Operation Teapot facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Operation Teapot |
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Teapot MET (Military Effects Test)
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| Information | |
| Country | United States |
| Test site |
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| Period | 1955 |
| Number of tests | 14 |
| Test type | cratering, free air drop, parachuted, tower |
| Max. yield | 43 kilotonnes of TNT (180 TJ) |
| Navigation | |
| Previous test series | Operation Castle |
| Next test series | Operation Wigwam |
Operation Teapot was a series of 14 nuclear test explosions conducted at the Nevada Test Site in the first half of 1955. It was preceded by Operation Castle, and followed by Operation Wigwam. Wigwam was, administratively, a part of Teapot, but it is usually treated as a class of its own. The aims of the operation were to establish military tactics for ground forces on a nuclear battlefield and to improve the nuclear weapons used for strategic delivery.
Individual blasts
Wasp
During shot Wasp, ground forces took part in Exercise Desert Rock VI which included an armored task force Razor moving to within 900 metres (3,000 ft) of ground zero, under the still-forming mushroom cloud.
Bee
An augmented test unit from the United States Marine Corps participated in shot Bee during the March 1955 exercises.
MET
The MET was the first bomb core to include uranium-233 (a rarely used fissile isotope that is the product of thorium-232 neutron absorption), along with plutonium; this was based on the plutonium/U-235 pit from the TX-7E, a prototype Mark 7 nuclear bomb design used in the 1951 Operation Buster-Jangle Easy test. It produced a yield of 22kt (comparable to the Fat Man plutonium-only weapon that exploded over Nagasaki), but significantly less than the expected amount. Since it was a military effects test, the DoD specified that the device should have a calibrated yield within 10% of ratings. However, weapon designers at Los Alamos substituted the experimental core without notifying the DoD. The unexpected lower yield, 33% less than the DoD expected, ruined many of the military's tests.
Apple-2
The Civil Defense Apple-2 shot on May 5, 1955 was intended to test various building construction types in a nuclear blast. An assortment of buildings, including residential houses and electrical substations, were constructed at the site nicknamed "Survival Town" by some and "Doom Town" by others. The buildings were populated with mannequins, and stocked with different types of canned and packaged foods. Not all of the buildings were destroyed in the blast, and some of them still stand at Area 1, Nevada Test Site. A short film about the blast, referred to as "Operation Cue", was distributed by the Federal Civil Defense Administration. The houses are still standing at 37°02′41″N 116°04′27″W / 37.04476°N 116.07416°W, at the east and west ends of the road loop. They are stops on the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) tour.
From declassified documents dated February to May 1956, the Apple-2 shot, as part of Operation Teapot Project 35.5 "Effects of Nuclear Explosion on Records and Records Storage Equipment" was staged on the Nevada Test Site to determine the effects of nuclear explosions on various types of records and record storage equipment.
Teapot series tests
| Name | Date time (UT) | Local time zone | Location | Elevation + height | Delivery | Purpose | Device | Yield | Venting | References | Notes |
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| Wasp | February 18, 1955 19:59:59.2 | PST (−8 h) |
NTS Area 7 37°05′12″N 116°01′22″W / 37.0866°N 116.0228°W | 1,268 m (4,160 ft) + 230 m (750 ft) | free air drop | weapon effect | 1 kt | I-131 venting detected, 160 kCi (5,900 TBq) | Air defense test. Light weight implosion system, 120 lb (54 kg) and 22 in (560 mm) across. Desert Rock VI. | ||
| Moth | February 22, 1955 13:00:45.0 | PST (−8 h) |
