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![]() "John Schilling" wrote in message ... "Carey Sublette" writes: The fundamental reason why 'Ivan', the Tsar Bomba, had no relevance to the strategic balance was that it was undeliverable against the U.S. The weight of this bomb - 27 tonnes - was nearly equal to the Tu-95's maximum payload, and two and a half times its normal weapon load. Range of the Tu-95 was already marginal for attacking the U.S. even with a normal bomb load. Even worse, since the bomb's dimensions - 2 meters wide and 8 meters long - were larger than the bomb bay could accommodate part of the fuselage had to be cut away, and the bomb bay doors removed. The bomb was partially recessed in the plane, but not enclosed, with over half of it protruding in flight. A deployed version of a Tsar Bomba carrier would of course had a bulging bomb bay enclosure added, but this would have further reduced range from the drag. Wouldn't a deployed Tsar Bomba carrier have been a militarized Proton, aka UR-500 aka 8K82? The space launch version uses only storable propellants, can put twenty tons into low orbit with the smallest fairing easily holding a 2 x 8 meter payload, and my references on the space launch side claim that it was developed with the ICBM role and the Tsar Bomba payload in mind from the start (1961). Which was a stupid idea from the start, and so never implemented, but rather less stupid than trying to send an overladen Bear across the arctic. The only references I recall seeing for models that were actually made were bomb versions. They could have been used against NATO (but this has nothing to do with MAD). It seems likely that they investigated the Proton idea since it is the only way to get it to America. Do you know of any attempts to develop an RV for this? Can you give me any specific citations? |
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