1955 Soviet nuclear tests

Last updated
1955
Information
CountrySoviet Union
Test siteGround Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan; NZ Area A, Chyornaya Guba, Novaya Zemlya, Russia
Period1955
Number of tests7
Test typeair drop, dry surface, underwater
Max. yield1.6 megatonnes of TNT (6.7 PJ)
Test series chronology
Map all coordinatesin "1955 Soviet nuclear tests" using: OpenStreetMap  

Download coordinates as:

• KML
• GPX (all coordinates)
• GPX (primary coordinates)
• GPX (secondary coordinates)

The Soviet Union's 1955 nuclear test series [1] was a group of 7 nuclear tests conducted in 1955. These tests followed the 1954 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1956 Soviet nuclear tests series.

Soviet Union's 1955 series tests and detonations
Name [note 1] Date time (UT) Local time zone [note 2] [2] Location [note 3] Elevation + height [note 4] Delivery, [note 5]
Purpose [note 6] 		Device [note 7] Yield [note 8] Fallout [note 9] References Notes
19 (Joe 15)29 July 1955 02:00:?? ALMT (6 hrs)
Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50°24′N77°48′E / 50.4°N 77.8°E / 50.4; 77.8 (19 (Joe 15)) 280 m (920 ft) + 2 m (6 ft 7 in)dry surface,
weapons development 		RDS-9 1.3 kt [1] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Tests of the T-5 torpedo warhead RDS-9.
20 (Joe 16)2 August 1955 03:00:?? ALMT (6 hrs)
Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan 50°22′19″N77°49′30″E / 50.372°N 77.825°E / 50.372; 77.825 (20 (Joe 16)) 280 m (920 ft) + 2 m (6 ft 7 in)dry surface,
weapons development 		RDS-9 12 kt [1] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Tests of the T-5 torpedo warhead RDS-9.
215 August 1955ALMT (6 hrs)
Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan 50°22′19″N77°49′30″E / 50.372°N 77.825°E / 50.372; 77.825 (21) 280 m (920 ft) + 1 m (3 ft 3 in)dry surface,
weapons development 		RDS-9 1.2 kt [1] [4] [6] [7] [8] Tests of the T-5 torpedo warhead RDS-9.
unnumbered #121 September 1955ALMT (6 hrs)
Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan 50°22′19″N77°49′30″E / 50.372°N 77.825°E / 50.372; 77.825 (unnumbered #1) 280 m (920 ft) + dry surface,
no yield [1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
22 (Joe 17)21 September 1955 05:00:54 MSK (3 hrs)
NZ Area A, Chyornaya Guba, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 70°42′11″N54°36′00″E / 70.703°N 54.6°E / 70.703; 54.6 (22 (Joe 17)) 0–12 m (39 ft)underwater,
weapon effect 		RDS-9/T-5 torpedo 3.5 kt [1] [3] [5] [6] [9] [10] [11] First test at NTSNZ of a torpedo design. 30 ships arrayed around the blast, some quite new. Sunk and damaged several.
23 (Joe 18)6 November 1955 04:50:?? ALMT (6 hrs)
Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50°24′N77°48′E / 50.4°N 77.8°E / 50.4; 77.8 (23 (Joe 18)) 280 m (920 ft) + 1,000 m (3,300 ft)air drop,
weapons development 		RDS-27 250 kt [1] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] aka RDS-27, boosted fission.
24 Binarnaya (Binary)? (Joe 19) 22 November 1955ALMT (6 hrs)
Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan 50°25′N77°47′E / 50.42°N 77.78°E / 50.42; 77.78 (24 Binarnaya (Binary)? (Joe 19)) 280 m (920 ft) + 1,550 m (5,090 ft)air drop,
weapons development 		RDS-37 1.6 Mt [1] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] aka RDS-37, Soviet superbomb. 2 stage radiation implosion (Sakharov's "third idea", the equivalent to the Teller-Ullam design). Two people were killed in collapses because an inversion layer focused the energy, 47 other injuries.
  1. ↑ The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China did not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions – Soviet peaceful explosions were named). Word translations into English in parentheses unless the name is a proper noun. A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also sometimes named the individual explosions in such a salvo test, which results in "name1 – 1(with name2)". If test is canceled or aborted, then the row data like date and location discloses the intended plans, where known.
  2. ↑ To convert the UT time into standard local, add the number of hours in parentheses to the UT time; for local daylight saving time, add one additional hour. If the result is earlier than 00:00, add 24 hours and subtract 1 from the day; if it is 24:00 or later, subtract 24 hours and add 1 to the day. Historical time zone data obtained from the IANA time zone database.
  3. ↑ Rough place name and a latitude/longitude reference; for rocket-carried tests, the launch location is specified before the detonation location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area.
  4. ↑ Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example, Plumbbob/John. No number or units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero. Sorting on this column is by elevation and height added together.
  5. ↑ Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT. Intentional cratering tests are borderline; they occurred under the treaty, were sometimes protested, and generally overlooked if the test was declared to be a peaceful use.
  6. ↑ Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
  7. ↑ Designations for test items where known, "?" indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. This category of information is often not officially disclosed.
  8. ↑ Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
  9. ↑ Radioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it is all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and "all" if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, where known, and the measured amount of radioactivity released.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1964 Soviet nuclear tests</span>

