Operation Grenadier

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Grenadier
Information
CountryUnited States
Test siteNTS Area 12, Rainier Mesa; NTS Area 19, 20, Pahute Mesa; NTS, Areas 1–4, 6–10, Yucca Flat
Period1984–1985
Number of tests16
Test typeunderground shaft, tunnel
Max. yield150 kilotonnes of TNT (630 TJ)
Test series chronology
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Operation Grenadier [1] was a series of 16 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1984–1985 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the Operation Fusileer series and preceded the Operation Charioteer series.

United States' Grenadier 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
VermejoOctober 2, 1984 18:14:00.103 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U4r 37°05′07″N116°03′13″W / 37.08516°N 116.0537°W / 37.08516; -116.0537 (Vermejo) 1,229 m (4,032 ft) – 350.22 m (1,149.0 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development 		2.5 kt [1] [3] [4]
VillitaNovember 10, 1984 16:40:00.09 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3ld 37°00′00″N116°01′05″W / 37.00003°N 116.01816°W / 37.00003; -116.01816 (Villita) 1,177 m (3,862 ft) – 372.2 m (1,221 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development 		5 kt [1] [3] [4] [5] [6]
TierraDecember 15, 1984 14:45:00.0 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U19ac 37°16′53″N116°18′23″W / 37.28131°N 116.30629°W / 37.28131; -116.30629 (Tierra) 2,118 m (6,949 ft) – 640 m (2,100 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development

B83

80 ktVenting detected, 600 Ci (22,000 GBq) [1] [3] [4] [7] [8]

B83 proof test [9]

MineroDecember 20, 1984 16:20:00.11 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3lt 37°00′43″N116°02′44″W / 37.01192°N 116.04565°W / 37.01192; -116.04565 (Minero) 1,187 m (3,894 ft) – 244.8 m (803 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development 		2.5 kt [1] [3] [4]
VaughnMarch 15, 1985 16:31:00.1 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3lr 37°03′29″N116°02′46″W / 37.0581°N 116.0461°W / 37.0581; -116.0461 (Vaughn) 1,211 m (3,973 ft) – 425.5 m (1,396 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development 		20 ktVenting detected, 100 Ci (3,700 GBq) [1] [3] [4] [5] [7] [8]
CottageMarch 23, 1985 18:30:00.082 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U8j 37°10′48″N116°05′23″W / 37.17993°N 116.08983°W / 37.17993; -116.08983 (Cottage) 1,362 m (4,469 ft) – 515 m (1,690 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development 		60 kt [1] [3] [4]
HermosaApril 2, 1985 20:00:00.09 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U7bs 37°05′41″N116°01′58″W / 37.09476°N 116.03289°W / 37.09476; -116.03289 (Hermosa) 1,251 m (4,104 ft) – 638.25 m (2,094.0 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development 		150 kt [1] [3] [4] [5] [6] The Soviet Union alleged that this test violated the Threshold Test Ban Treaty. [10]
Misty RainApril 6, 1985 23:15:00.09 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U12n.17 37°12′03″N116°12′29″W / 37.20078°N 116.20805°W / 37.20078; -116.20805 (Misty Rain) 2,212 m (7,257 ft) – 388.6 m (1,275 ft)tunnel,
weapon effect 		15 ktVenting detected off site, 63 Ci (2,300 GBq) [1] [3] [4] [7] [8]
TowandaMay 2, 1985 15:20:00.083 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U19ab 37°15′12″N116°19′34″W / 37.25335°N 116.32609°W / 37.25335; -116.32609 (Towanda) 2,085 m (6,841 ft) – 660.2 m (2,166 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development 		150 kt [1] [3] [4]
SalutJune 12, 1985 15:15:00.082 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U20ak 37°14′52″N116°29′24″W / 37.2478°N 116.48995°W / 37.2478; -116.48995 (Salut) 1,873 m (6,145 ft) – 608.08 m (1,995.0 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development 		100 ktVenting detected, 4 Ci (150 GBq) [1] [3] [4] [7] [8]
VilleJune 12, 1985 17:30:00.088 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U4am 37°05′18″N116°05′06″W / 37.08832°N 116.0849°W / 37.08832; -116.0849 (Ville) 1,250 m (4,100 ft) – 293.2 m (962 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development 		8 ktVenting detected, 0.1 Ci (3.7 GBq) [1] [3] [4] [7] [8]
MariboJune 26, 1985 18:03:00.08 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2cs 37°07′25″N116°07′19″W / 37.12372°N 116.12201°W / 37.12372; -116.12201 (Maribo) 1,352 m (4,436 ft) – 381 m (1,250 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development 		3.5 ktVenting detected, 4 Ci (150 GBq) [1] [3] [4] [7] [8]
SerenaJuly 25, 1985 14:00:00.088 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U20an 37°17′50″N116°26′20″W / 37.2972°N 116.43896°W / 37.2972; -116.43896 (Serena) 1,942 m (6,371 ft) – 597 m (1,959 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development 		45 ktVenting detected, 3 Ci (110 GBq) [1] [3] [4] [7] [8]
CebreroAugust 14, 1985 13:00:00.082 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U9cw 37°06′40″N116°00′55″W / 37.11103°N 116.01525°W / 37.11103; -116.01525 (Cebrero) 1,316 m (4,318 ft) – 183 m (600 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development 		less than 20 ktVenting detected [1] [3] [4] [8]
ChamitaAugust 17, 1985 16:25:00.09 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3lz 37°00′08″N116°02′38″W / 37.00227°N 116.04402°W / 37.00227; -116.04402 (Chamita) 1,181 m (3,875 ft) – 331.62 m (1,088.0 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development 		8 kt [1] [3] [4]
PonilSeptember 27, 1985 14:15:00.08 PST (–8 hrs)
 NTS Area U7bv 37°05′23″N116°00′10″W / 37.08976°N 116.00264°W / 37.08976; -116.00264 (Ponil) 1,284 m (4,213 ft) – 364.8 m (1,197 ft)underground shaft,
weapons development 		10 kt [1] [3] [4]
  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.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Yang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl (August 2000), CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3), SMDC Monitoring Research
  2. ↑ "Time Zone Historical Database". iana.com. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Official list of underground nuclear explosions, Sandia National Laboratories, July 1, 1994, retrieved December 18, 2013
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992 (PDF) (DOE/NV-209 REV15), Las Vegas, NV: Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, December 1, 2000, archived from the original (PDF) on October 12, 2006, retrieved December 18, 2013
  5. 1 2 3 Hechanova, Anthony E.; O'Donnell, James E. (September 25, 1998), Estimates of yield for nuclear tests impacting the groundwater at the Nevada Test Site, Nuclear Science and Technology Division
  6. 1 2 Operation Argus, 1958 (DNA6039F), Washington, DC: Defense Nuclear Agency, Department of Defense, 1982, retrieved November 26, 2013
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Estimated exposures and thyroid doses received by the American people from Iodine-131 in fallout following Nevada atmospheric nuclear bomb tests, Chapter 2 (PDF), National Cancer Institute, 1997, retrieved January 5, 2014
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Radiological Effluents Released from U.S. Continental Tests 1961 Through 1992 (DOE/NV-317 Rev. 1) (PDF), DOE Nevada Operations Office, August 1996, archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2013, retrieved October 31, 2013
  9. ↑ "The B83 Bomb". nuclearweaponarchive.org. Retrieved March 26, 2024.
  10. ↑ Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the Soviet Union. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1981–1988, Volume V, Soviet Union, March 1985–October 1986 - Office of the Historian. July 29, 1985. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
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