Sensational information about the successful testing of miniature atomic warheads for small arms by the USSR first became known only after the collapse of the great state.
She raised a number of questions to which experts still cannot give unambiguous answers.
The end of the 50s - the beginning of the 70s of the last century was the time of an unprecedented arms race, when the two most powerful countries in the world, the USSR and the United States, were intensively preparing for direct confrontation and were developing the most unusual weapons.
It is reliably known that the leadership of the Soviet Union, which was significantly inferior to the Americans in terms of the number of launch vehicles for nuclear warheads and the warheads themselves, decided to stake on the creation of tactical nuclear weapons.
Our scientists designed atomic warheads for large-caliber howitzer guns and for the self-propelled 240-mm Tulip mortar, the news of which instantly cooled the fervor of the "military hawks" of the West.
Many experts agree that the presence of tactical nuclear weapons, the movement of which was almost impossible to track, became one of the arguments that forced the United States to reconsider its concept of confrontation with the USSR.
It was the growing atomic power of our country that caused the Americans to moderate their military ambitions and themselves offered to sign a number of agreements in 1969-1972, better known under the general name of the Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT).
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Nuclear bullets for an aggressive enemy
But until recently, practically nothing was known about another unique project of Soviet designers, the implementation of which was suspended solely due to the high cost of production.
In the mid-1960s, domestic designers presented to the State Commission projects for miniature nuclear warheads, which were installed in cartridges of 14.3 and 12.7 mm caliber and were suitable for firing from large-caliber machine guns and special sniper rifles.
When such a bullet hit the turret of a heavy tank, a large amount of thermal energy was released, and the metal in the focus of the lesion simply evaporated. The temperature rose to such an extent that the tracks and the turret were tightly welded to the hull, and the tank warhead detonated, leaving nothing alive within a radius of several meters.
The hit of an atomic bullet in brickwork caused evaporation of up to 1 cubic meter of reinforced concrete or other building material. Usually, in order to cause the complete destruction of a building, it was required to make only three accurate shots at the area of its foundation.
Soviet ingenuity that surprised skeptics
Learning about the existence of such weapons, the Americans called it a simple "duck", since for the start of a chain reaction it is required to collect together a critical mass of plutonium-239 or uranium-235, which is approximately 1 kilogram. This is easy enough for artillery shells and mines, but not for rifle ammunition.
However, Pentagon experts did not take into account the ingenuity of Soviet designers, who suggested using the transuranic chemical element Californium-252, whose critical mass is 1.8 grams, for the production of bullets.
This is what 10 mg of Californium-252 looks like - it is a flat disc with a diameter of only 1 mm.
The main difficulty was obtaining this element, which required the use of a nuclear reactor or regular nuclear explosions. According to one version, it was precisely because of the need to obtain california-252 that regular nuclear tests were carried out at the Semipalatinsk test site in the mid-1960s.
The atomic bullets of the USSR were a nuclear warhead made in the form of a dumbbell and covered with a protective sheath. Upon collision with an obstacle, the two parts of both parts were in contact with each other, creating an excess of the critical mass of California-252. A chain reaction of disintegration began, and a miniature nuclear explosion occurred, releasing a huge amount of energy.
The success of the project made it possible to develop special 7.62 mm ammunition for the Kalashnikov light machine gun, but due to the spreading radiation, it was not recommended to use such cartridges for real firing from the AKM machine gun.
Project problems and ways to solve them
The main disadvantage of nuclear bullets was the high cost of their production, as well as the difficulties with storage and use. Californium constantly emitted heat, and cartridges with it had to be stored in special portable refrigerators, and used no later than half an hour after charging the weapon.
But for the defense industry nothing is impossible! A 110 kg refrigeration unit with liquid ammonia was specially designed to maintain a temperature of –15 ° C. The cartridges were stored in special copper plates 15 cm thick with slots for 30 cartridges. If the cartridge was in the open air for more than 1 hour, then it could no longer be returned to the refrigerator, but had to be destroyed.
At the same time, the refrigerator consumed up to 200 watts of electricity and special transport was required for its transportation. Batteries in those years were very heavy and low-capacity, which made the use of atomic cartridges expensive and inconvenient.
Plain water has become another problem. When a bullet hit the reservoir, there was no collision of parts and the detonation of a nuclear charge, which means that the bullet remained intact and could well fall into the hands of foreign intelligence services.
Frozen Peacekeeper
The development of a very promising project was literally “frozen” by Leonid Brezhnev personally at the very beginning of the 1980s. The country then abandoned a number of military projects that were considered secondary, and the freed up funds were redirected to the development of missile weapons systems, including the SS-20 Satan intercontinental ballistic missile that still thrills Western politicians.
Currently, a small amount of special ammunition with nuclear warheads is stored in highly classified military warehouses located in the remote areas of the Urals and Siberia. At any time, these cartridges can be used by Russian snipers to carry out special operations to destroy the enemy's command posts, which are maximally protected by concrete and armor, as well as his armored groups. Modern technologies make it possible to restore the production of such ammunition within several years.
The horrifying effect of direct hits from miniature nuclear charges of 14.3, 12.7 and 7.62 mm caliber can make any enemy think about an immediate end to aggression and the transition to a peaceful settlement of even the most difficult conflict situation.
ZABLOTSKY ROMAN