NTS Area 3 37°02′52″N 116°01′19″W / 37.0477°N 116.022°W | 1,230 m (4,040 ft) + 90 m (300 ft) | tower | weapons development | XW-30 ? | 2 kt | I-131 venting detected, 320 kCi (12,000 TBq) | Proof test of XW30 air defense warhead. Used an ENS (external neutron source) initiator. Desert Rock VI. | |
| Tesla | March 1, 1955 13:00:30.3 | PST (−8 h) |
NTS Area 9b 37°07′32″N 116°02′54″W / 37.1255°N 116.0484°W | 1,282 m (4,206 ft) + 90 m (300 ft) | tower | weapons development | Cleo I | 7 kt | I-131 venting detected, 1.2 MCi (44 PBq) | First successful UCRL test; used linear implosion, ZIPPER initiator. Desert Rock VI. | |
| Turk | March 7, 1955 13:00:20.2 | PST (−8 h) |
NTS Area 2 37°08′18″N 116°07′06″W / 37.1383°N 116.1184°W | 1,370 m (4,490 ft) + 150 m (490 ft) | tower | weapons development | XW-27D "Linda" lightweight secondary | 43 kt | I-131 venting detected, 6.4 MCi (240 PBq) | Test of primary for XW-27 class D, lightweight thermonuke, in an XW-27 mockup. Desert Rock VI. | |
| Hornet | March 12, 1955 13:19:59.8 | PST (−8 h) |
NTS Area 3a 37°02′25″N 116°01′34″W / 37.0402°N 116.0261°W | 1,224 m (4,016 ft) + 90 m (300 ft) | tower | weapons development | XW-30 ? | 4 kt | I-131 venting detected, 620 kCi (23,000 TBq) | Boosted XW-30. A sealed pit D-T gas boost design, with ZIPPER initiator. | |
| Bee | March 22, 1955 13:04:59.9 | PST (−8 h) |
NTS Area 7 37°05′41″N 116°01′29″W / 37.0947°N 116.0248°W | 1,294 m (4,245 ft) + 150 m (490 ft) | tower | weapons development | XW-25 ? | 8 kt | I-131 venting detected, 1.2 MCi (44 PBq) | LASL sealed pit D-T gas boosted design, with ZIPPER initiator. Desert Rock VI. | |
| ESS | March 23, 1955 20:00:30.0 | PST (−8 h) |
NTS Area 10 37°10′06″N 116°02′41″W / 37.1683°N 116.0448°W | 1,298 m (4,259 ft) - 20 m (66 ft) | cratering | weapon effect | Mk-6 HE | 1 kt | I-131 venting detected, 140 kCi (5,200 TBq) | "Effects Sub-surface". Test for ADM (Atomic Demolition Munition). Desert Rock VI. | |
| Apple-1 | March 29, 1955 12:00:55.1 | PST (−8 h) |
NTS Area 4 37°05′44″N 116°06′13″W / 37.0955°N 116.1037°W | 1,317 m (4,321 ft) + 150 m (490 ft) | tower | weapons development | 14 kt | I-131 venting detected, 2 MCi (74 PBq) | Primary failed; expected 40 kt. Desert Rock VI. | ||
| Wasp Prime | March 29, 1955 17:59:54.8 | PST (−8 h) |
NTS Area 7 37°05′12″N 116°03′31″W / 37.0866°N 116.0586°W | 1,261 m (4,137 ft) + 230 m (750 ft) | free air drop | weapons development | 3.2 kt | I-131 venting detected, 450 kCi (17,000 TBq) | Repeat of Wasp. Desert Rock VI. | ||
| HA | April 6, 1955 18:00:04.1 | PST (−8 h) |
NTS Area 1 37°01′43″N 116°03′31″W / 37.0286°N 116.0586°W | 1,280 m (4,200 ft) + 11.16 kilometres (6.93 mi) | parachuted | weapon effect | 3.2 kt | I-131 venting detected, 450 kCi (17,000 TBq) | "High altitude" test of air-air missile warhead similar to Wasp Prime; parachute retarded (only one at NTS). | ||
| Post | April 9, 1955 12:00:30.2 | PST (−8 h) |
NTS Area 9 37°07′21″N 116°02′05″W / 37.1226°N 116.0347°W | 1,294 m (4,245 ft) + 90 m (300 ft) | tower | weapons development | Cleo II | 2 kt | I-131 venting detected, 340 kCi (13,000 TBq) | LLNL Linear implosion. ENS initiated. | |
| MET | April 15, 1955 19:00:15.3 | PST (−8 h) |
NTS Area 5 36°47′53″N 115°55′47″W / 36.798°N 115.9298°W | 940 m (3,080 ft) + 120 m (390 ft) | tower | weapon effect | 22 kt | I-131 venting detected, 3.1 MCi (110 PBq) | "Military Effects Tower". Supposed to be a standard effects test, LASL clandestinely substituted experimental U233/Pu core, thus undershot estimated yield by a third. Desert Rock VI. | ||
| Apple-2 | May 5, 1955 12:00:10.0 | PST (−8 h) |
NTS Area 1 37°03′11″N 116°06′12″W / 37.053°N 116.1034°W | 1,294 m (4,245 ft) + 150 m (490 ft) | tower | weapons development | 29 kt | I-131 venting detected, 4.1 MCi (150 PBq) | Retry of Apple-1. Desert Rock VI. Operation Cue, civil defense exercise. | ||
| Zucchini | May 15, 1955 11:59:59.9 | PST (−8 h) |
NTS Area 7 37°05′41″N 116°01′29″W / 37.0947°N 116.0248°W | 1,294 m (4,245 ft) + 150 m (490 ft) | tower | weapons development | 28 kt | I-131 venting detected, 4 MCi (150 PBq) | Test of Class D primary/secondary system. |
See also
In Spanish: Operación Teapot para niños