The Soviet Union's 1964 nuclear test series was a group of 9 nuclear tests conducted in 1964. These tests followed the 1962 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1965 Soviet nuclear tests series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1965 Soviet nuclear tests</span>

The Soviet Union's 1965 nuclear test series was a group of 14 nuclear tests conducted in 1965. These tests followed the 1964 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1966 Soviet nuclear tests series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1962 Soviet nuclear tests</span> Weapons testing

The Soviet Union's 1962 nuclear test series was a group of 78 nuclear tests conducted in 1962. These tests followed the Soviet Project K nuclear tests series and preceded the 1964 Soviet nuclear tests series.

The Soviet Union's 1961 nuclear test series was a group of 57 nuclear tests conducted in 1961. These tests followed the 1958 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the Soviet Project K nuclear tests series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1958 Soviet nuclear tests</span>

The Soviet Union's 1958 nuclear test series was a group of 36 nuclear tests conducted in 1958. These tests followed the 1957 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1961 Soviet nuclear tests series.

The Soviet Union's 1957 nuclear test series was a group of 16 nuclear tests conducted in 1957. These tests followed the 1956 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1958 Soviet nuclear tests series.

The Soviet Union's 1956 nuclear test series was a group of 9 nuclear tests conducted in 1956. These tests followed the 1955 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1957 Soviet nuclear tests series.

The Soviet Union's 1954 nuclear test series was a group of 10 nuclear tests conducted in 1954. These tests followed the 1953 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1955 Soviet nuclear tests series.

The Soviet Union's 1953 nuclear test series was a group of 5 nuclear tests conducted in 1953. These tests followed the 1949-51 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1954 Soviet nuclear tests series.

The Soviet Union's 1949–1951 nuclear test series was a group of 3 nuclear tests conducted in 1949–1951. These tests preceded the 1953 Soviet nuclear tests series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1967 Soviet nuclear tests</span>

The Soviet Union's 1967 nuclear test series was a group of 17 nuclear tests conducted in 1967. These tests followed the 1966 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1968 Soviet nuclear tests series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1968 Soviet nuclear tests</span>

The Soviet Union's 1968 nuclear test series was a group of 17 nuclear tests conducted in 1968. These tests followed the 1967 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1969 Soviet nuclear tests series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1970 Soviet nuclear tests</span> 16 detonations of atomic bombs in the Eurasian country

