ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

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Red Beard was the first British tactical nuclear weapon. It was transported by the English Electric Canberra and the V bombers of the Royal Air Force (RAF); by the Blackburn Buccaneers, Sea Vixens and Supermarine Scimitars of the Royal Navy (RN), and by the Fleet Air. Am (FAA). Developed for the 1127 Operational Requirement (OR.1127), it was introduced in 1961 and entered into service in 1962. It was replaced by the WE.177 in the early 1970s and retired in 1971.

Design
The Beard Network was an unpowered fission weapon using a compound core (mixed core in British terminology of the time). The compound core used weapons-suitable plutonium and weapons-suitable uranium 235, and was intended to minimize the risk of prior detonation that was a characteristic of the plutonium designs of that period with yields greater than 10 kilotons (kt). An additional benefit of the compound core was a more economical use of fissile material. The design was tested twice during the nuclear test series of Operation Buffalo in Maralinga, Australia, first on 27 September 1956 (in which a 15 kt explosion formed a resulting fungus-shaped cloud that rose to a height of) and again on 22 October 1956. Although the design concept of the Red Beard was similar to that of the Blue Danube warhead, an innovative implosion medium meant that its total size could be significantly reduced.

Its measurements were of length, diameter and a weight of approximately. Two versions were produced: the Mk.1, with a performance of 15 kilotons, and the Mk.2, with a performance of 25 kilotons. The Mk.2 was available in two variants, No. 1, used by high-altitude bombers and No. 2, which was intended for low-level delivery through the toss pumping method, and its' shot on the shoulder 'variant known as the low-altitude bombing system (LABS).

Service appointments for the Beard Network at the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy were:

Bomb, Aircraft, HE 2,000 lb MC Mk.1 No.1
Bomb, Aircraft, HE 2,000 lb MC Mk.1 No.2
Bomb, Aircraft, HE 2,000 lb MC Mk.2 No.1
Bomb, Aircraft, HE 2,000 lb MC Mk.2 No.2

With an approximate weight of, the Beard Network was considerably lighter than those of the official service designation, which was based on the original technical requirement.

A significant improvement with respect to the predecessor of Red Beard, the Blue Danbe, was the provision of electrical power for the pump firing mechanism and the fusion of the radar altimeter. The Blue Danube had used 6 batteries of plumo-volt acid that were unreliable and had to be installed in the last minute before take-off. There were also potential risks associated with "lost" electrical shocks in the firing mechanisms that could have caused accidental detonation. The Red Beard used twin air turbines on the nose, after