All but 10 in Nevada?

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
1

Is the column in need of an update or is this a typo error?

Per Cecil’s recycled column What is the purpose of underground nuclear testing? :

According to this website there were fare more than 10 detonations outside of Nevada’s proving grounds

The link doesn’t quite give the true location of some of the detonations; I’m aware of testing done in New Mexico (duh), Colorado, Alaska, and Ole Miss.

Sorry for my choice of the link; I know there are more comprehensive ones, but I’ve got the flu and the gray matter is kind of stalling out right now.

2

To say nothing of Bikini and various other Pacific islands right after WW2. Maybe he meant to include the word “underground” in that particular sentence?

3

It might have been an editing mistake (when in doubt, blame Ed) - the article might have meant to say “all but 10 of them at the Pacific Proving Grounds or the Nevada Test Site”. It appears those two sites covered almost all the tests.

4

I have a reference report from DOE (NVO-209) Announced US Nuclear Tests - July 1945 Through December 1988. It lists 815 tests conducted (through that time) including 20 conducted with the UK, with the following breakdown.
Pacific - 4
Johnston Island area - 12
Enewetak - 43
Bikini - 23
Christmas Island area - 24

NTS underground - 587 including 20 with the UK
NTS atmospheric - 100

South Atlantic - 3

Central NV - 1
Amchitka - 3
Alamagordo - 1
Japan - 2
Carlsbad - 1
Hattiesburg - 2
Farmington - 1
Grand Valley - 1
Rifle - 1
Fallon - 1
Bombing range - 5

More importantly it give the following breakdown for purpose of the test;
Combat - 2
Safety Experiment - 34
Storage/Transportation - 4
Vela Uniform - 7
Plowshare - 27
Weapons related - 628
Weapons effects - 93
Joint US/UK - 20

Vela Uniform is described as a DOD program to improve the capability to detect, indentify, and locate undergrounf nuclear explosions.
Plowshare is described as a program to apply nuclear explosives to develop peaceful uses of atomic energy.

So it looks like to me that while the vast majority of tests were at the NTS and Pacific Proving Grounds, there were 22 tests in locations other than those.

Of those 22, it appears that at least 12 were underground tests.

5

I’m not sure the two in Japan should count as tests.

6

What about the case with Little Boy? At a minimum, it was first time it had ever been tested with a significant yield (speaking for those in Hiroshima).

7

In which was to say Little Boy was the first actual test/use of the U-235 linear implosion design. :smack:

8

I’m only conveying what the report said. Take it up with DOD/DOE if you don’t think they count as tests. I would speculate that any combat use of nuclear weapons at that time would have been considered a “test” whether of functionality, yield, effects, or any of a number of other factors. Remember, there was only one test prior to the combat use.

Also a couple of other facts from the report introduction:

"This document lists chronologically and alphabetically by event name all nuclear test conducted and announced by the US from 7/1945-12/1988, with the exception of GMX experiments. The 24 GMX experiments conducted at the Nevada Test Site between 12/1954 and 2/1956, were “equation-of-state” physics studies that used small chemical explosives and small quantities of plutonium.

It also notes that “All U.S. nuclear tests conducted prior to 8/5/1963 have been announced”.

I guess these would be considered announcements:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/truman/psources/ps_leaflets.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/truman/psources/ps_warning.html

and some more details on the decision and debate of the warning;