B43 nuclear bomb

It could be delivered at altitudes as low as 300 ft (90 m), with fuzing options for airburst, ground burst, free fall, contact, or laydown delivery.

[1] Carrier aircraft included most USAF, USN and USMC fighters, bombers and attack aircraft, including the A-3 Skywarrior, A-4 Skyhawk, A-5 Vigilante, A-6 Intruder, A-7 Corsair II, B-47 Stratojet, B-52 Stratofortress, B-58A Hustler, F-100 Super Sabre, F-105 Thunderchief, F-4 Phantom II, F-104 Starfighter, FB-111A strategic bomber variant, F-15E Strike Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F/A-18 Hornet.

The B43 was also supplied for delivery by Royal Air Force Canberra and Valiant aircraft assigned to NATO under the command of SACEUR.

The B43 was never used in combat, but it was involved in a nuclear accident when an A-4E Skyhawk, BuNo 151022, of the USS Ticonderoga (CVA-14) (from Attack Squadron VA-56), was lost off the coast of Japan on 5 December 1965 when it rolled off an elevator, in 16,000 ft (2,700 fathoms; 4,900 m) of water in the Pacific Ocean, 80 mi (130 km) from Kikai Island, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.

[4] No public mention was made of the incident at the time and it would not come to light until a 1989 US DoD report revealed that one of these one-megaton bombs (which had recently been retired from service and replaced) had gone missing.