High explosive nuclear effects testing comprises large scale field tests using conventional high explosives as alternatives to atmospheric nuclear testing.
High explosive nuclear effects testing comprises large scale field tests using conventional high explosives as alternatives to atmospheric nuclear testing.
When the Limited Test Ban Treaty came into effect in 1963, nuclear testing in the atmosphere was prohibited. However, alternatives to atmospheric nuclear testing were required to continue the study of nuclear weapons effects. [1] These would allow obtaining data related to air-blast, ground-shock, structure-response data, bio-medical effects, and other various phenomena. Large scale field tests using conventional high explosives were devised to this end.
The following is a list of such events with yields of more than 1000 pounds. [2]
| Name | Series | Date | Test Site | Country | Max Yield (pounds) | Shots | Explosive | Type | HOB (feet) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trinity (100-ton Test on tower) | Trinity | 7 May 1945 | White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico | United States | 216,000 | 1 | TNT, Composition B. | Airburst/Tower | 20 | Calibration test preceding the first nuclear explosion |
| Dahlgren | NOL | 22 Sept-18 Nov 1952 | Dahlgren, Virginia | United States | 4,200 | 28 | TNT Mk 7 Depth charge | Underwater | -2.3 to -5.4 | Obtain data on the scaling of surface phenomena from shallow underwater explosions and studies of base surge and water formation. |
| Jangle HE 1-4 | Jangle | 25 Aug 1951 - 9 Sept 1951 | Nevada Test Site, Area 10 | United States | 40,000 | 4 | TNT |
| 0 to -6.9 | Scaled predictions for shallow underground and surface nuclear tests. Wave forms, scale and model laws. |
| Jangle HE 5-10 | Jangle | 25 Aug 1951 - 9 Sept 1951 | Nevada Test Site, Area 5 | United States | 2,560 | 6 | TNT, Pentolite | Surface | -1 to -3 | Base surge and cratering phenomena studies, ground activity differences with pentolite. |
| Dugway | Underground Explosion Test Program | 5 May 1951 - 13 Nov 1951 |
| United States | 320,000 | 68 | TNT | Underground | -7 to -35 | To study the generation and propagation of explosive waves from underground detonations and the effects of these waves on underground structures. To compare cratering in dry sand, clay, wet clay, limestone, granite, and sandstone. |
| Pacific Proving Ground HE | Pacific Proving Ground | Spring 1952 | Eniwetok, Eugelab Island | Marshall Islands | 40,000 | 5 | R-7-HDA (C2) and R-7-HCA (Tetrytal) | Surface | 0 | Comparison of saturated coral with Nevada soil. |
| Mississippi | Waterways Experiment Station | 1952 | Mississippi River near Vicksburg, Mississippi | United States | 2,048 | 3 | TNT | Underwater | Determine effects of a 20-kt nuclear explosion in water depths typical of harbor areas. | |
| Sevier Bridge | NOL | 24 Nov 1953 | Sevier Bridge Reservoir, Salt Lake City, Utah | United States | 90,000 | 1 | TNT Mk 14 Demolition | Underwater | -11.1 | Scale the base surge of a high-explosive in shallow water with Test Baker of Operation Crossroads at Bikini. |
| Cowboy | Plowshare | 18 Dec 1959 - 4 Mar 1960 | Carey Salt Mine, Winnfield, Louisiana | United States | 2,000 | 15 | Pelletol 1 | Underground | -45 to -110 | Determine whether exploding an HE charge in the center of an underground sphere would produce seismic decoupling of the shock wave. |
| Suffield 1959 | Suffield | 27 Jul 1959 - Dec 10 1959 | Suffield Experimental Station, Alberta | Canada | 10,000 | 5 | TNT | Surface | 0 | Compare airblast effectiveness of ground burst cast TNT charges and those made up from a large number of cast blocks of TNT detonated in contact with frozen and unfrozen prairie. |
| Buckboard | Plowshare | Jun - Sept 1960 | Nevada Test Site, Area 10 | United States | 40,000 | 13 | TNT | Underground | -5 to -60 | Cratering tests comparing effects of yield, depth of burst, and surrounding medium. Included study of seismic signals. |
| Scooter | Plowshare | 13 Oct 1960 | Nevada Test Site, Area 10, Yucca Flat | United States | 1,000,000 | 1 | TNT | Underground | -125 | Provide technical and scientific information concerning the mechanics of crater formation by large underground chemical explosions and to relate craters produced by chemical and nuclear explosives. Included observations of ground motion, crater dimensions, throwout distribution, and a clarification of scaling laws. |
| Stagecoach I, II, III | Plowshare | 15-25 Mar 1960 | Nevada Test Site, Area 10 | United States | 40,000 | 3 | TNT | Underground | -17 to -80 | Verify and refine apparent departures from cube-root scaling . Tasks included blast geometry, seismic measurements, and throwout distribution, pressure measurements, and other cratering phenomena. |