The Soviet Union's 1970 nuclear test series was a group of 16 nuclear tests conducted in 1970. These tests followed the 1969 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1971 Soviet nuclear tests series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1971 Soviet nuclear tests</span> Detonations of atomic bombs in the Eurasian country

The Soviet Union's 1971 nuclear test series was a group of 23 nuclear tests conducted in 1971. These tests followed the 1970 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1972 Soviet nuclear tests series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1972 Soviet nuclear tests</span>

The Soviet Union's 1972 nuclear test series was a group of 24 nuclear tests conducted in 1972. These tests followed the 1971 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1973 Soviet nuclear tests series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1973 Soviet nuclear tests</span>

The Soviet Union's 1973 nuclear test series was a group of 17 nuclear tests conducted in 1973. These tests followed the 1972 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1974 Soviet nuclear tests series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1975 Soviet nuclear tests</span>

The Soviet Union's 1975 nuclear test series was a group of 19 nuclear tests conducted in 1975. These tests followed the 1974 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1976 Soviet nuclear tests series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1978 Soviet nuclear tests</span>

The Soviet Union's 1978 nuclear test series was a group of 31 nuclear tests conducted in 1978. These tests followed the 1977 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1979 Soviet nuclear tests series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1980 Soviet nuclear tests</span>

The Soviet Union's 1980 nuclear test series was a group of 24 nuclear tests conducted in 1980. These tests followed the 1979 Soviet nuclear tests series and preceded the 1981 Soviet nuclear tests series.

The Soviet Union's 1990 nuclear test series was a group of 2 nuclear tests conducted in 1990–1991. These tests followed the 1989 Soviet nuclear tests series.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Yang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl (August 2000). CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3) (Technical report). SMDC Monitoring Research.
  2. ↑ "Time Zone Historical Database". iana.com. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Soviet Atomic Energy Program (PDF) (Technical report). National Intelligence Estimate 11-2A-62. Central Intelligence Agency. May 16, 1962. Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nuclear explosions in the USSR: The North Test Site reference material, version 4 (PDF) (Technical report). IAEA Dept. of Nuclear Safety and Security. December 1, 2004. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cochran, Thomas B.; Arkin, William M.; Norris, Robert S.; Sands, Jeffrey I. Nuclear Weapons Databook Vol. IV: Soviet Nuclear Weapons. New York, NY: Harper and Row.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Podvig, Pavel, ed. (2001). Russian Strategic Nuclear Forces. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. ISBN   9780262661812 . Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 USSR Nuclear Weapons Tests and Peaceful Nuclear Explosions 1949 through 1990. Sarov, Russia: RFNC-VNIIEF. 1996. The official Russian list of Soviet tests.
  8. ↑ Andrushkin, Vitaly V.; Leith, William (September 1, 2001). The containment of Soviet underground nuclear explosions (PDF) (Open File Report 01-312). USGS. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 9, 2013. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  9. ↑ Khalturin, Vitaly I.; Rautian, Tatyana G.; Richards, Paul G.; Leith, William S. (10 April 2004). "A Review of Nuclear Testing by the Soviet Union at Novaya Zemlya, 1955--1990" (PDF). Science and Global Security. 13 (1): 1–42. Bibcode:2005S&GS...13....1K. doi:10.1080/08929880590961862. S2CID   122069080 . Retrieved August 12, 2014.
  10. ↑ J. N., Smith; Ellis, K. M.; Polyak, L.; Ivanov, G.; Forman, S. L.; Moran, S. B. (2000). 239, 240 Pu transport into the Arctic Ocean from underwater nuclear tests in Chernaya Bay, Novaya Zemlya. Continental Shelf Research (Technical report). Vol. 20. pp. 255–279. doi:10.1016/s0278-4343(99)00066-7.
  11. ↑ USSR Nuclear Tests, Hydronuclear Experiments, Plutonium Inventory. Sarov, Russia: RFNC-VNIIEF. 1998.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.