Operation Ivy
Operation Ivy | |
---|---|
Information | |
Country | United States |
Test site |
|
Period | 1952 |
Number of tests | 2 |
Test type | dry surface, free air drop |
Max. yield | 10.4 megatonnes of TNT (44 PJ) |
Test series chronology | |
Operation Ivy was the eighth series of
Background
The Operation Ivy test series was the first to involve a hydrogen bomb rather than an atomic bomb, further to the order of President Harry S. Truman made on January 31, 1950, that the US should continue research into all forms of nuclear weapons. The bombs were prepared by the US Atomic Energy Commission and Defense Department aboard naval vessels, and were capable of being detonated remotely from the control ship Estes.[1]
Tests
Mike
The first Ivy shot, codenamed
The outcome of the test was reported to incoming president Eisenhower by Atomic Energy Commission Chairman, Gordon Dean, as follows: “The island of Elugelab is missing!”[citation needed]
Sampling mission
Four
As a result of the above collection of samples from the explosion by
King
The second test, King, fired the highest-yield (500 kilotons)[7] nuclear fission (A-bomb) weapon to date using only nuclear fission (no fusion nor fusion boosting). This test used an unretarded free-fall bomb from a B-36 bomber. The bomber suffered minor heat and blast damage and safely returned to base. This "Super Oralloy Bomb" was intended as a backup to the earlier "Mike" test, if the fusion weapon had failed.
Summary
Name [note 1] | Date time (UT) | Local | Location[note 3]
|
Elevation + height [note 4] | Delivery,[note 5] Purpose [note 6] |
Device[note 7] | Yield[note 8] | Fallout[note 9] | References | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mike | October 31, 1952 19:14:59.4 | MHT (11 hrs) | Elugelab (Flora), Enewetak Atoll 11°39′57″N 162°11′21″E / 11.66573°N 162.18928°E | 2 m (6 ft 7 in) + 8 m (26 ft) | dry surface, weapons development |
"Sausage" w/ TX-5 primary | 10.4 Mt | [9][10][11][12] | Megaton ("M" as in Mike) device. First true experimental H-bomb, used cryogenic deuterium ; became TX-16 weapon. Elugelab completely cratered.
| |
King | November 15, 1952 23:30:00.0 | MHT (11 hrs) | Runit (Yvonne), Enewetak Atoll 11°33′32″N 162°20′43″E / 11.55878°N 162.34541°E | 0 + 450 m (1,480 ft) | free air drop, weapons development |
Mk-18F SOB | 500 kt | [9][10][11][12] | Kiloton ("K" as in King) device. Aka Super oralloy bomb (SOB), used 4 critical masses of U235. Largest pure fission device; also tested chain safety device. |
- ^ The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China did not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions – Soviet peaceful explosions were named). Word translations into English in parentheses unless the name is a proper noun. A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also sometimes named the individual explosions in such a salvo test, which results in "name1 – 1(with name2)". If test is canceled or aborted, then the row data like date and location discloses the intended plans, where known.
- ^ To convert the UT time into standard local, add the number of hours in parentheses to the UT time; for local daylight saving time, add one additional hour. 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. Historical time zone data obtained from the IANA time zone database.
- ^ Rough place name and a latitude/longitude reference; for rocket-carried tests, the launch location is specified before the detonation location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area.
- ^ Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example, Plumbbob/John. No number or units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero. Sorting on this column is by elevation and height added together.
- ^ Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT. Intentional cratering tests are borderline; they occurred under the treaty, were sometimes protested, and generally overlooked if the test was declared to be a peaceful use.
- ^ Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
- ^ Designations for test items where known, "?" indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. This category of information is often not officially disclosed.
- ^ Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
- ^ Radioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it is all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and "all" if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, where known, and the measured amount of radioactivity released.
Gallery
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Mike mushroom cloud.
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Nuclear fallout map of Mike test.
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Warehouse building (shot cab) that housed the Mike device.
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Cylindrical Mike device (left) connected to measuring instrumentation (right).
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King's fireball and subsequent mushroom cloud from sea-level view.
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King mushroom cloud.
Operation Ivy in Popular Culture
In the video game Sid Meier's Civilization VI, Operation Ivy is a late game project that the player can construct at one of their cities. Completing the project allows the player to construct thermonuclear devices, which are more powerful than nuclear devices which are the game's version of an atomic bomb.
References
- ^ The Island is Missing!, article from the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center
- ^ a b c d e Chapman, Kit (January 14, 2020). "Element Hunting in a Nuclear Storm". Distillations. Science History Institute. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e Wolverton, Mark (2009). "Into the Mushroom Cloud Most pilots would head away from a thermonuclear explosion". Air & Space Magazine (August). Smithsonian. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ a b "F-84G-5-RE Thunderjet Serial Number 51-1040". Pacific Wrecks. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
- ^ Gladeck, F. R.; Hallowell, J. H.; Martin, E. J.; McMullan, F. W.; Miller, R. H.; et al. (1 December 1982). OPERATION IVY: 1952 (pdf) (Technical report). Washington, D.C.: Defense Nuclear Agency. DNA 6036F. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 August 2021. Retrieved 10 November 2021.
- ^ Department of the Army General Orders # 49 dated 9 June 1953 pp. 5–6
- ^ "United States Nuclear Tests, July 1945 through September 1992 (DOE/NV--209-REV 15)" (PDF). U.S. Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office. December 2000.
- ^ "Time Zone Historical Database". iana.com. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
- ^ a b Sublette, Carey, Nuclear Weapons Archive, retrieved January 6, 2014
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9791915-1-0
- ^ a b United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992 (PDF) (DOE/NV-209 REV15), Las Vegas, NV: Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, December 1, 2000, archived from the original (PDF) on June 15, 2010, retrieved December 18, 2013
- ^ a b Yang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl (August 2000), CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3), SMDC Monitoring Research
External links
- Curtiss Atomic Marines
- Operation Ivy
- Analysis of Radiation Exposure for Navy Personnel at Operation Ivy
- The short film Operation IVY is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive. formerly classified
- The short film Operation Ivy (1952) is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive. formerly unclassified, for civil defense