"German WWII Atomic Bombs" Topic

Recently I purchased a set of four 1/72nd scale resin WWII German atomic bomb models. They don't list any information about them on the box or inside on the instruction sheet.

I found from surfing the net they are a small uranium bomb "Kleiner Behalter", "Grosser Behalter", plutomium bomb with fins, SA 4000 compartment type isotopic radioactive load-in bomb. This information was from antaresmodels.com which apparently makes the same kits in 1/48th scale.

I am looking for more information about these weapons. How far along were they? What aircraft would have carried them? What was the expected yeild on these bombs? And what is an Isotopic radioactive load-in bomb? Is that a "dirty bomb?"

Thanks.

Mike "Bunkermeister" Creek

bunkermeister.blogspot.com

Heisenberg was on the totally wrong track towards developing a German atomic bomb. Sopme even thihk he was actively/passively sabotaging the project.

Even without Heisenberg, the Nazi High Command felt that this was "Jewish Science", and thus not worth looking into.

What John said. Not Even close. I think IIRC the British 30 AU unit found a non functioning reactor and that was it.

"Unlike the United States' Manhattan Project, the WWII German Kernphysik (Nuclear Physics) program was never able to produce a critical nuclear reactor, despite many attempts by physicists Werner Heisenberg and Kurt Diebner. The German attempt to build a reactor was feeble and disorganized -- and their effort to build an atomic weapon nonexistent -- but the Allies didn't know that. At the end of the war, an Allied fact-finding mission captured the subcritical uranium piles and sent them to the United States."
link
Robert

In fact the Uranium used to bomb Hiroshima actually came from the German atomic program. It was sent by U-boat (U234) to Japan, but, when Germany surrendered the U-boat did as well. The German nuclear program was never as highly organized as the Manhattan project, and seemingly drifted from 1942 on, being under the control of different ministries as well as different political overlords (such as Goering and Speer). The Germans were never very close to a bomb, in part through being disorganized, not thinking it could be a short term weapon, and allied attacks on the program.

Good name for a U-Boat with that job. I guess U235 was busy, that would have been bang on.

They were doing almost as well with their nuclear program as they were with their Supernatural Relic of Power program, and both had about equal chances to affect the war.
-Kle.

Their very first and main failure was a miscalculation. (miscalculation may be in ""). Their calculation for carbon as a neutron absober was incorrect, so they decided to go with Heavy Water instead which was hard to produce and very expensive.

Although, I did love the story of them opening up their reactor with a chisel and hammer. Drunken idiots.

I would guess that (assuming similar *size* of fissionables) similar yield to the corresponding US bombs.

I think that "SA 4000 compartment type light cased bomb for isotopic radioactive load-in connection with conventional explosive or mixture with other substances" parses to "SA 4000 compartment type light cased bomb for isotopic radioactive load (in connection with conventional explosive or mixture with other substances)", ie, a dirty bomb, or possibly *really* hopeful thinking about what would cause a nuclear reaction.

Carrying aircraft would have been the Amerika Bombers, whether the Sanger, Ta400, or whatever. Nothing else the Germans made had the lifting capability to handle one of those bombs.

Thank you all. Thanks Lion in the Stars. One of these is very small and I think it was supposed to be more of a tactical nuke.

Mike "Bunkermeister" Creek

bunkermeister.blogspot.com
link

Where is there information on a "SA 4000 compartment type isotopic radioactive load-in bomb". Or "Kleiner Behalter", "Grosser Behalter". The only source I can find so far is the antaresmodels.com site. Robert

The SA4000 (the littlest bomb) appears to be the size of a modern weapon, so *if* you could get it to go supercritical, it would be a couple hundred tons max. Fractional kiloton yield at best. Modern weapons use highly-refined plutonium and are precisely squeezed for the boom.

You need to be careful when you talk about tactical nuclear weapons, Bunkermeister. Modern airdropped 'tactical' nukes are on the same order of magnitude as Fat Man and Little Boy, while modern strategic nukes are an order of magnitude or two bigger.