Joe-19

thermonuclear bomb

Also known as: RDS-37

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Last updated

July 19, 2026

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Joe-19 refers to a Soviet thermonuclear bomb detonated on November 22, 1955. This weapon was a two-stage device that utilized radiation compression, similar to the Teller-Ulam design. It was dropped from a bomber at the Semipalatinsk test site in Kazakhstan. The successful detonation of Joe-19 marked a significant milestone for the Soviet Union, as it effectively solved the problem of creating high-performance thermonuclear weapons and paved the way for a range of advanced devices. This event was a crucial step in the development of Soviet nuclear capabilities.1

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nuclear weapon
Thermonuclear weapons
Known in the West as Joe-19 and RDS-37 in the Soviet Union, the thermonuclear bomb was dropped from a bomber at the Semipalatinsk (now Semey, Kazakhstan) test site. As recounted by Sakharov, this test “crowned years of effort [and] opened the way for a whole range of devices with remarkable…
Read More
Known in the West as Joe-19 and RDS-37 in the Soviet Union, the thermonuclear bomb was dropped from a bomber at the Semipalatinsk (now Semey, Kazakhstan) test site. As recounted by Sakharov, this test “crowned years of effort [and] opened the way for a whole range of devices with remarkable…
Read More