Comment by stevenjgarner

Did some research on the yields of the nuclear weapons placed in Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis which apparently are now well-known, largely due to information released by Soviet officials and military historians in the decades following the Cold War (specifically in the early 1990s).

While the United States was unaware of the sheer number of warheads at the time (estimating far fewer or none operational), it is now confirmed that approximately 158 nuclear warheads were on the island.

The yields for these specific weapon systems were as follows:

1. Strategic Ballistic Missiles These were the weapons that triggered the crisis—long-range missiles capable of striking deep into the continental United States.

a) SS-4 Sandal (R-12) Missiles

Yield: ~1 Megaton (1,000 kT)

Status: There were roughly 36 to 40 of these missiles in Cuba. The warheads were present and could have been mated to the missiles within hours. A 1 MT explosion is roughly 60–70 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima.

b) SS-5 Skean (R-14) Missiles

Yield: ~1 to 2.3 Megatons (1,000–2,300 kT)

Status: The nuclear warheads for these missiles did arrive in Cuba, but the missiles themselves were blocked by the quarantine (blockade) and never reached the island.

2. Tactical (Battlefield) Nuclear Weapons This is the category that most alarmed historians and officials when it was revealed in the 1990s. The U.S. did not know these were present or operational. If the U.S. had invaded (as was being debated), local Soviet commanders had pre-delegated authority (later rescinded) to use these against American landing forces.

a) FKR-1 (Meteor) Cruise Missiles

Yield: 5 to 14 Kilotons (kT)

Status: There were approximately 80 of these warheads. These were ground-launched cruise missiles intended for coastal defense and could have been used to strike the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay or incoming amphibious fleets.

b) Luna (FROG) Artillery Rockets

Yield: 2 Kilotons (kT)

Status: There were 12 of these warheads. These were short-range battlefield rockets intended to destroy troop concentrations on the beachheads.

c) IL-28 "Beagle" Bombers

Yield: ~28–30 Kilotons (kT)

Status: There were 6 nuclear bombs (likely the RDS-4 type) specifically for these light bombers. The aircraft were capable of striking targets in Florida or regionally.

[1] https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1177/009634021246436...

[2] https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1961-63v10...

[3] https://www.atomicarchive.com/history/cuban-missile-crisis/m...

[4] http://www.cubanmissilecrisis.org/background/frequently-aske...

[5] https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book-special-exhibit/cuba...

[6] https://www.cfr.org/blog/twe-remembers-secret-soviet-tactica...

[7] https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB449/

[8] http://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-...