Operation_Dominic

Operation Dominic

Operation Dominic

1962 US nuclear test series

Operation Dominic was a series of 31 nuclear test explosions ("shots") with a 38.1 Mt (159 PJ) total yield conducted in 1962 by the United States in the Pacific.[1] This test series was scheduled quickly, in order to respond in kind to the Soviet resumption of testing after the tacit 1958–1961 test moratorium. Most of these shots were conducted with free fall bombs dropped from B-52 bomber aircraft. Twenty of these shots were to test new weapons designs; six to test weapons effects; and several shots to confirm the reliability of existing weapons. The Thor missile was also used to lift warheads into near-space to conduct high-altitude nuclear explosion tests; these shots were collectively called Operation Fishbowl.[2]

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Operation Dominic occurred during a period of high Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, since the Cuban Bay of Pigs Invasion had occurred not long before. Nikita Khrushchev announced the end of a three-year moratorium on nuclear testing on 30 August 1961, and Soviet tests recommenced on 1 September, initiating a series of tests that included the detonation of Tsar Bomba. President John F. Kennedy responded by authorizing Operation Dominic. It was the largest nuclear weapons testing program ever conducted by the United States[citation needed] and the last atmospheric test series conducted by the U.S., as the Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed in Moscow the following year.

The operation was undertaken by Joint Task Force 8.[3]

Shots

Sunset

The shot report lists the yield as 855 kilotonnes of TNT (3,580 TJ) ±20% measured from a Bhangmeter and 930 kilotonnes of TNT (3,900 TJ) ±10% from fireball analysis.[4] Other sources give the yield as 1 megatonne of TNT (4.2 PJ).[5]

Full list of shots

More information Name, Date time (UT) ...
  1. [N 1]
    The US, France and the UK 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.
  2. [N 2]
    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.
  3. [N 3]
    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.
  4. [N 4]
    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.
  5. [N 5]
    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.
  6. [N 6]
    Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
  7. [N 7]
    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.
  8. [N 8]
    Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
  9. [N 9]
    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.
  • Dominic-Housatonic, 9.96-megatons.
  • Dominic-Muskegon, 50-kilotons.
  • Dominic-Sunset, 1-megaton.
  • Dominic-Yukon, 100-kilotons.
  • Dominic-Swordfish, <20-kilotons.
  • Dominic-Frigate Bird via UGM-27 Polaris missile, 600-kilotons; Only full-scale US test of a strategic missile system.
  • Dominic-Frigate Bird, as viewed from the submarine USS Carbonero.
  • Swordfish spray dome and plume with USS Agerholm in foreground. Full scale test of ASROC rocket launched depth charge.
  • Dominic-Arkansas, 1.1 megatonnes of TNT (4.6 PJ).
  • Dominic-Truckee, 210 kilotonnes of TNT (880 TJ)

See also

References

  1. [1]
    Yang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl (August 2000), CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3), SMDC Monitoring Research
  2. [2]
    Dwayne A. Day (7 May 2007). "Space ghost". The Space Review. Archived from the original on 9 May 2007. Retrieved 11 May 2007.
  3. [3]
    Edward C. Whitman (Fall 2004). "The Other Frigate Bird". Undersea Warfare: The Official Magazine of the U.S. Submarine Force. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
  4. [4]
    Schneiderhan, R C (11 July 1962). Shot Sunset, Shot Report (Report). Los Alamos National Laboratory. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021.
  5. [5]
    Sublette, Carey, Nuclear Weapons Archive, retrieved 6 January 2014
  6. [6]
    "Time Zone Historical Database". iana.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2014. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  7. [7]
    Chuck Hansen (2007). Swords of Armageddon. Vol. VII. p. 166. ISBN 978-0-9791915-7-2.
  8. [8]
    Operation Dominic I (PDF) (DNA6040F), Washington, DC: Defense Nuclear Agency, 1983, archived from the original (PDF) on 23 August 2012, retrieved 12 January 2014
  9. [9]
    Norris, Robert Standish; Cochran, Thomas B. (1 February 1994), "United States nuclear tests, July 1945 to 31 December 1992 (NWD 94-1)" (PDF), Nuclear Weapons Databook Working Paper, Washington, DC: Natural Resources Defense Council, archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2013, retrieved 26 October 2013
  10. [10]
    Hansen, Chuck (1995), The Swords of Armageddon, Vol. 8, Sunnyvale, CA: Chukelea Publications, ISBN 978-0-9791915-1-0
  11. [11]
    United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992 (PDF) (DOE/NV-209 REV15), Las Vegas, NV: Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, 1 December 2000, archived from the original (PDF) on 12 October 2006, retrieved 18 December 2013
  12. [12]
    Swords of Armageddon Volume VII, p. 166.
  13. [13]
    Hoerlin, Herman (October 1976), United States High-Altitude Test Experiences: A Review Emphasizing the Impact on the Environment (LA-6405), LA (Series) (Los Alamos, N.M.)6405, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, p. 4, hdl:2027/mdp.39015086460626 Reference for time zone at Johnston Island 1958-1962.
  14. [14]
    Swords of Armageddon Volume VII, p. 168.
  15. [15]
    Swords of Armageddon Volume VII, p. 170.
  16. [16]
    Swords of Armageddon Volume VII, p. 172.
  17. [17]
    Swords of Armageddon Volume VII, p. 174.
  18. [18]
    Grams, Jon (28 May 2021). "Ripple: An Investigation of the World's Most Advanced High-Yield Thermonuclear Weapon Design". Journal of Cold War Studies. 23 (2): 133–161. doi:10.1162/jcws_a_01011. ISSN 1520-3972. S2CID 235372369.
  19. [19]
    Griggs, D. T.; Press, Frank (1961), "Probing the earth with nuclear explosions", Journal of Geophysical Research, 66 (1): 237–258, Bibcode:1961JGR....66..237G, doi:10.1029/jz066i001p00237, hdl:2027/mdp.39015077588872, archived from the original on 26 October 2013
  20. [20]
    Swords of Armageddon Volume VII, p. 176.
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