My military service inluded time spent as an Atomic
Demolitions Munitions Technician With the
567th Enineer Company (ADM) in Hanau Germany.
We came from all over the USA. Just simple teenage
boys from all walks of life. We enlisted in the Army, and became
soldiers. Our advanced military training went a step further then
most men in the army. We were trained to use special Atomic Demolition
Munitions, or AMD’s.
They called us “The Cream of the Crop”,
and “The Best of the Best”, and at times, one might
actually believe that. Under commanders like 1st Sgt. Charlie
Waters and 1st Sgt. Bill Knowell, Lt. Col Carl Magnell, Major
Lloyd Brown and Major James Glock we truly believed we were something
special.
But when we were off duty, we were more like
family. We were a close knit group of guys who knew how to do
our job well, and how to party hard when the work was done.
Many of us have fond memories from those “good
ole’ days”, and although most of those memories have
sunk to the deep recesses of our minds, they are still there.
The term "suitcase nukes" refers to
very small nuclear explosive devices. Small nuclear weapons, such
as atomic demolition munitions (ADM's), were produced by the United
States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Some of these
types of weapons were designed
for use by special forces for sabotage in the event of a war.
These devices had very low explosive yields (around 1 kiloton),
were portable, and may not have had the same security features
as larger nuclear devices.
Here
are some uses of these weapons.
The carrying case for the W54
Special Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM). The SADM had a yield
of 0.01, or 0.02-1 kiloton and was operationally deployed between
1964 and 1988. The entire unit weighed less than 163 pounds (74
kilograms).
The SADM was listed in JCS Pub 1, an unclassified
publication, as a “very low yield, man-portable, atomic demolition
munition which is detonated by a timer device.”
Credit: Department of Defense (courtesy Natural
Resources Defense Council)
You
can check this page to see where they were deployed
Atomic Demoliton Munitions
Scientists displaying
the warhead (left) and packing container for the Medium Atomic
Demolition Munition (MADM), a low-yield (1- to 15-kiloton) nuclear
land mine designed to be deployed behind enemy lines and destroy
tunnels, bridges, dams, and disrupt enemy troop movements. The
entire unit (including warhead) weighed less than 400 pounds and
was deployed from 1965 to 1986.
Another view of the MADM, showing
(from left) the packing container, warhead, code-decoder unit,
and firing unit.
Photos from http://www.brook.edu/FP/projects/nucwcost/madm.htm
Nuclear Weapons Test Film Descriptions
0800031 - SADM Delivery by Parachutist/Swimmer (Special Atomic
Demolition Munition) - No Date Given - 9:45 - Black&White
(No explosions) - The Special Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM)
was a Navy and Marines project that was demonstrated as feasible
in the mid-to-late 1960s, but was never used. The project, which
involved a small nuclear weapon, was designed to allow one individual
to parachute from any type of aircraft carrying the weapon package
that would be placed in a harbor or other strategic location that
could be accessed from the sea. Another parachutist without a
weapon package would follow the first parachutist to provide support
as needed.
The two-man team would place the weapon package in an acceptable
location, set the timer, and swim out into the ocean where they
would be retrieved by a submarine or other high-speed water craft.
The parachute jumps and the retrieval procedures were practiced
extensively.
The video shows a man in a wet suit donning his
parachute, the weapon package, and a reserve parachute. After
he jumps from the aircraft and is nearing the water, he drops
the weapon package down on a 17-foot line to lessen the impact
of his landing. He then floats the weapon package to the desired
location.
http://www.osti.gov/historicalfilms/opentext/data/0800031.html
MPG
High res
MPG
Low res
Real
Media
Real
Media
Real
Media
More
info can be found here
Special
Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM)
US Army Sergeant Major (Retired) Joe Garner describes
what was probably the first parachute jump with a W54 Special
Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM) in 1960 as part of PROJECT GREENLIGHT
in his autobiography - Code Name: Copperhead. SGM Garner, a Special
Forces soldier with many years of combat experience, described
his high altitude jump from a H-21 helicopter on the back side
of Fort Bragg, also the fictional setting of the special munitions
depot in Flash of Emerald. Joe reported that he dropped faster
than anticipated in his modified chute and ended up on the ground
with all the laces busted out from his boots. What I called an
"ass-buster" when I was jumping.Reportedly 300 SADMs
were assembled and remained in the US arsenal until 1989.
