Operation Blowdown

Last updated

Operation Blowdown
OperationBlowdown1963Explosion.png
Detonation of 50 short tons (45 t) of TNT.
Information
CountryAustralia
Test siteIron Range Test Site, North Queensland
Coordinates 12°44′56″S143°16′46″E / 12.749°S 143.2795°E / -12.749; 143.2795
Date18 July 1963
Number of tests1
AgencyAustralian Army, DASA
ExplosiveTNT
ConfigurationStacked Sphere, Tower
Yield50 tons of TNT (210 GJ)
Test chronology

Operation Blowdown was an explosives test carried out in the Kutini-Payamu jungle of Australia's Cape York Peninsula in 1963, to simulate the effects of a nuclear weapon on tropical rainforest. It was conducted by the Australian Army, the Department of Supply, and the Defence Standards Laboratory with participation from the United Kingdom, Canada and United States. In addition, blast effects on military material, field fortifications, supply points, and foot and vehicle movement were examined in a rainforest environment. [1]

Contents

A spherical charge of 50 short tons (45 t) of TNT was detonated on a tower 136 feet (41 m) above ground level and 69 feet (21 m) above the rainforest canopy. After the explosion, troops were moved through the area (which was now covered in up to a metre of leaf litter), to test their ability to transit across the debris. In addition, obsolete vehicles and equipment left near the centre of the explosion were destroyed.

Although never officially stated, there is speculation that the test intended to determine the feasibility of using nuclear weapons in clearing the jungles of Vietnam, at a time of Australia's increasing involvement in the Vietnam war starting in 1962. [2]

United States participation included the establishment of pressure measurement equipment and the loan of photographic and instrumentation equipment, [1] [3] some of which had been used in the 1962 Project Plowshare. [2]

Preparations

Map of operations that indicates ground zero, severity of destruction areas, instrumentation lanes and placement of objects to test. OperationBlowdownComposite.png
Map of operations that indicates ground zero, severity of destruction areas, instrumentation lanes and placement of objects to test.

The construction of the base camp and test area was provided in part by the 24th Construction Squadron, Royal Australian Engineers. [1] [2] At ground zero, a straight sided tower was constructed to suspend a sphere of TNT charges. The charges were tins of 41 pounds of remelted and cast TNT from 155-mm shells. The final sphere contained a total of 2,438 TNT and 70 CE/TNT booster canisters resting on 408 support blocks with a diameter of approximately 13 feet (4.0 m). Extreme care needed to be taken during construction since damage or air gaps might have caused jetting or deformation of the blast wave. [1]

The section of rainforest selected was typical of North Queensland and contained 70 different tree species of varying sizes. Four lanes centred on the tower were set up with instrumentation and one 200-foot wide lane was cleared of vegetation except for select trees to study the impact with varying distances from ground zero. Furthermore, approximately 17,000 trees were catalogued to determine the effects of the blast. Military equipment including light and heavy weapons, mortar pits, ammunition, trenches, aerial masts, wireless communication equipment and cables were also positioned around the blast site, complete with simulated troops. [1]

Blast effects

At 8:30 am Eastern Australian time, 50 tons of TNT (210 GJ) were detonated flattening a considerable area of the test site. Observers were located on a nearby hill 2 miles (3.2 km) away and 650 feet (200 m) above ground zero. Destruction was total within 250 feet (76 m), severe within 400 feet (120 m) and stopped around 900 feet (270 m). [1] The effects of overpressure are summarized by the following table. For reference, 5.0 psi is enough to destroy city areas while instruments at the blast site recorded 83 psi at approximately 190 feet (58 m). To understand the destructive forces, such an overpressure would correspond to wind speeds greater than 1,000 miles per hour (1,600 km/h), [4] and would be equivalent to a 1.0 megaton blast at 3,000 feet (910 m). [5] This also helps in understanding how a test of 50 tons could be used to evaluate nuclear weapons which may be in the kiloton and megaton ranges by reducing the distance to ground zero for greater effect. [5]

Operation Blowdown Blast Effects
Distance from GZ (feet)DamageOverpressure (psi)Notes
0-100Total320 (predicted, 90 ft)Trees sheared off or uprooted, deep layer of shattered leaves
100-200Severe83-188All trees down, no limbs, some uprooted
200-350Severe23-83Only smaller trees uprooted, few large trees standing
350-450Moderate13-23Trees defoliated, heavy limb accumulation
450-950Light3.5-13Lessening defoliation and breakage

