Frigate Bird
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Nuclear test Frigate Bird
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 Blast cloud captured through the periscope of the submarine USS Carbonero (SS-337) from 25 miles (40 km) away |
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| information | |
| nation |
 United States
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| Test series | Operation Dominic |
| Test location | Johnston Atoll |
| date | May 6, 1962 11:30 PM ( GMT ) |
| Test height | 3300 meters |
| Weapon type | Hydrogen bomb |
| Explosive power | 600 kT |
| target | Full test of a strategic weapon system |
Frigate Bird is the code name of the first and so far only US full test in which a nuclear weapon was launched from a submarine ( submarine-launched ballistic missile ). The test was part of the Operation Fishbowl series within Operation Dominic .
The Frigate Bird was test on 6. May 1962 by the nuclear submarine USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608) , a missile of the type Polaris A1 near the Johnston Atoll in the direction of the approximately 2700 km island remote Kiritimati started. A W-47Y1 nuclear warhead in a Mk.1A re-entry head with an explosive force of 600 kilotons was used. After a flight time of 12.5 minutes and about 1900 km of travel, the warhead was detonated at an altitude of about 11,000 feet (3.5 km).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Michael Light: 100 Suns , 2003