Blasts
There have been approximately 2,000 recorded nuclear blasts. The first nuclear test was nicknamed the Trinity Test, performed by the United States. It was detonated in the New Mexico desert on July 16, 1945. Two nuclear weapons, Little Boy and Fat Man, were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in late 1945 to force Japan in World War II to surrender. Little Boy was dropped on August 6, 1945, and Fat Man was dropped on August 9, 1945. The remaining nuclear blasts were solely for test purposes.
Trinity
Blogspot.com
Hiroshima
Blogspot.com
Nagasaki
Today.com
Vox.com
There are eight recorded underwater nuclear tests. Five were performed by the United States and three were performed by the Soviet Union.
Wikipedia.org
This chart shows statistics of the eight recorder underwater nuclear detonations.
Wikipedia.org
This illustration shows multiples methods of nuclear weapons testing: #1 is an above ground surface blast, #2 is an underground blast, #3 is a high atmospheric or space blast, and #4 is an underwater blast.
Baker
AtlasMissileSilo.com
Date: July 25, 1946
Location: Bikini Atoll
Purpose of test: Effect of shallow nuclear blast on surface vessels
Location: Bikini Atoll
Purpose of test: Effect of shallow nuclear blast on surface vessels
Wigwam
Pinterest.com
Date: May 14, 1955
Location: North Pacific Ocean
Purpose of test: Discover dangers of Mark 90 nuclear bomb on deep underwater submarines
Location: North Pacific Ocean
Purpose of test: Discover dangers of Mark 90 nuclear bomb on deep underwater submarines
22 (Joe 17)
Date: September 21, 1955
Location: Chernaya Bay, Novaya Zemlya
Purpose of test: Torpedo weapon
Location: Chernaya Bay, Novaya Zemlya
Purpose of test: Torpedo weapon
48
Date: October 10, 1957
Location: Novaya Zemlya
Purpose of test: T-5 torpedo
Location: Novaya Zemlya
Purpose of test: T-5 torpedo
Wahoo
Date: May 16, 1958
Location: Enewetak Atoll
Purpose of test: Effect of deep underwater nuclear blast on ship hulls
Location: Enewetak Atoll
Purpose of test: Effect of deep underwater nuclear blast on ship hulls
Umbrella
NuclearWeaponArchive.org
Date: June 8, 1958
Location: Enewetak Atoll
Purpose of test: Effect of shallow underwater nuclear blast on ship hulls
Location: Enewetak Atoll
Purpose of test: Effect of shallow underwater nuclear blast on ship hulls
122 (Korall-1)
Date: October 23, 1961
Location: Novaya Zemlya
Purpose of test: T-5 torpedo
Location: Novaya Zemlya
Purpose of test: T-5 torpedo
Swordfish
GroundZeroMedia.org
Date: May 11, 1962
Location: Near Johnston Island
Purpose of test: Test of ASROC (Anti-Submarine ROCket)
Location: Near Johnston Island
Purpose of test: Test of ASROC (Anti-Submarine ROCket)
Test Sites
Following WWII, the United States chose Bikini and Enewetak Atolls for the majority of their Pacific Ocean nuclear testing. While the United States only performed five underwater nuclear tests, these atolls were the location of many surface nuclear testing. Between 1946 and 1958, the atolls held 67 nuclear blasts. The most powerful explosion was the Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb that was more than 1,000 times more powerful than Little Boy. Radioactive fallout was detected as far away as Europe and Australia.
On multiple occasions, the native Bikinians were forcibly relocated to prepare for nuclear tests. The atoll in 1994 was still deemed too radioactive for settlement by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The United States ended its nuclear testing program in 1992. Enewetak Atoll was decontaminated by sealing debris in concrete. As a result of nuclear testing, radioactive fallout containing iodine, cesium, strontium and plutonium was spread across the island. In 1954, the Castle Bravo test yielded double the predicted blast power and moved radioactive fallout over an area of 11,000 km². The crew of a Japanese fishing boat and island inhabitants received radiation sickness. Islanders were relocated a couple of days after the test. The long-term effects of the sickness included increased risk of thyroid cancer due to exposure to iodine-131.
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Bikini Atoll
WikiWand.com
Enewetak Atoll
Novaya Zemlya was a primary site for Soviet nuclear testing. Between 1955 and 1990, this was the sight of 130 nuclear explosions, including the Tsar Bomba, the largest nuclear detonation in history. The 50-megaton bomb was nearly 4,000 times more powerful than Little Boy and produced nuclear fallout that traversed the entire Northern Hemisphere. Extensive nuclear detonations and dumping of nuclear power plant material and submarine reactor fuel has led to the widespread destruction and contamination of the island and surrounding Arctic Ocean. Around 37 Peta-Becquerels of radioactivity have been detected coming from the island.
The Sami people of the region received extremely high doses of radiation over the course of nuclear activity on the island. The Vepsians, Karelians and Komi people of the northern Russian coast also received dangerous doses. Studies found in sediments near fjords of waste dumping increased concentrations of cesium-137, strontium-90, cobalt-60, and plutonium-239 and -241. In two-thirds of underground tests in Novaya Zemlya, there were reported leaks of radioactive gas. In Finland, iodine-131 was measured in concentrations of 5 mBq/m³. In Norway, iodine-131 was measured in concentrations of 1.37 mBq/m³.
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Novaya Zemlya
Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963
The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, formally known as the "Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water" is generally acknowledged to have ended underwater nuclear testing by both the United States and the Soviet Union. The United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union all signed the treaty at Moscow on August 5, 1963. Many other nations quickly followed afterward. However, the treaty did not ban the surface or underground detonation of nuclear weapons, and therefore many tests of those kinds continued to occur.