Soviet Union Suitcase Nuke

[ALPHA D UNIT]

Hey everyone. Here is something that has always intrigued me. The "lost" suitcase nukes of the old USSR. They are so simple, so menacing, and yet have a unique "video game/movie" prop feel, for being a real life weapon.

Here is a really good pic of the "lost" devices. Seems simple enough. An old Salvation Army suitcase, some PVC, switches and foil for a legendary piece of history. :cool

 

[neosporing]

...., some PVC, switches and foil for a legendary piece of history. :cool

and a paranoid neighbor to turn us in!

 

[MooCriket]

and a paranoid neighbor to turn us in!

Ditto...waiting to see you on the five o'clock news if you try that these days:lol

 

[TK-2126_MD]

Ditto...waiting to see you on the five o'clock news if you try that these days:lol

Ya... with the way things are now a days, i think this might be a prop not worth doing....:confused

but it would be cool.

 

[Contec]

So.....in what Store can i get a Neutron generator?....Any chance anyone doing a run in the junkyard?

 

[lint]

dont take it on an airplane

 

[Apollo]

I can guarantee you someone has already checked out this thread with a smirk.

 

[Chief Bast]

A neat idea, for sure.

Heck, with current technology, you could probably make a tactical nuke micro-sized enough to fit within an Ipod-sized device.

Suitcases bombs are sooo Eighties....

 

[neosporing]

A neat idea, for sure.

Heck, with current technology, you could probably make a tactical nuke micro-sized enough to fit within an Ipod-sized device.

Suitcases bombs are sooo Eighties....

what would it be called?

iboom?

 

[silverskyes402]

Wait a second, so acording to the diagram half the ingredients for a nuke is a gun and a bullet? How does that work

 

[anakin]

here's a higher rez pic

things seemed a lot shinier in the 80's - retro blamo!

 

[dropshipbob]

Wait a second, so acording to the diagram half the ingredients for a nuke is a gun and a bullet? How does that work

That's about it, even Fat Man and Little Boy activated in such a manner. You need an explosive charge to drive a projectile into the uranium...or whatever such material, to start the reaction.

 

[Storm Shadow]

That is just crazy. Talk about big things coming in small packages.:eek

 

[phase pistol]

Missing suitcase nukes. That's ALL we need. :rolleyes

Reminds me of the ol' nuclear hand grenades we used to lob back in the War of Robot Oppression. Those were the days. :lol

 

[neosporing]

Missing suitcase nukes. That's ALL we need. :rolleyes

Reminds me of the ol' nuclear hand grenades we used to lob back in the War of Robot Oppression. Those were the days. :lol

dude, your tachyons are showing:lol

 

[missileman]

That's about it, even Fat Man and Little Boy activated in such a manner. You need an explosive charge to drive a projectile into the uranium...or whatever such material, to start the reaction.

Actually it was only little boy that used the gun/target method.

Fat Man was an implosion type weapon, which from an engineering point of view is extremely difficult to pull off.

Building a gun/target bomb would not be that difficult, that is, any "state" could pull one off. The hard part is getting the Uranium 235, which is why the current non-proliferation efforts are all about controlling the nuclear materials required.

There is a great article about little-boy and the guy who is obsessed with the object here....

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/12/15/081215fa_fact_samuels

He sounds just like a prop nut to me.

 

[sycor]

what would it be called?

iboom?

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :lol

 

[ALPHA D UNIT]

Missing suitcase nukes. That's ALL we need. :rolleyes

Reminds me of the ol' nuclear hand grenades we used to lob back in the War of Robot Oppression. Those were the days. :lol

Hahaha :lol

Yea i wouldn't plan on carting this thing around with me into airports or anything like that. I just want it to be sitting in the corner of the room and somebody ask "What's that shiny thing in the suitcase?" Reply with "A nuke." Response " :confused "

That Hi-Res pic has just given me the nudge I needed to whip up one of these bad boys. A shopping list is being assembled...

 

[Sluis Van Shipyards]

I'm pretty sure the U.S. had some small nukes that could be carried in a backpack. I don't know if any info is available on those though. Of course we didn't lose ours...

 

[Propnomicon]

here's a higher rez pic

things seemed a lot shinier in the 80's - retro blamo!

Do you have a link to the source for these pictures? It just seems odd that the Soviets would build their suitcase bombs out of 2 x 4's, angle brackets, pipe fittings, aluminum foil, two fixture bulbs, and silver paint. While they were behind the west in a lot of technologies they rightly took pride in the quality of their machining and fabrication, particularly for scientific and nuclear equipment.

Is it possible this is a modern mock-up or improvised munition example? I'm certainly not an explosives expert, but it looks like an IED using repurposed bulbs with mercury as expedient tamper switches.

Update: A little Googling shows that this was the mock-up created for the The Burton-Lunev hearing on the alleged suitcase nukes back in 2000. It was built by a congressional staffer based on Lebed's description, but it appears a gun-style detonation won't work with a fissile mass that small.