:''This article is about the nuclear weapon Red Snow. Red snow is also a type of
snow algae.''
'Red Snow' was a
British thermonuclear weapon. Its
physics package was apparently similar, if not identical, to that of the
United States W28 nuclear warhead used in the
B28 nuclear bomb and
AGM-28 Hound Dog missile, with an explosive yield of approximately 1
megaton.
The Red Snow warhead was developed after a September
1958 decision to adopt the US warhead for British use, following the
1958 US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement. It entered service in
1961, remaining in use until
1972, when it was replaced by the
WE.177 bomb. Perhaps 150 were produced.
Red Snow was used as both a free-fall bomb and as the warhead of the
Blue Steel missile. In the gravity bomb role, it was fitted into the casing of the
Yellow Sun weapon, even though the Red Snow warhead was considerably smaller than that of the original Yellow Sun bomb.
See also
★
Rainbow Codes