IAF Nuclear capability during the Yom Kippur war?

[+dtmdragon]

Hi guys,

 

From what I have been able to research the Israeli air force was prepared to use nuclear weapons during the Yom Kippur war if it was necessary. However this is unconfirmed and somewhat debatable, but commonly accepted as fact (we won't get into that now).

 

My question is can anyone shed some more light on the situation in terms of what IAF aircraft were equipped to carry nuclear weapons and what type of nuclear weapons did Israel likely have at that time. This is so I can modify my Israeli aircraft to correctly carry them. From what I have found it was most likely the F-4 and a free fall device however Tom Clancy in his book Clear and present danger suggests it was the A-4 that was equipped to carry nuclear weapons?

 

Cheers,

 

Dan.

 

 

[ziker]

As you state, It is not even possible to prove that Israel has nukes. It's all speculation.

 

While what is known about the Jerrico missiles can give you an idea of the limitations within which a nuclear warhead would need to be designed, for aircraft, the options are much wider in size weight and shape and it's much harder to speculate.

 

Perhaps we can speculate that Israel at this early stage of it's nuclear program would start by trying to copy French or US designs.

Same as with it's fighter program.

 

As we have nothing to go on, I'd go with designs based on French nukes as a hypothetical scenario.

[Wrench]

Scooter's had nuke capabilites from the B model on, circa late 50s (as did AD-4B Skyraiders, circa 1952). Phantoms, probably from their inception as the Navy's B, although the Vigilante would have been the choice for the USN's nuclear delivery mission; iirc, the 'store train' was specificly designed for a nuclear lay-down.

 

What size weapon? In KT yeild, anybodys guess, but at least in the 5-20 kt range, which I understand are fairly "easy" to construct.

As to thermo-nuclear weapons, only the weapons designers can say. Casing size and/or weight of the free-fall muniton, I would guess about the size of a Mk.84. Our B-61 is approx that size; actually smaller, and it's a 'dial-a-yeild', having a couple of preset functions. I KNOW for a fact we have ex-SAC/ACC guys here that were trained for the nuke strike mission, so maybe they'll comment. Or not.

 

I do recal conjectures at during the YK war (in 1973 I was 16 years old), that if things really started going south for the Isrealis, I'm sure Damascus and Cairo would have probably evaporated in radioactive clouds. Which would have really 'popped the ballon', expecially with the Soviets, what what Egypt and Syria being their clients... And on one-way missions, IDF Phantoms could possibly reach Moscow; although the SAM and AAA rings would have posed rather formidable obstacles (ask any USAF SAC vet)

 

Being a "Cold War Child", it's really NOT something I like to dwell/think upon too much. I do remember the fear; almost a panic, in my parents during that fall of '62 cause some nut-jobs parked a bunch of medium-range missiles 90 miles south of Florida...such things leave lasting impression on a 5/6 year old boy

 

To answer the main question of "what would carry the nuke", is simple ... anything and everything.

 

wrench

kevin stein

Edited May 27, 2010 by Wrench

[+Spillone104]

Well, at that time the basic (fission only) devices for external carriage were the US MK-7 Thor, MK-11 earth penetrating bomb and the french AN-11 and AN-22.

Plus many other design used basically for tactical missile warhead but possibly encased into a free fall bomb.

In the fission-fusion field there was a good number of MK-28, MK-43 and MK-57 and B-61. Most of the NATO countries had at least a squadron that in case of war had to use these kind of weapons.

[SayethWhaaaa]

As you state, It is not even possible to prove that Israel has nukes. It's all speculation.

 

The idea that the Israelis have no nukes is about as plausible as the Moon landings being fake or Rob Schneider being a good actor!

[ziker]

The idea that the Israelis have no nukes is about as plausible as the Moon landings being fake or Rob Schneider being a good actor!

 

Hi Say What!, your reading this out of context, I wasn't trying to say that Israel has no nukes, it most probably does. I was trying to illustrate the difficulty in answering this question, since even their existence must be inferred from circumstantial evidence, it is doubly difficult to infer what exact form the air dropped delivery systems took.

[+Gepard]

To hang a bomb on a plane is easy, wheter nuke or conventional. All planes that can carry bombs of a certain size can carry nuclear bombs. But this is only one side. You must also have a wiring on the plane to activate the nuke. I guess, that the F-4E would have been the plane of choice for such a mission. But on the other hand a nuclear counter strike of the USSR would have blown Israel out of the sky.

In 1956 the Soviets threaten France, GB and Israel with the big stick and in 1973 the location of some airborn divisions at the Krimean penisula stopped the war.

[Stratos]

In 1956 the Soviets threaten France, GB and Israel with the big stick and in 1973 the location of some airborn divisions at the Krimean penisula stopped the war.

 

Can you develpe this please? Maybe in a non-SF related part of this forum?

[dsawan]

Hi, i would go with the French assessment. See here:

 

http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/israel/nuke/index.html