case I think firing the device upwind would be ill-advised, as then the fallout will be blowing back to you.

Edit: thank you for the correction @erikerikson! Noted, and best wishes!

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Re:W54 by erikerikson on Wednesday December 18, 2024 @12:44PM (#42452841)

You seem to have reversed the terms.

Being upwind means the wind is blowing away from you towards your target and proceeds past your target further away from you.

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Re:W54 by imglorp on Wednesday December 18, 2024 @01:36PM (#42453401)

Parent is right too, I mixed up one of them. I should have said: shoot toward s downwind and run away towards upwind.

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Re:W54 by erikerikson on Wednesday December 18, 2024 @01:38PM (#42453439)

Ah, indeed you did. My brain slipped over that, thank you for helping me see it.

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Re:W54 by openasocket on Wednesday December 18, 2024 @12:46PM (#42452879)

The Davy Crockett variant seems to just have had a yield of 20 tonnes. Per nukemap (https://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap/ ) the fatal radiation range (of 500 rem) is like 500 meters. If you fire from, say, 5k the radiation exposure should be significantly lower. I don’t know how the radiation exposure scales over distance, but if it’s an inverse square law that means at 5k you’re getting like 5 rem. Which isn’t great, it’s like the equivalent of a CT scan

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Re:W54 by Bjorkbat on Wednesday December 18, 2024 @12:39PM (#42452790)

I always assumed firing one of these things was a suicide mission, but some NATO guy on Quora has suggested otherwise, and it seems pretty convincing.

https://www.quora.com/Would-the-Davy-Crockett-tactical-nucle...

Basically, even though the W54 had a max yield of a 1kt, the Davy Crockett used a warhead with a far lower yield, as low as 10 tons

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