Operation Anvil (nuclear test) explained

Operation Anvil
Picture Description:	Anvil Husky Pup test chamber 1.
Country:	United States
Test Site:	NTS Area 12, Rainier Mesa NTS Area 19, 20, Pahute Mesa NTS, Areas 1–4, 6–10, Yucca Flat
Period:	1975–1976
Number Of Tests:	21
Test Type:	underground shaft, tunnel
Max Yield:	1MtTNT
Next Series:	Operation Fulcrum

Operation Anvil was a series of 21 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1975–1976 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the Operation Bedrock series and preceded the Operation Fulcrum series.

United States' Anvil 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	- ! Marsh	17:00:00.113	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U3kb 37.0236°N -116.0291°W	1187m (3,894feet) – 427.21m (1,401.61feet)	underground shaft, weapons development			- ! Peninsula (aborted)		PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area near U2em	1220m (4,000feet) +	underground shaft,	Became stuck in shaft while being lowered; abandoned, later destroyed by Tinderbox/Azul.	- ! Husky Pup	17:11:26.093	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U12t.03 37.2217°N -116.1802°W	2036m (6,680feet) – 327.96m (1,075.98feet)	tunnel, weapon effect			- ! Kasseri	14:30:00.16	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U20z 37.29°N -116.4124°W	1957m (6,421feet) – 1264.92m (4,150feet)	underground shaft, weapons development		Venting detected		Full yield test of the B77/B83^[11]
Deck	15:30:00.113	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U3kd 37.0203°N -116.0214°W	1185m (3,888feet) – 326.14m (1,070.01feet)	underground shaft, weapons development						- ! Inlet	15:00:00.093	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U19f 37.2249°N -116.3685°W	2025m (6,644feet) – 818.33m (2,684.81feet)	underground shaft, weapons development			- ! Leyden	15:30:00.163	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U9cm 37.1172°N -116.0198°W	1303m (4,275feet) – 326.11m (1,069.91feet)	underground shaft, weapons development		- ! Chiberta	20:00:00.164	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U2ek 37.1276°N -116.0624°W	1264m (4,147feet) – 716m (2,349feet)	underground shaft, weapons development			- ! Muenster	19:15:00.162	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U19e 37.2965°N -116.3341°W	2082m (6,831feet) – 1452.4m (4,765.1feet)	underground shaft, weapons development	B77/B83 (reduced yield?)			B77 Components Tested^[12]
Keelson	14:20:00.112	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U7ai 37.0692°N -116.031°W	1218m (3,996feet) – 639.62m (2,098.49feet)	underground shaft, weapons development						- ! Esrom	14:40:00.163	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U7ak 37.1066°N -116.0383°W	1258m (4,127feet) – 654.6m (2,147.6feet)	underground shaft, weapons development		Venting detected, 88Ci	- ! Fontina	14:45:00.163	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U20f 37.2714°N -116.4893°W	1837m (6,027feet) – 1219m (3,999feet)	underground shaft, weapons development	B83	- ! Cheshire	11:30:00.162	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U20n 37.2426°N -116.4211°W	1947m (6,388feet) – 1167m (3,829feet)	underground shaft, weapons development		See Whetstone/Cambric. A test of groundwater mobility in moving buried radiaoactives, this time in volcanic rock/soil.	- ! Shallows	14:50:00.091	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U3jf 37.0285°N -116.0165°W	1188m (3,898feet) – 244.85m (803.31feet)	underground shaft, weapons development	W78 primary?	Venting detected			- ! Estuary	14:00:00.094	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U19g 37.3096°N -116.3655°W	2025m (6,644feet) – 856.79m (2,810.99feet)	underground shaft, weapons development	- ! Colby	12:30:00.163	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U20aa 37.3059°N -116.4724°W	1904m (6,247feet) – 1273.4m (4,177.8feet)	underground shaft, weapons development	Venting detected, 44Ci	- ! Pool	14:15:00.09	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U19p 37.2558°N -116.3295°W	2076m (6,811feet) – 881.18m (2,891.01feet)	underground shaft, weapons development	- ! Strait	14:45:00.091	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U4a 37.1072°N -116.0543°W	1243m (4,078feet) – 782.42m (2,566.99feet)	underground shaft, weapons development	- ! Mighty Epic	19:50:00.17	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U12n.10 37.209°N -116.2133°W	2224m (7,297feet) – 396.24m (1,300feet)	tunnel, weapon effect	- ! Rivoli	17:30:00.162	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U2eg 37.1372°N -116.0675°W	1279m (4,196feet) – 199.64m (654.99feet)	underground shaft, weapons development	Venting detected	- ! Billet	20:30:00.079	PST (–8 hrs)	NTS Area U7an 37.0754°N -116.0446°W	1222m (4,009feet) – 636.57m (2,088.48feet)	underground shaft, weapons development	I-131 venting detected, 0

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. March 8, 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.
Web site: The B83 Bomb . 2024-03-26 . nuclearweaponarchive.org.
Web site: The B83 Bomb . 2024-03-26 . nuclearweaponarchive.org.