See also

Related Research Articles

Overpressure is the pressure caused by a shock wave over and above normal atmospheric pressure. The shock wave may be caused by sonic boom or by explosion, and the resulting overpressure receives particular attention when measuring the effects of nuclear weapons or thermobaric bombs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Ivy</span> Series of 1950s US nuclear tests

Operation Ivy was the eighth series of American nuclear tests, coming after Tumbler-Snapper and before Upshot–Knothole. The two explosions were staged in late 1952 at Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Proving Ground in the Marshall Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Effects of nuclear explosions</span> Type and severity of damage caused by nuclear weapons

The effects of a nuclear explosion on its immediate vicinity are typically much more destructive and multifaceted than those caused by conventional explosives. In most cases, the energy released from a nuclear weapon detonated within the lower atmosphere can be approximately divided into four basic categories:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Crosstie</span> Series of 1960s US nuclear tests

Operation Crosstie was a series of 48 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1967–1968 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the Operation Latchkey series and preceded the Operation Bowline series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Castle</span> Series of 1950s US nuclear tests

Operation Castle was a United States series of high-yield (high-energy) nuclear tests by Joint Task Force 7 (JTF-7) at Bikini Atoll beginning in March 1954. It followed Operation Upshot–Knothole and preceded Operation Teapot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Ranger</span> Series of 1950s US nuclear tests

Operation Ranger was the fourth American nuclear test series. It was conducted in 1951 and was the first series to be carried out at the Nevada Test Site. All the bombs were dropped by B-50D bombers and exploded in the open air over Frenchman Flat (Area 5).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duck and cover</span> Method of personal protection from a nuclear explosion

"Duck and cover" is a method of personal protection against the effects of a nuclear explosion. Ducking and covering is useful in offering a degree of protection to personnel located outside the radius of the nuclear fireball but still within sufficient range of the nuclear explosion that standing upright and uncovered is likely to cause serious injury or death. In the most literal interpretation, the focus of the maneuver is primarily on protective actions one can take during the first few crucial seconds-to-minutes after the event, while the film of the same name and a full encompassing of the advice also cater to providing protection up to weeks after the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Wigwam</span> 1955 U.S. nuclear test

Operation Wigwam involved a single test of the Mark 90 "Betty" nuclear bomb. It was conducted between Operation Teapot and Project 56 on May 14, 1955, about 500 miles (800 km) southwest of San Diego, California. 6,800 personnel aboard 30 ships were involved in Wigwam. The purpose of Wigwam was to determine the vulnerability of submarines to deeply detonated nuclear weapons, and to evaluate the feasibility of using such weapons in a combat situation. The task force commander, Admiral John Sylvester, was embarked on the task force flagship USS Mount McKinley. Wigwam was the first atomic test in the deep ocean, and it remains the only test that has been conducted in water deeper than 1,000 ft (300 m).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Buster–Jangle</span> Series of 1950s US nuclear tests

Operation Buster–Jangle was a series of seven nuclear weapons tests conducted by the United States in late 1951 at the Nevada Test Site. Buster–Jangle was the first joint test program between the DOD and Los Alamos National Laboratories. As part of Operation Buster, 6,500 troops were involved in the Operation Desert Rock I, II, and III exercises in conjunction with the tests. The last two tests, Operation Jangle, evaluated the cratering effects of low-yield nuclear devices. This series preceded Operation Tumbler–Snapper and followed Operation Greenhouse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Hardtack I</span> Series of 1950s US nuclear tests

Operation Hardtack I was a series of 35 nuclear tests conducted by the United States from April 28 to August 18 in 1958 at the Pacific Proving Grounds. At the time of testing, the Operation Hardtack I test series included more nuclear detonations than the total of prior nuclear explosions in the Pacific Ocean. These tests followed the Project 58/58A series, which occurred from 1957 December 6 to 1958, March 14, and preceded the Operation Argus series, which took place in 1958 from August 27 to September 6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Redwing</span> Series of 1950s US nuclear tests

