Thor
STopgap ICBM
Explosive Power
1.44 megatons
Hiroshima Equivalent Factor
96x
Dimensions
64 ft., 10 inches x 8 ft.
Weight
109,330 lbs.
Range
1750 miles
Year(s)
1959–1963
Purpose
Attack Moscow from England
About the Thor
Forthcoming…
Gallery
Nukemap
NUKEMAP is a web-based mapping program that attempts to give the user a sense of the destructive power of nuclear weapons. It was created by Alex Wellerstein, a historian specializing in nuclear weapons (see his book on nuclear secrecy and his blog on nuclear weapons). The screenshot below shows the NUKEMAP output for this particular weapon. Click on the map to customize settings.
Videos
Click on the Play button and then the Full screen brackets on the lower right to view each video. Click on the Exit full screen cross at lower right (the “X” on a mobile device) to return.
Further Reading
- Wikipedia, Missilery.info (plus see this timeline), Designation Systems, Federation of American Scientists
- The Thors were based in the UK (where they could strike Moscow and the western Soviet Union)–the Harrington Aviation Museum in the UK offers an overview of the Thor and its history. See also this page on the British installations.
- MilitaryHistories.co.uk has put together a full web page on the Thor, with a dozen and a half pages covering it from every angle.
- British Pathé’s collection of Thor-related newsreels.
- Here’s a video on the Thor by the New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamagordo (on Facebook)
that I can’t find on Youtube(Found it).