Operation Whetstone Explained

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

Operation Whetstone
Picture Description:Whetstone Salmon, 5.3kt.
Country:United States
Test Site:
  • NTS Area 15
  • NTS Area 16, Shoshone Mountain
  • NTS Area 18, Buckboard Mesa
  • NTS Area 19, 20, Pahute Mesa
  • NTS Areas 5, 11, Frenchman Flat
  • NTS, Areas 1-4, 6-10, Yucca Flat
  • Salmon Site, near Lumberton, Mississippi
Period:1964–1965
Number Of Tests:46
Test Type:cratering, underground shaft, tunnel
Max Yield:51ktTNT
Next Series:Operation Flintlock (nuclear test)

The United States's Whetstone nuclear test series was a group of 46 nuclear tests conducted in 1964–1965. These tests[1] followed the Operation Niblick series and preceded the Operation Flintlock series.

Two tests were conducted during this series by the United Kingdom: Cormorant and Courser.

United States' Whetstone series tests and detonations
- !style="background:#ffdead;" Name [2] !style="background:#efefef;" Date time (UT) !style="background:#ffdead;" Local time zone[3] [4] !style="background:#efefef;" Location[5] !style="background:#ffdead;" Elevation + height [6] !style="background:#efefef;" Delivery [7]
Purpose [8] !style="background:#efefef;" 		Device[9] !style="background:#ffdead;" Yield[10] !style="background:#efefef;" class="unsortable" Fallout[11] !style="background:#ffdead;" class="unsortable" References !style="background:#efefef;" class="unsortable" Notes - ! Bye 13:15:00.15 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U10i 37.1822°N -116.0462°W 1295m (4,249feet) – 389.26m (1,277.1feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, less than 390Ci - ! Links 13:30:00.15 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U9bf 37.1137°N -116.0329°W 1273m (4,177feet) – 119.8m (393feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected on site, less than 7Ci - ! Trogon 18:30:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3dj 37.0461°N -116.0129°W 1204m (3,950feet) – 193.03m (633.3feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		- ! Alva 16:00:00.14 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U2j 37.159°N -116.084°W 1320m (4,330feet) – 166.04m (544.75feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected off site, 6.4kCi - ! Canvasback 22:17:00.06 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3cp 37.0653°N -116.0163°W 1226m (4,022feet) – 447.66m (1,468.7feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Tsetse[12] Venting detected, 2kCi - ! Player 14:30:00.15 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U9cc 37.1173°N -116.0415°W 1254m (4,114feet) – 91.44m (300feet) underground shaft,
safety experiment 		- ! Haddock 17:06:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3dl 37.067°N -116.023°W 1222m (4,009feet) – 363.66m (1,193.11feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		- ! Guanay 18:15:00.08 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3di 37.0176°N -116.0234°W 1184m (3,885feet) – 260.97m (856.2feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		- ! Spoon 14:00:00.1 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U9bd 37.1137°N -116.0264°W 1289m (4,229feet) – 179.68m (589.5feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, 390Ci - ! Auk 20:03:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U7b 37.0779°N -116.0094°W 1254m (4,114feet) – 452.38m (1,484.19feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		- ! Par 14:00:00.12 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U2p 37.1514°N -116.0779°W 1304m (4,278feet) – 403.86m (1,325feet) underground shaft,
peaceful research 		Venting detected, 610Ci A Plowshare device with high neutron flux for creation of heavy isotopes. - ! Barbel - 1 (with Turnstone) 15:59:30.038 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3bx 37.0395°N -116.0164°W 1194m (3,917feet) – 258.9m (849.4feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, 290Ci simultaneous, separate holes. - ! Turnstone - 2 (with Barbel) 15:59:30.03 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3dt 37.0335°N -116.0256°W 1191m (3,907feet) + underground shaft,
weapons development 		simultaneous, separate holes. - ! Salmon 16:00:00.0 CST (–6 hrs)
Salmon Site, near Lumberton, Mississippi 31.1423°N -89.57°W 74m (243feet) – 830m (2,720feet) underground shaft,
