| RDS-4 | |
|---|---|
 RDS-4 Tatyana | |
| Information | |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Test site | Semipalatinsk Test Site,Kazakh SSR |
| Period | 23 August 1953 |
| Number of tests | 1 |
| Test type | Atmospheric test |
| Device type | Fission |
| Max. yield | Total yield 28kilotons of TNT (120 TJ) |
| Test chronology | |
RDS-4 (Russian:РДС-4, also known asTatyana)[1] was a Soviet nuclear bomb that was first tested atSemipalatinsk Test Site, on August 23, 1953. The device weighed approximately 1,200 kilograms (2,646 lb). The device was approximately one-third the size of theRDS-3.[2] The bomb was dropped from anIL-28 aircraft at an altitude of 11 kilometres (7 mi) and exploded at 600 metres (1,969 ft), with a yield of 28 kt.[1][3]
TheSoviet Union's first mass-producedtactical nuclear weapon was based on the RDS-4 and remained in service until 1966.[2]: 72-73 It used a composite core of 4.2 kilograms (9 lb) Pu-239 and 6.8 kilograms (15 lb) 90% enriched U-235[4] and had anominal yield of 30 kilotons.[3] RDS-4 "Tatyana" turned out to be very compact - its weight (1200 kg) and dimensions were four times less than that of RDS-1, which allowed the new bomb to be taken into service not only by long-range aviation (Tupolev Tu-4,Tupolev Tu-95,Tupolev Tu-16,Tupolev Tu-22,Myasishchev M-4, andMyasishchev 3M), but also front-line (Ilyushin Il-28,Tupolev Tu-2,Yakovlev Yak-26,Yakovlev Yak-28,Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19, andMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21). A tactical weapon based on the RDS-4 was also used on September 14, 1954 duringSnowball military exercise at theTotsky range (similar to WesternDesert Rock exercises), when the bomb was dropped by theTu-4 bomber (the reverse-engineeredBoeing B-29).[5][6] The purpose of this exercise was not to test the bomb itself, but the ability of using it while breaking through enemy defenses (presumably inWest Germany). After the explosion Soviet jet fighters were sent to fly through the mushroom cloud while tanks and infantry were forced to move through ground zero.