Gardarike and Weapons of Mass Destruction

Development of Gardic nuclear weapons.

Testing history.

Early efforts towards “The bomb”.

Early 1955: The first Gardic nuclear reactor goes critical, a small research reactor at the Physics University in Brun.

Mid 1959: The Gardic nuclear arms program is officially sanctioned by the Gardic Government from fear of falling behind other great powers in Anterra.

Mid 1961: The first nuclear production reactor goes critical, producing weapons grade plutonium, tritium, polonium, and other nuclear components.

Early 1963: First test is conducted. 10 kiloton yield. Heavy, non-deliverable, high-efficiency design. Like Upshot-Knothole Harry but with less plutonium.

One test is conducted, weapons effects are observed.

Total: 1

Mid 1963: Second production reactor goes critical.

Late 1963: Centrifuge plant comes online.

Early 1965: Plutonium production in full swing, first deliverable warhead is designed. MK-7 style with 92 detonators and levitated pit.

10, 3, and 20 kiloton versions deployed. Deliverable by light bomber. Tested with an SRBM but not fielded as such due to safety, accuracy and maintenance concerns.

4 tests, Total: 5

Miniaturisation and “Sophistication”.

Mid 1967: HEU production starts to ramp up. Composite pit designs are tested using previous MK-7 bomb assembly. Some previous variants are recycled into 12, 40 and 80 kiloton variants to reduce use of precious plutonium, permitting a substantial growth of the nuclear arsenal. Some used beryllium reflectors.

A nuclear artillery shell is field tested.The shell was a W33-style. 20 cm diameter dual gun-type weapon with a yield of 2.5 kilotons. Troop maneuvers are exercised during the test for the first time. Variants of the shell had a yield of 0.2, 2.5 and 10 kilotons, but only the 2.5 kiloton version is tested.

Three naval nuclear tests are conducted, 3x10 kiloton bombs are airburst, detonated at a shallow depth and deep underwater.

8 tests, Total: 13

The Hydrogen bomb

Early 1969: Fusion experiments begin. Decision made to make warheads 1-point safe in following designs as opposed to IFI.

D-D, D-T, and Alarm-clock tests conducted using experimental implosion assembly from the original test. Gaseous D-T determined to be the way forward.

3 tests, Total: 16

Late 1969: Tests begin for a new, small, safe, boosted-fission bomb. WE.177/W44 style. 2 tests are carried out to determine design. chosen design tested 4 times to make safe. Thermonuclear primary for deliverable H-bomb tested twice.

8 tests, Total: 24

Early 1970:

First hydrogen device tested. A cryogenic deuterium design with a lead tamper. 3200 kilotons detonated from a balloon.

1 test, total: 35

Late 1970:

A test of a Dry fuel hydrogen bomb goes disastrously wrong. The bomb was air dropped from the back of a cargo plane and parachute retarded. Expected to yield 2 megatons, the true yield turned out to be 4.5 megatons due to the poorly understood behaviour of Li-6. The fireball touched the ground and a substantial amount of fallout was created. 12,000 people were quickly evacuated from villages downwind. 657 mild-to-moderate cases of ARS were treated. Despite efforts to destroy contaminated milk, dozens would be killed from cancer in the following years and decades. Nuclear testing is suspended for 3 years, high-yield (150+ kt) atmospheric tests are suspended permanently at Dimmaland.

Late 1973: Tests of deliverable thermonuclear warheads begin.

modified primary tests from WE.177 style bomb: 2 Full scale test failure, thermonuclear fizzle 1. Half-scale test success 1 megaton yield achieved in a package akin to B27. Full-scale test success, 2 megaton yield achieved in B27. Emergency capability only for light bomber delivery.

5 tests, total 40.

Early 1974: live Tactical Ballistic Missile test of WE.177 warhead. Test successful and missile fielded.

1 test, total: 41

Late 1974:

Test of hundred-kiloton range, low-yield TN warhead. For fitting in narrow supersonic casings and SRBM’s. Similar to W50 warhead.

6 tests, total: 47.

Mid 1975:

Tests of lightweight, high-yield strategic missile warhead begins.

Secondary mockup tests and full yield tests successful. ovoid primary fizzles on first attempt, second attempt successful but following test not safe.

6 tests, total 53.

Mid 1976: Safety tests continue, failures continue.

5 tests, total 58.

Early 1977: Safety tests finally succeed. 5 consecutive successes.

63 total.

Weapon designs

mk7 design 1965-1974. 46 produced WE.177 design 1970-1998. 130 produced Mk 27 design 1971-1997. 28 produced.