| Suffield 1960 | Suffield | 18 Aug 1960 | Suffield Experimental Station, Alberta | Canada | 40,000 | 1 | TNT, Tetryol booster | Surface | 0 | Measure blast effects, including outgoing shock and blast waves and various ground effects. |
| Edwards AF Base | Edwards AF Base | 18 Aug 1960 | Edwards Air Force Base, California | United States | 10,000 | 3 | TNT | Airburst/Tower | 0 - 13.5 | Increase the scope and reliability of the scaling factor for damage to military vehicles from sub-kiloton yields. |
| Blowdown | Dolphin | 18 Jul 1963 | Iron Range Test Site, Queensland | Australia | 100,000 | 1 | TNT | Airburst/Tower | 136 | Obtain data on tree blowdown and blast effects in a rainforest environment |
| Snowball | Suffield | 17 Jul 1964 | Suffield Experimental Station, Alberta | Canada | 1,000,000 | 1 | TNT | Surface | 0 | Instrumentation development, blast, ground shock, electromagnetic and debris measurements as well as biomedical and underground target tests. |
| Alpha | Sailor Hat | 12-14 Nov 1964 | San Clemente Island, CA | United States | 40,000 | 2 | HBX | Underwater | -200 | Test of underwater blast and shock in preparation for larger Sailor Hat tests |
| Bravo | Sailor Hat | 6 Feb 1965 | Kahoʻolawe, Hawaii | United States | 1,000,000 | 1 | TNT | Surface | 0 | Effects of high energy airblast loading and underwater shock on surface ships and weapon systems, seaworthiness and mobility. |
| Charlie | Sailor Hat | 16 Apr 1965 | Kahoʻolawe, Hawaii | United States | 1,000,000 | 1 | TNT | Surface | 0 | Effects of high energy airblast loading and underwater shock on surface ships and weapon systems, seaworthiness and mobility. |
| Delta | Sailor Hat | 9 Jun 1965 | Kahoʻolawe, Hawaii | United States | 1,000,000 | 1 | TNT | Surface | 0 | Effects of high energy airblast loading and underwater shock on surface ships and weapon systems, seaworthiness and mobility. |
| Minor Scale | 27 Jun 1985 | White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico | United States | 9,488,000 | 1 | ANFO | Surface | 0 | Effects of high energy blasts on various military hardware, particularly new, blast-hardened launchers for the Midgetman ballistic missile. |
Little Boy was the name of the type of atomic bomb used in the bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945 during World War II, making it the first nuclear weapon used in warfare. The bomb was dropped by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay piloted by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets Jr., commander of the 509th Composite Group, and Captain Robert A. Lewis. It exploded with an energy of approximately 15 kilotons of TNT (63 TJ) and had an explosion radius of approximately 1.3 kilometers which caused widespread death across the city. The Hiroshima bombing was the second nuclear explosion in history, after the Trinity nuclear test.
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A neutron bomb, officially defined as a type of enhanced radiation weapon (ERW), is a low-yield thermonuclear weapon designed to maximize lethal neutron radiation in the immediate vicinity of the blast while minimizing the physical power of the blast itself. The neutron release generated by a nuclear fusion reaction is intentionally allowed to escape the weapon, rather than being absorbed by its other components. The neutron burst, which is used as the primary destructive action of the warhead, is able to penetrate enemy armor more effectively than a conventional warhead, thus making it more lethal as a tactical weapon.
A nuclear bunker buster, also known as an earth-penetrating weapon (EPW), is the nuclear equivalent of the conventional bunker buster. The non-nuclear component of the weapon is designed to penetrate soil, rock, or concrete to deliver a nuclear warhead to an underground target. These weapons would be used to destroy hardened, underground military bunkers or other below-ground facilities. An underground explosion releases a larger fraction of its energy into the ground, compared to a surface burst or air burst explosion at or above the surface, and so can destroy an underground target using a lower explosive yield. This in turn could lead to a reduced amount of radioactive fallout. However, it is unlikely that the explosion would be completely contained underground. As a result, significant amounts of rock and soil would be rendered radioactive and lofted as dust or vapor into the atmosphere, generating significant fallout.
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Misty Picture was a test conducted on May 14, 1987 by the United States Defense Nuclear Agency involving the detonation of several thousand tons of conventional explosives to simulate the explosion of a small nuclear bomb.