List of United States nuclear weapons tests explained

See also: List of nuclear weapons tests.

The nuclear weapons tests of the United States were performed from 1945 to 1992 as part of the nuclear arms race. The United States conducted around 1,054 nuclear tests by official count, including 216 atmospheric, underwater, and space tests.[1] [2] Most of the tests took place at the Nevada Test Site (NNSS/NTS) and the Pacific Proving Grounds in the Marshall Islands and off Kiritimati Island in the Pacific, plus three in the Atlantic Ocean. Ten other tests took place at various locations in the United States, including Alaska, Nevada other than the NNSS/NTS, Colorado, Mississippi, and New Mexico.

United States nuclear tests

See also: List of nuclear weapons tests.

United States' nuclear testing series summary
- !style="background:#ffdead;" Series or years !style="background:#efefef;" Years covered !style="background:#ffdead;" Tests[3] !style="background:#efefef;" Devices fired !style="background:#ffdead;" Devices with un-known yield !style="background:#efefef;" Peace-ful use tests !style="background:#ffdead;" Non-PTBT tests[4] !style="background:#efefef;" class="unsortable" Yield range (kilotons) [5] !style="background:#ffdead;" Total yield (kilotons) [6] !style="background:#efefef; text-align:center; width:35em;" class="unsortable" Notes - ! Trinity 1945 21 First nuclear weapons test, conducted as part of the Manhattan Project. Tested the Mark 3 Fat Man design. - ! Crossroads 1946 21 First postwar test series. - ! Sandstone 1948 18 to 49 The first use of "levitated" cores made of oralloy. Tested components for Mark 4 design. - ! Ranger 1951 1 to 22 First tests at the Nevada Test Site. Operation originally named "Operation Faust". - ! Greenhouse 1951 46 to 225 George shot was physics experiment relating to the hydrogen bomb; Item shot was first boosted fission weapon. - ! Buster-Jangle 1951 small to 31 The first series in which troop maneuvers (Desert Rock exercises) were performed. - ! Tumbler-Snapper 1952 1 to 31 - ! Ivy 1952 500 to 10,400 The "Mike" shot was the first multi-megaton thermonuclear weapon. - ! Upshot-Knothole 1953 small to 61 18,000 men exposed in Desert Rock V up to 26.6 REM. 84 exceeded current yearly limits of 5 REM/yr. - ! Castle 1954 110 to 15,000 Bravo shot inspired secret Project 4.1 to study fallout victims. It over-produced by 250% of expected yield, caused fallout over a wide area. - ! Teapot 1955 1 to 43 - ! Wigwam 1955 30 2000feet underwater - ! Project 56 1955–1956 0 to 0 - ! Redwing 1956 small to 5,000 Test with "energy budget". Competition between UCRL and LASL over budget allocation was high. - ! Project 57 1957 0 The first safety test, asking whether an improperly ignited bomb (as in a plane crash) would cause a nuclear blast. - ! Plumbbob 1957 0 to 74 Included the largest atmospheric test in CONUS. - ! Project 58+58A 1957 small to 1 Four more safety tests. - ! Hardtack I 1958 0 to 9,300 A series in the Pacific Proving Ground, including three rocket boosted high altitude tests called Operation Newsreel. - ! Argus 1958 2 Also known as Operation Floral before becoming Argus for security reasons. Tested three weapons in the South Atlantic, trying to create an artificial energy belt in the magnetosphere. - ! Hardtack II 1958 0 to 22 Meant to squeeze all possible testing into the time before Eisenhower's test ban started on 30 October 1958. Planned as "Operation Millrace", changed to HT II when a science panel recommended to "stop testing after the Hardtack series." - ! Nougat 1961–1962 small to 67 First all-underground test series. Included first Operation Plowshare shot "Gnome" in Carlsbad, New Mexico, which was detonated in an underground salt dome. - ! Sunbeam 1962 small to 2 Aka Operation Dominic II. Test of small tactical warheads, including the man-portable "Davy Crockett". Last atmospheric test series. The Army's part of Sunbeam was Operation Ivy Flats. - ! Dominic 1962–1963 2 to 9,960 "Frigate Bird" was the only operational test of a missile "mated" with a live warhead. Series also included three high-altitude tests known as Operation Fishbowl, separated out in this text. - ! Fishbowl 1962 400 to 1,400 The high altitude rocket part of Operation Dominic. Included several failed tests as the rockets failed for various reasons. - ! Storax 1962–1963 1 to 115 - ! Roller Coaster 1963 0 Storage-transportation safety experiments, measured plutonium dispersal risk. - ! Niblick 1963–1964 small to 249 - ! Whetstone 1964–1965 small to 51 - ! Flintlock 1965–1966 small to 365 - ! Latchkey 1966–1967 small to 870 - ! Crosstie 1967–1968 small to 1,300 - ! Bowline 1968–1969 small to 1,150 - ! Mandrel 1969–70 small to 1,900 - ! Emery 1970–1971 small to 220 - ! Grommet 1971–1972 small to 4,800 Included Cannikin, the largest underground explosion ever at 5 Mt, fired under the Aleutian island Amchitka. - ! Toggle 1972–1973 small to 250 - ! Arbor 1973–1974 small to 150 - ! Bedrock 1974–1975 small to 750 - ! Anvil 1975–1976 0 to 1,000 - ! Fulcrum 1976–1977 small to 140 - ! Cresset 1977–1978 0 to 150 - ! Quicksilver 1978–1979 1 to 140 - ! Tinderbox 1979–1980 1 to 140 - ! Guardian 1980–1981 1 to 140 - ! Praetorian 1981–1982 1 to 140 - ! Phalanx 1982–1983 1 to 143 - ! Fusileer 1983–1984 small to 150 - ! Grenadier 1984–1985 3 to 150 - ! Charioteer 1985–1986 small to 140 - ! Musketeer 1986–1987 3 to 150 - ! Touchstone 1987–1988 2 to 150 - ! Cornerstone 1988–1989 1 to 150 - ! Aqueduct 1989–1990 small to 150 - ! Sculpin 1990–1991 2 to 140 - ! Julin 1991–1992 small to 100 The last test series, cut off by the negotiation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. - class="sortbottom" !style="background:#efefef;" Totals 1945-Jul-16 to 1992-Sep-23 1032 1132 12 27 231 0 to 15,000 196,552 Total country yield is 36.3% of all nuclear testing.

