Weteye bomb

The Weteye bomb was developed for the United States Navy during the early 1960s. In 1969 the entire arsenal of US Weteye bombs were stored at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Colorado. Most Weteye bombs stored at Rocky Mountain Arsenal were demilitarized and destroyed in 1977; however, approximately 900 Weteye bombs were not destroyed until December 2001. ==Specifications==

The interior of the Weteye was divided into three sections. The Weteye body was composed of thin aluminum alloy. It had fins which deployed after the bomb was released. The 240-kilogram Weteye held about of liquid sarin nerve agent. ==Nomenclature==

Officially, the Weteye was known as the Mark 116, or Mk-116 bomb. While this was the official military nomenclature for the weapon, early in its production it acquired the nickname "Weteye". Weteye was derived from the fact that the weapon was filled with a liquid nerve agent, sarin, thus the "wet" portion of the name. The "eye" portion of the name was associated with it being developed by the US Navy at China Lake as part of its eye-series weapon program (bombs guided by the "Mark 1 eyeball"), a program intended to improve air-delivered munitions. ==Transfer to Utah==

Demilitarization operations at Rocky Mountain Arsenal left exactly 888 Weteye bombs intact and in storage in Colorado. The transfer was controversial and Matheson continued to fight it until the U.S. Senate passed a bill which included an amendment sponsored by then-U.S. Senator Gary Hart (D-CO) requiring the weapons be moved out of Colorado. Matheson's concern stemmed from the fact that some of the thin-shelled Weteyes stored in Colorado were leaking nerve agent. After rounds of protests and legal action that went to the U.S. District Court the transfer went ahead. An Air Force C-141 jet carried the initial transfer of 64 Weteye bombs on August 12, 1981 to an air field at Dugway Proving Ground. The event was heavily covered by the media. The moves continued for the next three weeks and Weteyes were moved to the south area of the Tooele Army Depot, which became known as the Deseret Chemical Depot. In 1996, the Deseret Chemical Depot began destruction operations of general chemical weapons. In the spring of 2001 destruction and demilitarization of the Weteyes began and the operation ended in December 2001 with the destruction of the last of 888 Weteyes. ==Disposal and transfer issues==

Public relations officials for the Deseret Chemical Depot asserted at the time that during the 2001 disposal operations there were "no problems". These issues combined to make the Weteye sufficiently difficult to dispose of that it required special handling. ==See also==