Operation Blowdown

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Operation Blowdown was a military operation of July 18, 1963. Conducted in northern Queensland, Australia by a joint Australian-US-UK team it tested the effects of a nuclear blast on rain forest, although not with a nuclear bomb.

A device containing 50 tons of trinitrotoluene was detonated to partially simulate a ten kilotonne air burst in the Iron Range jungle. After the explosion troops were moved through the area, to test the changes to transit created. It is possible the operation was intended to test the feasibility of using nuclear weapons to clear jungle.


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