Amchitka Island, Alaska, USA
Amchitka Island was the site for three underground nuclear tests. The first test, Long Shot (1965), was designed to determine whether the blast's shock waves could be distinguished from earthquakes. Milrow, the second (1969), and Cannikin (1971) were part of the U.S. anti-ballistic missile development program. Cannikin had a yield "under 5 megatons", the largest underground test ever conducted by the United States. Amchitka is no longer used for nuclear testing.
atomicarchive.comBikini Atoll, Marshall Islands
Administered by the United States, this island was first used for nuclear testing during Operation Crossroads in 1946. On March 1, 1954, Bikini Atoll was also the site of the largest U.S. nuclear test ever exploded. The Bravo test had a yield of 15 megatons, 3 times the planned yield.
atomicarchive.comChristmas Island, Kiribati
Used for British and American nuclear testing in the 1950's and early 1960's. Site of the first British thermonuclear detonation on November 8, 1957. The USA conducted 22 successful nuclear detonations as part of Operation Dominic here in 1962.
atomicarchive.comEniwetok Atoll, Marshall Islands
Some 43 nuclear tests were detonated at Enewetak from 1948 to 1958. The first hydrogen bomb test, code-named Mike, was tested on November 1, 1952. The explosion vaporized the island of Elugelab.
atomicarchive.comJohnston Island
Site of 12 high-altitude nuclear tests during the late 1950's and early 1960's. It is administered by the United States.
atomicarchive.comMontebello Islands, Australia
The site of Operation Hurricane, the first British nuclear weapons test on October 3, 1952. There were two further tests on Alpha and Trimouille Islands in 1956.
atomicarchive.comMururoa and Fangatau Atolls, French Polynesia
CEP (Le Centre d' experimentation du Pacifique).Fangataufa, and its sister atoll Mururoa, were the site of extensive nuclear testing by France between 1966 and 1996. The first French thermonuclear device was detonated here on August 24, 1968. Atmospheric testing ended in 1974, and underground testing ended in 1996.
atomicarchive.comOpen Sea, South Atlantic Ocean
Three high-altitude nuclear weapons tests, name Operation Argus, were conducted between August and September of 1958. The tests were designed to see if high-altitude nuclear detonations would create a radiation belt in the extreme upper regions of the Earth's atmosphere.
atomicarchive.comPacific Ocean
Operation Wigwam consisted of a single nuclear detonation on May 14, 1955. It was a deep water test to investigate the vulnerability of submarines to deep nuclear weapons, and the feasibility of using depth bombs in combat.
atomicarchive.comPrince Edward Island, Indian Ocean
Site of the suspected South African/Israeli nuclear test. A United States Vela satellite detected the characteristic double flash of an atmospheric nuclear explosion on September 22, 1979.
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