Composition B

Composition B (Comp B), also known as Hexotol and Hexolite (among others), is a high explosive consisting of castable mixtures of RDX and TNT. It is used as the main explosive filling in artillery projectiles, rockets, land mines, hand grenades and various other munitions.^[1] It was also used for the explosive lenses in the first implosion-type nuclear weapons developed by the United States.^[2]^[3]

The standard proportions of ingredients (by weight) are 59.5% RDX (detonation velocity of 8,750 m/s) and 39.5% TNT (detonation velocity of 6,900 m/s), phlegmatized with 1% paraffin wax.^[4] Most commonly it is described as 60/40 RDX/TNT with 1% wax added.

^ Cooper, Paul W. (1996). Explosives Engineering. Wiley-VCH. ISBN 978-0-471-18636-6.
^ Atom Bombs: The Top Secret Inside Story of Little Boy and Fat Man, John Coster-Mullen, 2003
^ Nuclear Weapons FAQ section 8.1.1: The Design of Gadget, Fat Man, and "Joe 1" (RDS-1), accessed August 10, 2009
^ Military Specification MIL-C-401

[Cooper_-_Explosives_Engineering-1] Cooper, Paul W. (1996). Explosives Engineering. Wiley-VCH. ISBN 978-0-471-18636-6.

[Coster-Mullen-2] Atom Bombs: The Top Secret Inside Story of Little Boy and Fat Man, John Coster-Mullen, 2003

[NWFAQ-3] Nuclear Weapons FAQ section 8.1.1: The Design of Gadget, Fat Man, and "Joe 1" (RDS-1), accessed August 10, 2009

[4] Military Specification MIL-C-401

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