V Force - Radiation risk - Yellow Sun
 

Any body still around from V Force days. What was the radiation risk to ground crew from being in proximity to the Yellow Sun Mk 1 / 2 nuclear bombs with either ''Green Grass" or "Red Snow" warheads used on QRA - Victor B1 /1a Aircraft in the early 1960s? In 1963/4, I was ground crew on the Cottesmore QRA ( weekend Fri - Mon and mid week Mon - Fri ). On several occasions I was carrying out daily servicing while the Armorers had the Bomb Bays doors open for servicing the weapon. Scary view for an 18 year old ARM.
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Offhand the risk should have been minimal. The radioactivity from the ingredients is mostly alpha and beta particles, which are confined by the bomb package.
Note that the late Joe Stalin, when given a lump of plutonium which was a bomb core, was immediately suspicious as there was nothing obviously nuclear happening to that lump.
Fortunately the physicist who brought out the specimen was sufficiently unintimidated that he told the dictator 'feel it, it is warm', courtesy of ongoing radioactive decay.

Spent plenty of time upclose with YS. Still here!

I was a member of a bombing up team at Cottesmore and I'm still here too. I would have thought that the greatest risk was to the the RAF Policeman and his dog who were the security detail.

Suspect the aircrews detailed for post test radiation sniffing would have had significant exposure to airborne particles.

And lived Happily Ever After!

I would have thought a bigger risk to ground crew would come from being assigned to the Aircraft Wash Team!

Still around , in excellent health and still flying, 76 tomorrow. Lots of yellow suns at Marham when I was on Valiants, 207 Sqn., and trained on LML.

Radiation risk
 

I have done my fair share of QRA's at Honington, but was also a member of a six man "Special Safety Team" that were on standby in case a weapon was involved in a crash. It would not trigger a nuclear explosion, but would more than likely set off the HE element & fracture the "physics package" on an A-Bomb that would contain enriched uranium & on a H-Bomb, that would contain plutonium. We were issued with hermaticlt sealed plastic suits, similar to the ones seen at the Novochok attack in Salsbury. We knew that we would be irradiated, but if we could get in there quick enough& do our job Then get out, we might just survive. The good thing was that the suits stopped us from inhaling radioactive particles which would cause a very nasty death within days. Luckily, we were never called out.

Happy Birthday, I thought I was pretty young for Valiants -I’m 77 next month- you must have been very young indeed !

Slightly off topic but I seem to remember that the core was delivered to the crew to insert in the warhead. Prior to insertion the ball bearings which stopped the space for the core collapsing had to be drained into a container. I can remember watching a practice load when the thousands of ball bearings missed the container and ended up all over the apron!

Believe it or not, the nav rad then had to count the ball bearings to make sure they had all fallen out. Apparently just one remaining in the beast would cause it to fail. Bit of a pantomine in practice!

IIRC, B1a s from Waddo often carried out high altitude radiation level sampling around the world and were put into the shed on their return. Now, changing the Brake Chute every 28days was an OOP task so if the jet didn’t stream on its return, we had to go and change it in situ. Ergo, I spent many an hour straddled over the brake chute compartment in the ECM bulge at the back. I don’t think I noticed it glowing at any point, but in later life the results of a routine sperm count did give me some concerns....The Doc at the time said we would be unlikely ever to have kids...🤭

However, 50 plus years on we have two strapping lads and three lovely grandchildren, and I still have all my hair...


Continual use of solvents in maintenance activity is another matter.