1962 Soviet nuclear tests explained

1962
Picture Description:	Nuclear blast animation
Country:	Soviet Union
Test Site:	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan; Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan; Kola Peninsula Launch Area (Barents Sea); NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia
Period:	1962
Number Of Tests:	78
Test Type:	air drop, atmospheric, cruise missile, dry surface, high alt rocket (30–80 km), tower, tunnel
Max Yield:	24.2MtTNT
Next Series:	1964 Soviet nuclear tests

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.

Soviet Union's 1962 series tests and detonations
- !style="background:#ffdead;"	Name ^[1] !style="background:#efefef;"	Date time (UT) !style="background:#ffdead;"	Local time zone^[2] ^[3] !style="background:#efefef;"	Location^[4] !style="background:#ffdead;"	Elevation + height ^[5] !style="background:#efefef;"	Delivery, ^[6] Purpose ^[7] !style="background:#efefef;"	Device^[8] !style="background:#ffdead;"	Yield^[9] !style="background:#efefef;" class="unsortable"	Fallout^[10] !style="background:#ffdead;" class="unsortable"	References !style="background:#efefef;" class="unsortable"	Notes	- ! 143 Argon 1 (Joe 120)	08:00:00.2	ALMT (6 hrs)	Degelen, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan: A-1 49.782°N 77.9962°W	700m (2,300feet) +	tunnel, weapon effect					First Soviet underground test.	- ! 144		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	N/A + 430m (1,410feet)	atmospheric, weapons development						- ! 145		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	N/A + 180m (590feet)	atmospheric, weapons development						- ! 146		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	N/A + 390m (1,280feet)	atmospheric, weapons development						- ! 147	09:08:45.8	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 74.2°N 52.5°W	0 + 3600m (11,800feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 148	03:00:??	ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan 50.456°N 77.773°W	280m (920feet) + 0	dry surface, weapons development						- ! 149	09:00:??	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1560m (5,120feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 150		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 710m (2,330feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 151		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	N/A + 310m (1,020feet)	atmospheric, weapons development						- ! 152	09:02:14.1	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 74.3°N 51.5°W	0 + 2500m (8,200feet)	air drop, weapons development					Khalturin names this an ICBM test from Chita.	- ! 153		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 590m (1,940feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 156		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 740m (2,430feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 155 Shkval (Flurry)	09:00:00	MSK (3 hrs)	Launch from Kola Peninsula Launch Area (Barents Sea) 73.71°N 45.2°W, elv: 0m+2000mm (00feet+7,000feetm); Detonation over Kola Peninsula Launch Area (Barents Sea) ~ 73.75°N 52.3°W	0 + 60m (200feet)	cruise missile, weapons development					Air launched (from TU-16K) cruise missile test. No other information on launch; trajectory is a guess. Location known only as "Kara Sea"; lat/lon a guess; official lat/lon is in NZ land corral.	- ! 154	09:00:04.2	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 70.9917°N 55.5286°W	0 + 1700m (5,600feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 157		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 680m (2,230feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 159	05:40:??	ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 715m (2,346feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 158	09:??:??	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 2980m (9,780feet)	air drop,						- ! 161		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 245m (804feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 160	09:00:50.9	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 74.7°N 50.3°W	0 + 3000m (10,000feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 162		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 700m (2,300feet)	air drop, fundamental science						- ! 163		MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1300m (4,300feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! unnumbered #4		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) +	atmospheric,						- ! 164 Tyulpan (Tulip)	10:17:57.7	MSK (3 hrs)	Launch from Zabaykalsky (then Chita), Russia 51.9134°N 113.1305°W, elv: 685m+0mm (2,247feet+00feetm); Detonation over NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 73.7°N 53.8°W	N/A + 1725m (5,659feet)	high alt rocket (30–80 km), weapons development					Launched on an R-14 rocket from "Yasnaya railroad station" south of Chita toward Mityushikha Bay, NZ, 3600 km across Siberia. Probable ABM test.	- ! 165	08:02:13.9	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 74.4°N 51.5°W	0 + 2250m (7,380feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 166	10:59:10.5	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 74.2°N 51.6°W	0 + 2250m (7,380feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! unnumbered #5		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) +	atmospheric,						- ! 167	08:29:02.7	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 73.2°N 54.7°W	0 + 2000m (7,000feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 168	11:00:56.4	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 73.8°N 53.8°W	0 + 3280m (10,760feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 169	08:00:??	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 3000m (10,000feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 170		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan 50.416°N 77.74°W	280m (920feet) + 0	dry surface, safety experiment						- ! 171		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 630m (2,070feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 172		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan 50.456°N 77.773°W	280m (920feet) + 0	dry surface, weapons development						- ! 173	13:02:31.7	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 73.7°N 55°W	0 + 4090m (13,420feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 174	08:03:16.4	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 74.3°N 52.4°W	0 + 3900m (12,800feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 175		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 695m (2,280feet)	air drop, fundamental science						- ! 