This was probably a version of the Gnat device, and was similar to devices fired in Hardtack II Otero, Bernalillo, Luna, Mora, Colfax, etc. These tests followed the Operation Argus series and preceded the Operation Nougat series. Similar to the Catron and Mora devices the 2.2 kt yield was below predictions. Operation Hardtack II was a series of 37 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1958 at the Nevada Test Site.
1958 was a banner year for nuclear weapons testing by the U.S., with a total of 77 U.S. tests, more than the three previous record setting years combined. Operation Hardtack 28. Hardtack II Eddy 002.jpg 800 × 1,038; 114 KB. Over three months, he witnessed 27 of them. The world's first underground nuclear test had been fired in the previous NTS series (Plumbbob Ranier), and this series introduced underground testing as a routine procedure. Hardtack Phase II still released some 3,140 kilocuries of radioiodine (I-131) into the atmosphere (about equal to the Trinity test), only ~5% as much as the previous test series (Plumbbob). [United States. Operation Hardtack II was a series of 37 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1958 at the Nevada Test Site. Device dimensions: 11.7 inches in diameter, 15 inches long, weight 58.1 lb. A hard deadline for testing was set at midnight (0000 hrs), October 31, 1958, as negotiations were set to start that day, and the schedule shows it, with 29 tests executed in October, four of them on the last day. This category of information is often not officially disclosed.Radioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. Similar to devices fired in many of the preceding Hardtack II shots. Predicted yield was 5-9 kt. Finally a successful full yield test of the XW-54 primary! This was a dramatic turnaround from the previous Nevada test series, Plumbbob, in which the above ground Hood shot by itself was 74 kt. In the picture below, spikes can be seen propagating down the mooring cables of the balloon. Another attempt at firing a full yield version of the XW-54/Gnat system puts in a disappointing showing. 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.
On Christmas Day in 1943 Captain P. Ayton, Lieutenant L. Hulot, Sergeant D. Roberts, Corporal J. Hourcourighary, Corporal M. Roux, and Corporal Allain undertook the only Allied raid on Jersey “Operation Hardtack 28”. This was a fizzled attempt to fire the LASL designed XW-54 primary at full yield. Based on device characteristics - 11.3 inches in diameter, 15 inches long, weight 57.3 lb. For all other information, call the Nuclear Test Personnel Review (NTPR) Program at 800-462-3683. UCRL test of an alternate W-47 primary in a thermonuclear system mockup. These shots were called "roman candles" since the incandescent gas from the fireball was ejected as a jet from the mouth of the shaft. With test moratoriums on the horizon, American weapons labs rushed out many new designs. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. Device dimensions: 11.3 inches in diameter, 15 inches long, weight 66 lb. indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. In contrast, Hardtack II consisted exclusively of low yield tests, many of them attempted zero-yield one-point safety tests, which could be conducted in relative safety in Nevada (some were underground). Although it was fired in an underground tunnel, the shot still vented radioactive material into the atmosphere (visible in the picture below). These tests followed the Operation Argus series and preceded the Operation …
- it was probably another XW-54/Gnat attempt. Get this from a library! PLEASE NOTIFY THE DEFENSE NUCLEAR AGENCY, ATTN: STTI, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20305, IF YOUR ADDRESS IS … Operation Hardtack II - WikiMili, The Free Encyclopedia - WikiMili, The Free Encyclopedia Bikini atoll test sites.jpg 750 × 600; 127 KB. This radiation also did not nearly spread as far, only about one-millionth as much radiation exposure occurred to civilians.