Operation Plumbbob

Nuclear test Operation Plumbbob
Plumbbob Fizeau, explosion on Sept. 14, 1957
information
nation	United States
Test location	Nevada Test Site
Period	April – October 1957
Number of tests	30th
Test type	Above-ground tests
Weapon type	Fission / Fusion
Max. Explosive force	74 kT
navigation
Previous test	Project 57
Next test	Project 58

Operation Plumbbob was the 14th series of US nuclear tests conducted between April 24 and October 7, 1957 at the Nevada Test Site . It was the largest and longest series of atomic bomb tests in the United States. A total of 30 bombs were tested, six of which were safety tests and two of which did not result in nuclear fission .

aims

The main goal of Plumbbob was to test warheads for ICBM and medium-range missiles . Low-explosive warheads that could be used against submarines and aircraft were also tested. The first and so far only test of a nuclear air-to-air missile was carried out here. An AIR-2 Genie was tested , which was launched by a Northrop F-89J Scorpion at an altitude of 5,640 meters.

A further 43 tests examined the effects of a nuclear attack on civilian and military targets. Part of these experiments were studies on radiation and its influence on living things. A total of 1,200 pigs were observed during the entire operation. When the Priscilla test exploded, 719 pigs were used in various experiments, for example to develop suitable protective vests against a thermonuclear explosion.

Approximately 18,000 Air Force , Army , Navy, and Marine Corps soldiers participated in combat drills during Plumbbob. The military wanted to study how soldiers would handle a nuclear war. During the exercises, the soldiers were exposed to a dose that was far too high . In 1980, a survey of soldiers who took part in the Smoky test revealed significantly increased leukemia rates. Experiments were also carried out to check the security measures of nuclear weapons. As a result of these tests, better security systems were developed to protect nuclear weapons from being accidentally triggered, for example by a plane crash.

The individual tests of the Plumbbob series

The tests were named either after deceased scientists or North American mountains.

