Nickname of the smallest
nuclear weapon ever fielded by the
United States military, the W-54
warhead. Also known as the
atomic bazooka, it weighed only 25kg and measured 27.3cm wide by 44.7cm long and had an
explosive yield equivalent to 10-20 tons of
TNT. It was designed to be fired from the
bazooka-like M-28 recoilless rifle with a range of over 3km. The system's purpose was to give nuclear capability to the
infantry. It was designed to be mounted on a
jeep or
armored personnel carrier, and a tripod-mounted, man-portable version was also manufactured. It was actually live-fired from an armored personnel carrier on July 17, 1962 as part of a troop maneuver called exercise Ivy Flats, and was the last atmospheric test ever conducted at the
Nevada Test Site. It entered service in 1961 and 400 were made before it was retired from the
stockpile in 1971. The W-54 was also the heart of the
Special Atomic Demolition Munition, more popularly called backpack or suitcase
nukes. The name "Davy Crockett" was chosen to reflect its intended use as a direct fire, "
last stand"
weapon by infantry troops against invading
Soviet armored forces.
Most of these facts were taken from the Federation of American Scientists Special Weapons Archive at http://www.fas.org/nuke/hew/Usa/Weapons/Allbombs.html, which has many interesting facts about nuclear weapons in general. Pictures of the Davy Crockett can be found at http://www.fas.org/nuke/hew/Usa/Tests/Storax.html.