5 most powerful nuclear bombs in the world ever built

Nuclear bombs are weapons with terrible destructive power, directly threatening the survival of mankind. Here are the 5 most terrible nuclear bombs ever built according to Auto Journalism.

5. Mark 24 nuclear bomb (Mk-24/B-24)

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The Mark 24 is a giant thermonuclear weapon created in the 1950s. Mark 24 is 7.62 meters long and weighs more than 19 tons, the third largest nuclear bomb developed by the US.

The actual Mark 24 nuclear bomb has never been officially tested, but according to researchers' estimates, it can produce an explosion equivalent to 10 to 15 million tons of TNT.

Because of this destructive ability, the developers fitted the Mk-24 with a 19-meter parachute to slow down its landing allowing the bombers enough time to get out of the blast radius.

Although not produced, a surviving Mk-24 case is still on display at the Castle Aviation Museum in Atwater, California.

4. Mark 17 nuclear bomb (Mk-17)

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The Mark 17 was the first mass-produced series of hydrogen bombs and also the first thermonuclear weapon that could be dropped from an aircraft. This type of bomb is 4.5 meters long and weighs about 19 tons, producing an explosion equivalent to 10 to 15 million tons of TNT.

Mark 17 was developed by the US in 1954 and was gradually phased out in 1957.

3. Bomb TX-21

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The TX-21 nuclear bomb is the third most powerful nuclear weapon in the world, weighing more than 10 tons and measuring more than 4.5 meters in length.

This bomb, tested in 1954, has the power to explode nearly 14.8 million tons of TNT, 1,000 times more powerful than the two atomic bombs dropped on Japan during World War II.

When activated, the explosion caused by TX-21 created a fireball 7.24 km wide within a second and in less than a minute created a mushroom cloud reaching an altitude of 14.3 km.

2. Mark 41 nuclear bomb (Mk-41/B-41)

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The Mark 41, or Mk-41/B-41 nuclear bomb born in the 1960s is the most powerful bomb ever developed by the United States. This is a three-stage thermonuclear weapon that, when detonated, is equivalent to about 25 million tons of TNT.

Mark 41 is about 3.6 meters long and weighs more than 4 tons. According to the researchers, it is the most effective thermonuclear weapon ever designed in history, yielding about 1,136 times more powerful than the atomic bomb detonated in Japan during World War II.

1. Nuclear Bomb Tsar Bomba

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Tsar Bomba is considered the most powerful nuclear bomb ever created in the world with a power equivalent to about 15 million tons of TNT when detonated, twice the destructive power of a B-41 nuclear bomb.

The Soviet Union tested Tsar Bomba in 1961. This hydrogen bomb weighs about 27 tons, is 8 meters long and is equipped with a special parachute to slow down the bomb's fall to earth, giving the bomber a flight time of about 45km before it explodes. Even so, the pilot on the bomber had only a 50% chance of surviving the explosion.

The explosion of the Tsar Bomba created a fireball 8 km wide, and a mushroom cloud 67 km high. The explosion could be seen from a distance of nearly 1,000 km.

Jessica Tanner

Update 24 July 2023