joint verification 		Project Vela Uniform/Dribble, detection of underground tests. Exploded in Tatum salt dome. - ! Garden 15:00:00.94 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U9aj 37.117°N -116.032°W 1274m (4,180feet) – 149.66m (491.01feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		- ! Forest 17:04:58.61 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U7a 37.1072°N -116.0331°W 1270m (4,170feet) – 380.73m (1,249.11feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, 5Ci - ! Handcar 15:00:00.11 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U10b 37.1743°N -116.0679°W 1307m (4,288feet) – 402.95m (1,322.01feet) underground shaft,
peaceful research 		Venting detected on site, 70Ci A Plowshare project for measuring effects of contained explosion on carbonate rock. - ! Crepe 21:15:00.1 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U2q 37.1144°N -116.0543°W 1252m (4,108feet) – 404.2m (1,326.1feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, 250Ci - ! Drill (Source-Lower) - 1 21:15:00.16 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U2ai 37.1342°N -116.0706°W 1280m (4,200feet) – 219.46m (720.01feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected off site, 61kCi simultaneous, same hole. - ! Drill (Target-Upper) - 2 21:15:00.16 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U2ai 37.1342°N -116.0706°W 1280m (4,200feet) + underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected off site simultaneous, same hole. - ! Cassowary - 1 (with Hoopoe) 20:00:00.07 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3bn 37.0395°N -116.0246°W 1194m (3,917feet) – 150.14m (492.59feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		simultaneous, different holes. - ! Hoopoe - 2 (with Cassowary) 20:00:00.07 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3cf 37.0484°N -116.034°W 1200m (3,900feet) + underground shaft,
safety experiment 		simultaneous, different holes. - ! Parrot 20:00:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3dk 37.0348°N -116.013°W 1192m (3,911feet) – 180.32m (591.6feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected off site, 230kCi - ! Mudpack 20:10:00.1 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U10n 37.1778°N -116.0678°W 1310m (4,300feet) – 151.79m (498feet) underground shaft,
weapon effect 		Venting detected, less than 54Ci - ! Sulky 19:35:00.09 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U18d 37.0826°N -116.3435°W 1597m (5,240feet) – 27.28m (89.5feet) underground shaft,
peaceful research 		Venting detected off site, 130kCi [13] A Plowshare project for hard, dry excavation test, to study dispersion of radionuclides. - ! Wool 16:00:00.14 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U9bh 37.119°N -116.0257°W 1287m (4,222feet) – 215.13m (705.81feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, 200Ci - ! Tern 18:22:00.03 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3dw 37.045°N -116.014°W 1202m (3,944feet) – 210.65m (691.11feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected on site, 170Ci - ! Cashmere 15:30:00.11 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U2ad 37.1307°N -116.0625°W 1270m (4,170feet) – 232.18m (761.75feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, 8Ci - ! Alpaca 15:10:29.49 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U2a 37.165°N -116.0774°W 1315m (4,314feet) – 224.61m (736.91feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected off site, 40kCi - ! Merlin 17:30:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3ct 37.0516°N -116.0245°W 1203m (3,947feet) – 296.14m (971.59feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		I-131 venting detected, 0 - ! Wishbone 16:18:47.15 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U5a 36.818°N -115.9501°W 913m (2,995feet) – 179.22m (587.99feet) underground shaft,
weapon effect 		Venting detected on site, 6.9kCi - ! Seersucker 15:28:54.11 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U9bm 37.1172°N -116.0319°W 1274m (4,180feet) – 142.34m (466.99feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected on site, less than 410Ci - ! Wagtail 19:13:00.03 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3an 37.0645°N -116.0379°W 1210m (3,970feet) – 749.59m (2,459.28feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, 13Ci - ! Suede 15:30:49.1 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U9bk 37.1154°N -116.0274°W 1286m (4,219feet) – 143.52m (470.87feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, 1.3kCi - ! Cup 15:34:08.16 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U9cb 37.1475°N -116.0442°W 1267m (4,157feet) – 536.75m (1,760.99feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, 4.7kCi - ! Kestrel 21:00:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3dd 37.0258°N -116.0235°W 1187m (3,894feet) – 446.87m (1,466.11feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, 230Ci - ! Palanquin 13:14:00.1 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U20k 37.2803°N -116.5245°W 1861m (6,106feet) – 85.34m (279.99feet) cratering,