176	16:32:??	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1440m (4,720feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 177		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 645m (2,116feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 178		MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 3000m (10,000feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 179		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 665m (2,182feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 180		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 720m (2,360feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 181		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 725m (2,379feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 182		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 635m (2,083feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 183	09:06:10.1	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 73.4°N 54.9°W	0 + 3230m (10,600feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 185	07:35:??	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1550m (5,090feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 186		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 670m (2,200feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 188		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 645m (2,116feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 189	07:35:??	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1550m (5,090feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 190		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 0	dry surface, weapons development						- ! 191		MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1500m (4,900feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 192		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 690m (2,260feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 194	06:30:??	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1500m (4,900feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 193	09:20:??	ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 700m (2,300feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 197		MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 4000m (13,000feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 198		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 710m (2,330feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 196	08:31:??	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1500m (4,900feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 199		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 600m (2,000feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 200		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan 50.43°N 77.83°W	280m (920feet) + 15m (49feet)	tower, weapon effect						- ! 201		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan 50.416°N 77.74°W	280m (920feet) + 8m (26feet)	tower, weapons development						- ! 202		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.378°N 77.855°W	280m (920feet) + 0	dry surface, weapons development						- ! 203		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 660m (2,170feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 204		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 715m (2,346feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 205		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.378°N 77.855°W	280m (920feet) + 0	dry surface, safety experiment						- ! 206		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.378°N 77.855°W	280m (920feet) + 0	dry surface, safety experiment						- ! 207		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.4°N 77.8°W	280m (920feet) + 680m (2,230feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 209		MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1500m (4,900feet)	air drop, fundamental science						- ! 208	10:45:??	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1600m (5,200feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 210		MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1070m (3,510feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 211		MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1050m (3,450feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 213		MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1470m (4,820feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 214		MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1270m (4,170feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 215		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.378°N 77.855°W	280m (920feet) + 0	dry surface, safety experiment						- ! 212	11:15:??	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 1460m (4,790feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 216		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.378°N 77.855°W	280m (920feet) + 0	dry surface, safety experiment						- ! 217		ALMT (6 hrs)	Ground Zero, Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan ~ 50.378°N 77.855°W	280m (920feet) + 0	dry surface, safety experiment						- ! 218	10:44:21.9	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 74.2°N 52.3°W	0 + 1320m (4,330feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 219	11:11:42.0	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 73.6°N 57.5°W	0 + 3750m (12,300feet)	air drop, weapons development					Reduced yield test of 50 Mt weapon.	- ! 220	13:35:57.2	MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia 73.4°N 56.5°W	0 + 2250m (7,380feet)	air drop, weapons development						- ! 221		MSK (3 hrs)	NZ Area C, Sukhoy Nos, Novaya Zemlya, Russia ~ 73°N 55°W	0 + 990m (3,250feet)	air drop, weapons development					Last Soviet atmospheric test.

Notes and References

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.
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.
Web site: Time Zone Historical Database. iana.com. 8 March 2014.
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.
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.
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.
Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
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.
Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
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.