Operation Charioteer Explained

See also: List of nuclear weapons tests of the United States.

Charioteer
Picture Description:Mill Yard test underground cavity schematic
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:1985–1986
Number Of Tests:16
Test Type:underground cavity in tunnel, underground shaft, tunnel
Max Yield:140ktTNT
Next Series:Operation Musketeer

Operation Charioteer was a series of 16 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1985–1986 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the Operation Grenadier series and preceded the Operation Musketeer series.

United States' Charioteer 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 - ! Mill Yard 20:40:00.128 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U12n.20 37.2086°N -116.2062°W 2203m (7,228feet) – 371m (1,217feet) underground cavity in tunnel,
weapon effect 		Venting detected, 6Ci - ! Diamond Beech 23:20:00.086 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U12n.19 37.2096°N -116.211°W 2230m (7,320feet) – 404.5m (1,327.1feet) tunnel,
weapon effect 		Venting detected, 1Ci Also a containment performance test[11]
Roquefort 21:35:00.086 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U4as 37.1103°N -116.1231°W 1341m (4,400feet) – 415m (1,362feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected - ! Abo 16:00:00.087 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3mc 37.0506°N -116.0369°W 1202m (3,944feet) – 196.29m (644feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, less than 30Ci - ! Goldstone 19:01:00.089 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U20ao 37.2378°N -116.4736°W 1887m (6,191feet) – 549m (1,801feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Project Excalibur X-ray laser development test - ! Glencoe 16:15:00.08 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U4i 37.083°N -116.0669°W 1233m (4,045feet) – 609.6m (2,000feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected off site, 0.1Ci - ! Mighty Oak 14:08:30.095 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U12t.08 37.2183°N -116.1835°W 2084m (6,837feet) – 394.4m (1,294feet) tunnel,
weapon effect 		Venting detected on site, 36kCi Radiation effect test on military hardware
Mogollon 15:12:30.074 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3li 37.0116°N -116.0468°W 1187m (3,894feet) – 259.4m (851feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		- ! Jefferson 14:30:00.086 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U20ai 37.2641°N -116.4411°W 1955m (6,414feet) – 609m (1,998feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		I-131 venting detected, 0 Stockpile confidence test, partial-yield test of an aging W56[12] - ! Panamint 13:59:00.083 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U2gb 37.125°N -116.0613°W 1259m (4,131feet) – 480m (1,580feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, 3Ci - ! Tajo 15:04:00.064 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U7bl 37.0984°N -116.0162°W 1289m (4,229feet) – 518.2m (1,700.1feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		- ! Cybar 21:00:00.06 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U19ar 37.2786°N -116.3565°W 2017m (6,617feet) – 627m (2,057feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		I-131 venting detected, 0 - ! Cornucopia 15:05:00.086 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U2ga(s) 37.1427°N -116.072°W 1287m (4,222feet) – 381m (1,250feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		I-131 venting detected, 0 - ! Galveston 16:09:00.057 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U19af 37.2397°N -116.3686°W 2018m (6,621feet) – 487.1m (1,598.1feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		B61 stockpile confidence test[13] - ! Aleman 14:57:00.11 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3kz 37.069°N -116.0506°W 1218m (3,996feet) – 502.6m (1,649feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		- ! Labquark 22:30:00.102 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U19an 37.3°N -116.3083°W 2100m (6,900feet) – 616m (2,021feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, 16Ci Project Excalibur X-ray laser development test

Notes and References

  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. Web site: Time Zone Historical Database. iana.com. March 8, 2014.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
  8. 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.
  9. Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
  10. 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.
  11. Book: Schoengold, Carole R. . Operations Charioteer, Musketeer, Touchstone, Cornerstone, Aqueduct, Sculpin and Julin Technical Report . Bechtel Nevada . 1999 . 82.
  12. Hansen. Chuck. 1 March 2001. Beware the Old Story. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. 57. 2. 52–55. 10.2968/057002015.
  13. Web site: List of motion pictures films and documents at NNSA. Government Attic.

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