The SADM had a yield of 0.01 or 0.02-1 kiloton
and was operationally deployed between 1964 and 1988. The entire
unit weighed less than 163 pounds (74 kilograms).
TAKEN FROM
Tactical
Nuclear Weapons in 1966
Little John missiles used a W45 warhead with
a yield of 1-10 kilotons. The Davy Crockett rocket used a W54-2
warhead with a yield of about 0.25 kiloton. Medium ADMs used W45-3
warheads with a 1-15 kiloton yield. Special ADMs used a W54 warhead
with 0.1-1 kiloton yield. With reference to ADMs, they state:
"Relatively little seems to be known about the existence
of Soviet atomic demolition munitions (ADM). Since such devices
are small and light in weight and are emplaced by hand, this may
merely indicate a gap in intelligence. There is no doubt that
the USSR is capable of either designing ADM or adapting weapons
from stockpile to ADM with little difficulty."
US Tactical Nuclear Weapons Considered by JASONS
For Use in Vietnam
In considering American nuclear first use against
the Vietnamese, the JASONs referred mostly to gravity bombs using
either airburst or groundburst. (for example, p. 11). They did
not seem to consider using other US tactical nuclear weapons such
as ADMs, nuclear artillery shells, or other short and medium-range
missile-delivered warheads.
Do "backpack" nuclear weapons exist?
Yes, small atomic charges exist. They are very
small. Several dozen kilos, thirty kilos, forty kilos. I spoke
with people that made them, I saw them. The American specimens
can be seen on the Internet, they can be seen on photographs,
they can even be seen in the movies.
Were we ever able to confirm that suitcase bombs
existed?
Not that I'm aware of. Both United States and
Russia of course built tactical nuclear weapons that were quite
small in size ... . We had, for example, what we called atomic
demolition munitions, that were designed to be carried in a backpack.
... I doubt that there was ever anything that was specifically
designed to be carried in something that looked like a suitcase,
though I couldn't rule it out.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/russia/suitcase/comments.html
In the 1960s the U.S. built its own version of
a mini nuclear device-- the Special Atomic Demolition Munition
(SADM). It weighed 80-100 pounds, was small enough to fit in a
duffel bag or large case and was designed for sabotage missions--
airfields, bridges, dams. Like the Russian device, it had an explosive
charge of roughly one thousand tons of TNT ( one kiloton).
Film of the SADM
was declassified in 1997 and shows how it would
be deployed by a parachutist for a jump mission into water to
reach a target. Although the parachute jumps and retrieval operations
were rehearsed many times, the project was never put to use and
these nuclear devices do not exist in current stockpiles.
(Both video clips require RealPlayer 5.0 or higher
and a 56K modem to be viewed).
This
shows how the SADM was designed for a parachute jump and "swimmer
delivery system." The SADM was fit into a special flotation
bag so the atomic munition would float when the parachutist hit
the water. This clip also shows how the flotation bag was designed
to attach to the parachutist's body.
This
shows test jumps into water from several Navy and Marine aircraft,
and how the Navy parachutist- with the SADM attached- swims to
target and de-attaches and activates the bomb.
According to informed sources, these weapons
constantly circulated around the world in diplomatic baggage,
and large numbers were buried along Russia's borders for use as
nuclear land mines in the event of invasion. They were often disguised
as boulders.
Each has a yield of about 1 kiloton — equivalent
to 1,000 tons of TNT.
It has been estimated that one ADM could immediately
kill 100,000 people if it exploded in a major city center, with
hundreds of thousands dying from cancer in the fallout.
ADMs have a shelf life of about eight years,
after which they need to be retrieved and sent to a laboratory
for refurbishment.
One source said that a semi-skilled operative
could set one off easily, given the right codes. They can be set
to detonate using an built-in timer or can be triggered remotely
with a mobile phone call.
Academics are not sure that terrorists have gotten
their hands on ADMs, but few will rule out the possibility. Robert
Sherman, director of strategic security at the Federation of American
Scientists, said that this is "more likely than getting a
ballistic missile warhead."
http://www.endtimesreport.com/index_files/Al_Qaeda_nukes.htm
I do not verify any information
on this page or have knowledge about them. I just found these
links on the internet.
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