Red Snow, Nuclear Warhead

This green cylinder contained the Red Snow thermo-nuclear warhead fitted to the Blue Steel standoff missile and provided the weapon with its yield of roughly one megaton.

Based on the American W28 warhead, Red Snow was fitted to the Yellow Sun free fall nuclear bomb and the Blue Steel standoff missile. It entered service in 1961 and was retired in the early 1970s when the Royal Navy took over the UK’s strategic nuclear capability. Launched from an Avro Vulcan or a Handley Page Victor, the Blue Steel missile could deliver the Red Snow warhead to a maximum range of 150 miles.