Kuangbiao-1
| Kuangbiao-1 | |
|---|---|
 Display weapon | |
| Type | Nuclear weapon |
| Service history | |
| Used by | People's Liberation Army Air Force |
| Production history | |
| Designer | Ninth Institute of the Second Ministry of Machine Building |
| Designed | 1970 |
| Developed from | Project 639 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 1000 kg |
| Length | 2 meters |
Detonation mechanism | Airburst |
| Blast yield | 8 kilotons of TNT (33 TJ) |
The Kuangbiao-1 (Chinese: 狂飙一号; pinyin: Kuángbiāo yīhào, meaning "Hurricane-1") was a tactical nuclear gravity bomb of the People's Liberation Army Air Force.
Following the high tensions of the 1969 Sino-Soviet border conflict, over 9,000 of the 14,000 Soviet tanks were deployed to the border. The weapon was developed with the specific objective of destroying Soviet armored division columns.[1]
Unlike previous Chinese nuclear weapons, it was miniaturized, allowing it to be carried by a supersonic fighter rather than subsonic Xi'an H-6 and Harbin H-5 bombers. It was designed to be carried by the Nanchang Q-5, in a "semi-buried" fashion beneath the airframe.[2]
The bomb was tested, dropped from a Q-5 jet, in the 13th Chinese nuclear test, on 7 January 1972. The test originally was intended for 30 December 1971, but a release mechanism failure forced the jet to return and land at Lop Nur, with at least three of its five safeties off. This triggered the evacuation to bomb shelters of all 10,000 personnel at the base.[3] The successful test yield was estimated at 8 to 20 kilotons of TNT.
The weapon is frequently erroneously cited as a hydrogen bomb. Its early designation during development was "Small Detonator Bomb for Hydrogen Bomb" (小型氢弹引爆弹), meaning it was an atomic bomb, intended as the miniaturized nuclear primary for subsequent hydrogen bombs.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Pike, John (2007-07-16). "China Nuclear Forces". Nuclear Gravity Bombs. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ "战术氢弹爆炸，这部电影细节严谨_澎湃号·媒体_澎湃新闻-The Paper". thepaper.cn (in Chinese). 2023-01-08. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ Bergin, Bob (2013-11-15). "Recalling the H-Bomb that Almost Backfired". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
- ^ "《世纪伟人腾飞梦——周恩来与两弹一星》全国巡展亮点多 观众自发求延展". 周恩来纪念网--领袖人物纪念馆--人民网 (in Chinese). 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2025-06-28.
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