W58

W58 nuclear warhead
W58 nuclear warhead
	Diagram of the Mark 2 Reentry Body that housed the W58 thermonuclear warhead
Type	Nuclear weapon
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designer	Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Designed	1960 to 1964
Produced	March 1964 to June 1967
No. built	1400
Variants	2
Specifications
Mass	257 lb (117 kg)
Length	40.3 inches (102 cm)
Diameter	15.6 in (40 cm)
Blast yield	200 kilotonnes of TNT (840 TJ)

The W58 was an American thermonuclear warhead used on the Polaris A-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile. Three W58 warheads were fitted as multiple warheads on each Polaris A-3 missile.^[2]

The W58 was 15.6 inches (400 mm) in diameter and 40.3 inches (1,020 mm) long, and weighed 257 pounds (117 kg). The yield was 200 kilotonnes of TNT (840 TJ).^[1] The warhead used the Kinglet primary, which it shared with the W55 and W47 warheads.^[3]

The W58 design entered service in 1964 and the last models were retired in 1982 with the last Polaris missiles.^[1]

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Sublette, Carey (12 June 2020). "Complete List of All U.S. Nuclear Weapons". Nuclear Weapon Archive. Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
^ History of the Mk 58 Warhead (Report). Sandia National Laboratory. February 1968. p. 5-6. SC-M-68-50. Archived from the original on 2022-06-12.
^ Hansen, Chuck (2007). Swords of Armageddon - Volume V. Chukelea Publications. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-9791915-5-8.

[nukearc-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Sublette, Carey (12 June 2020). "Complete List of All U.S. Nuclear Weapons". Nuclear Weapon Archive. Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2021-03-18.

[2] History of the Mk 58 Warhead (Report). Sandia National Laboratory. February 1968. p. 5-6. SC-M-68-50. Archived from the original on 2022-06-12.

[HansenV-3] Hansen, Chuck (2007). Swords of Armageddon - Volume V. Chukelea Publications. p. 15. ISBN 978-0-9791915-5-8.

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