Thor
STopgap ICBM
Weapon Specifications
Note that the relationship between explosive power and destruction is not linear—a weapon’s destructive effects grow far more slowly than its explosive power.
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
NukeMap
Simulated destruction of a Thor missile at the Royal Air Force Feltwell station, in Norfolk, East Anglia, England. Click on the map to change parameters.
Videos
These curated videos provide additional context for this weapon — showing test footage, deployment scenes, technical explanations, interviews, or other historical material, allowing viewers to go deeper into the weapon’s design, use, and place in nuclear history.
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).