bomb	Date / Time ( GMT )	Proving Ground	Explosion height	Test type	Explosive force (predicted)	Remarks
Project 57	April 24, 1957 4:27 PM	Area 13	0 meters 0 feet	tower	0 kT (11 kT)	Security test
Boltzmann	May 28, 1957 11:55 a.m.	Area 7c	152 meters 500 feet	tower	12 kT (11 kT)
Franklin	June 2, 1957 11:55 a.m.	Area 3	91 meters 300 feet	tower	140 T (2 kT)	Misfire, reached only seven percent of the calculated explosive force
To let	June 5, 1957 11:45 a.m.	Area 9a	152 meters 500 feet	balloon	0.5 T (600 T)
Wilson	June 18, 1957 11:45 a.m.	Area 9a	152 meters 500 feet	balloon	10 kT (8 kT or 2–12 kT)
Priscilla	June 24, 1957 1:30 p.m.	Area 5	213 meters 700 feet	balloon	37 kT (40 kT)	The effectiveness of a Mark-39 against shelters was tested
Coulomb-A	July 1, 1957 5:30 p.m.	Area 3h	0 meters 0 feet	ground	0 T (1-2 lb)	Security test
Hood	July 5, 1957 11:40 a.m.	Area 9a	457 meters 1500 feet	balloon	74 kT (60–80 kT)	largest surface test on the American continent; first test of two-stage fusion bomb at Nevada Test Site; 2,500 marines took part in the military exercise Desert Rock VII part
Diablo	July 15, 1957 11:30 a.m.	Area 2b	152 meters 500 feet	tower	17 kT (11-15 kT)
John	July 19, 1957 2:00 p.m.	Area 10	5640 meters 18,500 feet	Air-to-air missile	1.7 kT (1.7 kT)	First and only test of a nuclear air-to-air missile. An AIR-2 Genie was fired from a Northrop F-89J Scorpion at an altitude of 5,640 meters.
Kepler	July 24, 1957 11:50 a.m.	Area 4	152 meters 500 feet	tower	10 kT (11 kT)
Owens	July 25, 1957 1:30 p.m.	Area 9b	152 meters 500 feet	balloon	9.7 kT (2-10 kT)
Pascal-A	July 26, 1957 8:00 am	Area 3	-147 meters -485 feet	Manhole	"Minor": about 55 T (1–2 lb)	Security test; first nuclear weapon test in a shaft
Stokes	August 7, 1957 12:25 p.m.	Area 7b	460 meters 1500 feet	balloon	19 kT (10-20 kT)	Test of the W-30 nuclear warhead
Saturn	August 10, 1957 1:00 a.m.	Area 12c	-30 meters -100 feet	tunnel	0 kT (100 lb)	Safety test in a tunnel
Shasta	August 18, 1957 12:00 noon	Area 2a	152 meters 500 feet	tower	17 kT (11-15 kT)
Doppler	August 23, 1957 12:30 p.m.	Area 7	457 meters 1500 feet	balloon	11 kT
Pascal-B	August 27, 1957 10:35 p.m.	Area 3c	-152 meters -500 feet	Manhole	0.3 kT (1–2 lb)	Security test in a shaft. During this test, the shaft was closed with a steel plate weighing approx. 900 kg. The plate that was thrown away during the test was never found and is still part of extensive speculations that believe it is possible to leave the earth's atmosphere . They relate to theoretical calculations and the evaluation of a few images from a high-speed camera that result in an acceleration of the plate up to 5 to 6 times the escape speed of the earth. Thus, the plate could be the first artificial object that reached an earth orbit or even left the earth's gravitational field . However, critics suspect that the plate completely burned up in the earth's atmosphere.
Franklin Prime	August 30, 1957 12:40 p.m.	Area 7b	230 meters 750 feet	balloon	4.7 kT (2 kT)	Repeat the Franklin test
Smoky	August 31, 1957 12:30 p.m.	Area 8	210 meters 700 feet	tower	44 kT (45–50 kT)	First and second stage tests for the development of the B41 strategic bomb ; second test of a hydrogen bomb on the American continent; After the detonation, combat troops moved up to 100 meters to the center of the explosion. First test to research the effects of the pressure wave on rugged or mountainous terrain compared to flat terrain.
Galileo	September 2, 1957 12:40 p.m.	Area 1	152 meters 500 feet	tower	11 kT
Wheeler	September 6, 1957 12:45 p.m.	Area 9a	152 meters 500 feet	balloon	197 T (200 T)	probably prototype of the W54 warhead for the Davy Crockett
Coulomb-B	September 6, 1957 8:50 pm	Area 3g	0 meters 0 feet	ground	0.3 kT (1–2 lb; max. 20 T)	Security test
Laplace	September 8, 1957 1:00 p.m.	Area 7b	230 meters 750 feet	balloon	1 kT (1.5–2 kT)
Fizeau	September 14, 1957 4:45 p.m.	Area 3b	152 meters 500 feet	tower	11 kT (8-10 kT)
Newton	September 16, 1957 12:50 p.m.	Area 7b	457 meters 1500 feet	balloon	12 kT (50-70 kT)
Rainier	September 19, 1957 4:59 pm	Area 12	-274 meters -899 feet	tunnel	1.7 kT	First underground explosion in which no fission products reached the surface
Whitney	September 23, 1957 12:30 p.m.	Area 2	152 meters 500 feet	tower	19 kT (15 kT)
Charleston	September 28, 1957 1 p.m.	Area 9	450 meters 1500 feet	balloon	12 kT (less than 50-100 kT)	Failed test of a fusion bomb
Morgan	October 7, 1957 1:00 p.m.	Area 9	152 meters 500 feet	balloon	8 kT (2–10 kT)

gallery

• 

  Test of the hydrogen bomb Hood , the radioactive cloud rose to a height of 13.3 km

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  Plumbbob Smoky

• 

  Plumbbob John - Only test of a nuclear air-to-air missile. An AIR-2 Genie was fired from a Northrop F-89J Scorpion at an altitude of 5,640 meters.

• 

  The stern of an unmanned airship that crashed due to the shock wave in the Stokes explosion. The airship was used to determine the effects of the explosion and the blast wave. Instead, it was five miles (8 km) from Ground Zero .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Nuclear Test Personnel Review (NTPR) Program, DNA 6005F ( Memento from September 28, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 7.7 MB)
2. ↑ Nuclear Test Personnel Review (NTPR) Program, Shot Hood, A Test of the Plumbbob Series - DNA 6002F ( Memento from September 28, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 3.1 MB)
3. ↑ Rebecca Harrington: The fastest object ever launched was a manhole cover - here's the story from the guy who shot it into space. Accessed February 16, 2020 . 
4. ^ Operation Plumbbob. Accessed February 16, 2020 . 
5. ↑ Learning to containment Underground Nuclear Explosions. Accessed February 16, 2020 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Michael Light: 100 Suns , 2003

Web links

Commons : Operation Plumbbob  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 37 ° 8 '9.95 "  N , 116 ° 4' 6.59"  W.