RDS-3 Soviet atomic bomb test (1951)

The third atomic bomb developed by the Soviet Union, RDS-3 Marya/Joe-3 was tested on October 18, 1951 at the Semipalatinsk test site. This was the first Soviet air-dropped bomb test.

The bomb was dropped from a Tu-4 aircraft from a height of 10 km, it detonated 380 meters above the ground.

The bomb had a composite design with a plutonium core inside a uranium-235 shell, providing an explosive power of 41.2 kilotons of TNT.

Source: Rosatom

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