Operation Ranger Explained

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

Operation Ranger
Picture Description:Ranger Able, 1 kiloton.
Country:United States
Test Site:NTS Areas 5, 11, Frenchman Flat
Period:1951
Number Of Tests:5
Test Type:free air drop
Max Yield:22ktTNT
Next Series:Operation Greenhouse

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.[1] All the bombs were dropped by B-50D bombers and exploded in the open air over Frenchman Flat (Area 5).

These tests centered on the practicality of developing a second generation of nuclear weapons using smaller amounts of valuable nuclear materials. They were planned under the name Operation Faust.

The exact locations of the tests are unknown, as they were all air drops. However, the planned ground zero was set at 36.8256°N -115.965°W[2] for all except the Fox shot, which was "500 feet [{{convert|500|ft|m|disp=out}}] west and 300 feet [{{convert|300|ft|m|disp=out}}] south" in order to minimize damage to the control point.[3]

Footage of the Buster-Jangle Baker test is often mislabeled as belonging to the Ranger Able test. Both shots can be told apart because the Buster Baker test was conducted at Yucca Flat in the daytime, meanwhile Ranger Able was conducted at Frenchman Flat in the nighttime. No motion picture of Operation Ranger has ever been declassified.

History

The primary purpose of Operation Ranger was to perform experiments in preparation for Operation Greenhouse.[4] As the device to be tested in Greenhouse was in the stockpiling stage with respect to its high explosive system, it was felt that the entire test series could be performed using air dropped weapons.

The test led to the establishment of the Nevada Proving Ground (later Nevada Test Site, now Nevada National Security Site or NNSS). Following this test series it was believed appropriate to conduct tests up to approximately at Nevada instead of at the Pacific Proving Ground.

Shots

United States' Ranger series tests and detonations
- !style="background:#ffdead;" Name [5] !style="background:#efefef;" Date time (UT) !style="background:#ffdead;" Local time zone[6] [7] !style="background:#efefef;" Location[8] !style="background:#ffdead;" Elevation + height [9] !style="background:#efefef;" Delivery,[10]
Purpose [11] !style="background:#efefef;" 		Device[12] !style="background:#ffdead;" Yield[13] !style="background:#efefef;" class="unsortable" Fallout[14] !style="background:#ffdead;" class="unsortable" References !style="background:#efefef;" class="unsortable" Notes - ! Able 13:44:51.0 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area 5 ~ 36.8266°N -115.9588°W 1010m (3,310feet) + 323m (1,060feet) free air drop,
weapons development 		Mk-4, Type D I-131 venting detected, 1.3MCi First test over continental United States since Trinity. Testing compression against critical mass as inspired by the demon core. Often later used for a 1 kt calibrated explosion. See also Ranger Easy. - ! Baker 1 13:52:04.5 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area 5 ~ 36.8266°N -115.9588°W 1010m (3,310feet) + 329m (1,079feet) free air drop,
weapons development 		Mk-4, Type D, TOM Init I-131 venting detected, 3.2MCi Fractional critical core, TOM initiator. See also Ranger Easy. - ! Easy 13:46:39.5 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area 5 ~ 36.8266°N -115.9588°W 1010m (3,310feet) + 329m (1,079feet) free air drop,
weapons development 		Mk-4, Type D Testing compression against critical mass. - ! Baker 2 13:48:48.0 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area 5 ~ 36.8266°N -115.9588°W 1010m (3,310feet) + 335m (1,099feet) free air drop,
weapons development 		Mk-4, Type D Identical to Ranger Baker 1, test of reproducible results. See also Ranger Easy. - ! Fox 13:46:55.0 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area 5 36.8249°N -115.9671°W 1010m (3,310feet) + 437m (1,434feet) free air drop,
weapons development 		Mk-6 HOW, Type D "Freddy" Proof Test of Mark 6 HOW "Fox" core. "500 ft west and 300 ft south of drop target used by other Ranger blasts, to avoid damage to the control point.".

References

Notes and References

  1. Book: Hacker . Barton C . Elements of Controversy: The Atomic Energy Commission and Radiation Safety in Nuclear Weapons Testing 1947-1974 . University of California Press . 1994 . 44 . January 3, 2012 . 0-520-08323-7.
  2. Maag, Carl . Rohrer, Stephen . Shepanek, Robert . Operation Ranger: Shots Able, Baker, Easy, Baker-2, Fox . Defense Nuclear Agency . October 1985 . DNA-6022F . https://web.archive.org/web/20130409222537/http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA118684 . live . April 9, 2013 . March 5, 2013 .
  3. Fehner, Terrence R. . Gosling, F. G. . 2000 . Origins of the Nevada Test Site . Department of Energy . DOE.MA-0158 . March 5, 2013.
  4. US Department of Energy (USDOE), Nevada Operations Office.. William E Ogle. An Account of the Return to Nuclear Weapons Testing by the United States After the Test Moratorium 1958-1961. 2021-07-16. October 1985. 42–43. .
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Web site: Time Zone Historical Database. iana.com. March 8, 2014.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
  12. 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.
  13. Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
  14. 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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