peaceful research 		Venting detected off site, 11MCi A Plowshare project for hard, dry excavation test, to study dispersion of radionuclides. - ! Gum Drop 22:00:00.03 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U16a.02 37.0071°N -116.2029°W 1931m (6,335feet) – 304.8m (1,000feet) tunnel,
weapon effect 		Venting detected, 1.9kCi - ! Chenille 13:39:00.1 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U9bg 37.1114°N -116.0314°W 1276m (4,186feet) – 140.74m (461.75feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected on site, less than 110Ci - ! Muscovy 21:44:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3dx 37.0174°N -115.9961°W 1189m (3,901feet) – 180.29m (591.5feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		- ! Tee 15:47:11.15 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U2ab 37.1404°N -116.0675°W 1283m (4,209feet) – 190.2m (624feet) underground shaft,
weapon effect 		Venting detected off site, 1.6kCi - ! Buteo 18:15:00.1 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U20a 37.2426°N -116.4318°W 1960m (6,430feet) – 695.55m (2,281.99feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		- ! Cambric 14:57:52.15 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U5e 36.8233°N -115.9677°W 929m (3,048feet) – 294.28m (965.49feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Cambric and Cheshire (on Pahute Mesa) to study radioactivity movement in ground water. In 16 years 4 billion gallons (30 billion liters) were pumped, took 2 yrs for the tritium to move 300feet. Sr-40 and Cs-137 never detected. - ! Scaup 17:32:36.23 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3da(s) 37.0588°N -116.0125°W 1222m (4,009feet) – 427.02m (1,400.98feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		- ! Tweed 13:08:52.11 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U9bn 37.1185°N -116.0284°W 1281m (4,203feet) – 281.07m (922.15feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, 600Ci - ! Petrel 19:45:00.04 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U3dy 37.0428°N -116.0178°W 1197m (3,927feet) – 180.75m (593.01feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		- ! Organdy 20:28:37.11 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U9bo 37.1157°N -116.0241°W 1294m (4,245feet) – 169.47m (556feet) underground shaft,
weapons development 		Venting detected, 130Ci - ! Diluted Waters 16:30:00.15 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U5b 36.8181°N -115.9571°W 916m (3,005feet) – 190.5m (625feet) underground shaft,
weapon effect 		Venting detected off site, 30kCi - ! Tiny Tot 17:00:00.09 PST (–8 hrs)
NTS Area U15e 37.2234°N -116.0578°W 1533m (5,030feet) – 110.95m (364.01feet) tunnel,
weapon effect 		Venting detected on site, 7Ci

Notes and References

  1. A bomb test may be a salvo test, defined as two or more explosions "where a period of time between successive individual explosions does not exceed five seconds, and where the burial points of all explosive devices can be connected by segments of straight lines, each of them connecting two burial points and does not exceed 40 kilometers in length".Web site: V.N.. Catalog of World Wide Nuclear Testing. Begell-Atom. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140426102201/http://www.iss-atom.ru/ksenia/catal_nt/1.htm. April 26, 2014.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Web site: Time Zone Historical Database. iana.com. March 8, 2014.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification, and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
  9. 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.
  10. Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
  11. 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.
  12. Book: Chuck Hansen. The Swords of Armageddon, Version 2. Sunnyvale, CA . Chuckelea Publications. 1995. 2007. 978-0-9791915-0-3.
  13. http://www.osti.gov/scitech/servlets/purl/434417 Letter to J. S. Kelly, AEC on the Project Sulky Concept, by G. E. Johnson(leader of the Plowshare program for a time

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Operation Whetstone".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.