Operation Redwing was a United States series of 17 nuclear test detonations from May to July 1956. They were conducted at Bikini and Enewetak atolls by Joint Task Force 7 (JTF7). The entire operation followed Project 56 and preceded Project 57. The primary intention was to test new, second-generation thermonuclear weapons. Also tested were fission devices intended to be used as primaries for thermonuclear weapons, and small tactical weapons for air defense. Redwing demonstrated the first United States airdrop of a deliverable hydrogen bomb during test Cherokee. Because the yields for many tests at Operation Castle in 1954 were dramatically higher than predictions, Redwing was conducted using an "energy budget": There were limits to the total amount of energy released, and the amount of fission yield was also strictly controlled. Fission, primarily "fast" fission of the natural uranium tamper surrounding the fusion capsule, greatly increases the yield of thermonuclear devices, and constitutes the great majority of the fallout, as nuclear fusion is a relatively clean reaction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Sailor Hat</span> 1965 explosives test in Kahoolawe, Hawaii

Operation Sailor Hat was a series of explosives effects tests, conducted by the United States Navy Bureau of Ships under the sponsorship of the Defense Atomic Support Agency. The tests consisted of two underwater explosions at San Clemente Island, California in 1964 and three surface explosions at Kahoʻolawe, Hawaii in 1965. They were non-nuclear tests employing large quantities of conventional explosives to determine the effects of a nuclear weapon blast on naval vessels, and the first major test of this kind since Operation Crossroads in July 1946.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Julin</span> Series of 1990s US nuclear tests

Operation Julin was a group of 7 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1991–1992. These tests followed the Operation Sculpin series, and were the last before negotiations began for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bomb Power Indicator</span>

Bomb Power Indicator, also known by the acronym BPI, was an instrument built to detect nuclear explosions and measure the peak overpressure of their blast waves. It was used at the twenty five British Royal Observer Corps (ROC) controls and nearly 1,500 ROC underground monitoring posts, across the United Kingdom during the Cold War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Misty Picture</span> United States explosive test

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Distant Plain</span> Series of non-nuclear explosive and detonable gas tests

Operation Distant Plain was a series of non-nuclear explosive and detonable gas tests performed on test sites in Alberta, Canada, during the course of 1966 and 1967. Their purpose was to provide airblast, cratering, and ground shock data in summer and winter conditions for testing new prototype equipment, military targets and coniferous forest blowdown, and defoliation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Dominic</span> 1962 US nuclear test series

Operation Dominic was a series of 31 nuclear test explosions ("shots") with a 38.1 Mt (159 PJ) total yield conducted in 1962 by the United States in the Pacific. This test series was scheduled quickly, in order to respond in kind to the Soviet resumption of testing after the tacit 1958–1961 test moratorium. Most of these shots were conducted with free fall bombs dropped from B-52 bomber aircraft. Twenty of these shots were to test new weapons designs; six to test weapons effects; and several shots to confirm the reliability of existing weapons. The Thor missile was also used to lift warheads into near-space to conduct high-altitude nuclear explosion tests; these shots were collectively called Operation Fishbowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Snowball (test)</span> Canadian explosives test in 1964

Operation Snowball was a conventional explosive test to obtain information on nuclear weapon detonations run by the Defence Research Board with participation from the United Kingdom and United States. A detonation of 500 short tons (450 t) of TNT was used to study the resulting phenomena. The test was held at the Suffield Experimental Station in Alberta and was the largest ever man-made, non-accidental explosion in Canada. The test was also the first of its kind using a stacked TNT block hemisphere of such magnitude, a method repeated in six subsequent tests such as Operation Sailor Hat and Prairie Flat. The test allowed verifying predicted properties of shock and blast and determining its effect on a variety of military targets at varied distances from ground zero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Prairie Flat</span> Conventional explosive test for nuclear weapon detonations

Operation Prairie Flat was a test involving the detonation of a 500-short-ton (450 t) spherical surface charge of TNT to evaluate airblast, ground shock and thermal effects of nuclear weapons.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kelso, Jack R.; Clifford, Jr., C. C. (June 1964). Preliminary Report Operation Blowdown. Archived from the original on 4 May 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 "Operation Blowdown (1963) Curator and Education Notes". Australian Screen. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  3. "Authority participation in investigation into the effect of Nuclear explosions in a tropical forest - "Operation Blowdown"". National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  4. "Overpressure | Effects of Nuclear Weapons | atomicarchive.com". atomicarchive.com. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
  5. 1 2 Dolan, Philip J.; Glasstone, Samuel (1977). The Effects of Nuclear Weapons. United States Department of Defense. pp. 101, 109. Retrieved 6 May 2017.