|
|
Weapons Testing Trends and Totals
(From the Deseret News, Dec. 22, 1994)
coccidioides, 3, Sept. 1960 to March 1964
fluorescent particles 11, May 1953 to May21, 1963
pasteurella, 1, Oct. 9, 1952
pathogens, 1, June 1950 to Nov. 1950
undisclosed agents, 1, throughout 1954
unknown agents, 1, Jan. 24, '64 to Feb. 3, '64
aspergillus fumigatus, 1, May 1953 to June 1953
bacillus anthracis, 7, Jan. 1954 to Sept. 1960
bacillus subtillis, 54, through 1945 to Sept. 10, '86
botullinum toxin, 1, Sept. 1960
brucella melitensis, 3, June 1952 to Dec. 1952
brucella suis, 17, May 12, 1952 to Feb. '56
clostridium botulinum, 1, Nov. 19, 1952
coccidioides uranine, 1, Nov. 1962 to March 1963
coxiella burnetii, 11, June 1, 1951 to April 4, 1967
virus bacterophage, 1, Sept. 4, 1986 (28 tests)
pasteurella pestis, 1, March 27, 1952
pasteurella rularensis, 21, April 9, 1952 to April 4, 1967
psittacosis, 1, throughout 1951
serratia marcescens, 11, May 1953 to May 18, '78
uranine dye, 1, Aug. 1964 to Sept. 1964
wheat rust spores, 1, Feb. 18, 1952 to May 27, 1952
wheat stem rust, 5, Sept. 12, 1952 to Aug '54
(From January 1951 through February 1956, Dugway Proving Ground conducted 36 test operations in which officials were unsure if tests were confined to Army lands.)
Germ tested, Total Tests, Date Started and Ended
Bacillus anthracis, 3, Jan 1954 to Feb. 1956
Brucella melitensis, 3, June 1952 to Dec. 1952
Brucella suis, 16, May 19, 1952 to Feb. 1956
Clostridium botulinum, 1, Nov. 19, 1952
Coxiella burnetii, 3, June 1, 1951 to Nov. 1952
Pasteurella pestis, 1, March 27, 1952
Pasteurella tularensis, 6, April 9, 1952 to Nov. 18, l954
Psittacosis, 1, through 1951
Pasteurella, 1, Oct. 9, 1954
Undisclosed Agents, 1, through 1954
Aerial testing of nerve agent GA
Deadly nerve agent GA was sprayed at Dugway Proving Ground in six different instances, from Dec. 19, 1952 to Feb. 2, 1953. In the first four experiments, GA was spread by an F-80 fighter jet flying 480 mph at a height of 100 fee. In the last two tests, F-47M and F-47N fighters were used at speeds of 310 mph and at the same 100 foot heights.
Aerial testing of nerve agent GB
In 10 tests conducted between July 16, 1952 to Feb. 12, 1953, Dugway Proving Ground sprayed nerve agent GB from an F-80 flying 480 mph at heights ranging from 75 to 200 feet.
GB was sprayed at Dugway in seven tests between April 17, 1953, to May 13, 1953 using an F3D-2 aircraft flying at 360 knots at heights ranging from 20 to 40 feet.
In four more tests conducted at Dugway between Feb. 10-24, 1954, an F-80 sprayed GB while flying at 470 mph at heights between 65 and 130 feet.
On six dates from April 1, 1962 to May 31, 1962, more than 4,100 pounds of GB was sprayed at Dugway at heights ranging from 115 to 190 feet (the type of aircraft and speeds were undocumented)
Dugway Proving Ground conducted demonstrations weekly by firing 12 arms filled with nerve agent GB at fortifications with caged animals inside, as soldiers watched their deaths via TV.
The tests were conducted for 12 weeks from September 1959 to December 1959. During the next nine years - from 1960 to 1968 - the tests were performed 40 of the 52 weeks annually. The operations concluded the following year, with the tests being conducted weekly form January 1969 to June 1969.
GA, GB and VX were used in 1,178 documented tests from 1951 to 1969. Tests ranged from exploding shells filled with nerve agent to assessing troop operations in contaminated areas.
Test Type, Test Series, Total Tests
Attacks on planes, arms leaks, on plane, 3, 48
Arms and rockets filled with GA or GB, 2, 155
Arms filled with GA or GB, 14, 715
Assessments in VX-contaminated areas, 2, 5
Burned B-24 bomber with GB aboard, 1, 1
Downwind hazards of M-55 destruction, 1, 5
Landmines filled with VX, 3, 14
M-55 rockets filled with VX, 10, 126
155-mm shells filled with VX, 8, 55
8-inch howitzer shells filled with VX, 3, 21
Testing GB persistency in various temps, 1, 10
Various disposal, contamination tests, 2, 23
Nevada Test Site has hosted the likes of Buster, Sunbeam, Mandrel and Tinderbox - four of the 25 total operations with nuclear bomb tests. Nearly two-thirds of the 141 nuclear-bomb tests documented by the Deseret News were open-air detonations. The underground tests documented are only those where the government acknowledges at least a slight release of radiation to the atmosphere. Hundred of other underground tests were conducted where the government says all radiation was contained underground.
First open-air test operation: Operation Ranger, five tests, January and February 1951
First under-ground test operation: Operation Plumbbob, 1 underground test (of 25 total detonations), Mary through October 1957.
Last open-air test operation: Operation Charioteer, two open-air tests, March and April 1986.
Last underground operation: Operation Grenadier, 1 test, April 6, 1985.
Total number of test operations: 25
Total open-air tests: 94
Total underground test: 46
Four Largest Open-Air Nuclear Bomb Tests
TNT Amount, Date, Operation, Code name
80,000, Sept. 19, 1958, Hardtack II, Eddy
74,000, July 5, 1957, Plumbbob, Hood
61,000, June 4, 1953, Upshot-Knothole, Climax
44,000, Aug. 31, 1957, Plumbbob, Smoky
Four Largest Underground Nuclear Bomb Tests
TNT Amount, Date, Operation, Code name, Radiation
104,000, July 6, 1962, Storax, Sedan, release detected
40,000, Oct. 29, 1969, Mandrel, Pod, accidental
38,000, Sept. 12, '58, Hardtack II, Otero, some released
30,000, Dec. 8, 1968, Bowline, Schooner, release detected
Even Bigger Bombs?
Army documents show that an underground test was conducted on Jan. 19, 1967, with an undisclosed yield of 20,000 to 200,000 tons of TNT. Code named Nash of Operation Latchkey, the test at Nevada Test Site resulted in "accidental release of radioactivity detected off site."
Similarly, an underground test with "radioactivity detected off site" at Nevada Test Site on April 10, 1968, had a TNT-tonnage yield of 20,000 to 150,000 tons. The test was code-named Glencoe of Operation Charioteer.