Timeline

Graphical timeline of United States atmospheric nuclear weapons tests.

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office . 2000-12-01 . United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992 . DOE/NV-209 REV15 . Las Vegas, NV . 2013-12-18 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061012160826/http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/publications/historical/DOENV_209_REV15.pdf . 2006-10-12 .
  2. Discrepancies with the table include 24 tests actually carried out by the United Kingdom at the NTS; four aborted tests in Operation Fishbowl; one test, Anvil/Peninsula, that jammed during lowering in its shaft and was abandoned; and five salvo tests listed as two enumerated tests each because they were treated that way when eventually described to the public, rather than standing on the treaty definition of a salvo test.
  3. Includes all tests with potential for nuclear fission or fusion explosion, including combat use, singleton tests, salvo tests, zero yield fails, safety experiments, and bombs incapacitated by accidents but still intended to be fired. It does not include hydronuclear and subcritical tests, and misfires of a device which was subsequently fired successfully.
  4. Number of tests which would have been in violation of the Partial Test Ban Treaty of 1963, such as atmospheric, space or underwater tests. Some "peaceful use" cratering tests which should have been violations were protested, and later quietly dropped.
  5. "Small" refers to a value greater than zero but less than 0.5 kt.
  6. Some yields are described like "< 20 kt"; such are scored at one half of the numeric amount, i.e., yield of 10k in this example. "Unknown yield" adds nothing to the total.

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