Operation Fulcrum

Fulcrum
Information
Country United States
Test site NTS, Areas 1-4, 6-10, Yucca Flat
Period 1976-1977
Number of tests 21
Test type underground shaft
Max. yield 140 kilotonnes of TNT (590 TJ)
Navigation
Previous test series Operation Anvil
Next test series Operation Cresset

The United States's Fulcrum nuclear test series[1] was a group of 21 nuclear tests conducted in 1976-1977. These tests [note 1] followed the Operation Anvil (Nuclear test) series and preceded the Operation Cresset series.

United States' Fulcrum series tests and detonations
Name [note 2] Date time (UT) Local time zone [note 3][2] Location [note 4] Elevation + height [note 5] Delivery [note 6]
Purpose [note 7]		 Device [note 8] Yield [note 9] Fallout [note 10] References Notes
Gouda 6 October 1976 14:30:00.164 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2ef 37°08′04″N 116°03′47″W / 37.13451°N 116.06315°W 1,272 m (4,173 ft) - 200.1 m (656 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 600 t [1][3][4][5]
Sprit 10 November 1976 14:58:00.077 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3hc 37°02′09″N 116°01′05″W / 37.03593°N 116.01816°W 1,192 m (3,911 ft) - 183.18 m (601.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 less than 20 kt [1][4][5]
Chevre 23 November 1976 15:15:00.163 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U10ay 37°10′18″N 116°03′13″W / 37.17167°N 116.0535°W 1,278 m (4,193 ft) - 317.3 m (1,041 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 2 kt [1][4][5]
Redmud 8 December 1976 14:49:30.083 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U7ab 37°04′45″N 116°00′09″W / 37.07922°N 116.00249°W 1,269 m (4,163 ft) - 426.72 m (1,400.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 20 kt [1][4][5]
Asiago 21 December 1976 15:09:00.166 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2ar 37°07′26″N 116°04′06″W / 37.12386°N 116.06833°W 1,265 m (4,150 ft) - 330.8 m (1,085 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 11 kt [1][4][5]
Sutter 21 December 1976 15:58:00.162 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2bw 37°09′07″N 116°03′52″W / 37.15205°N 116.06454°W 1,287 m (4,222 ft) - 200.3 m (657 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 less than 20 kt [1][4][5]
Rudder 28 December 1976 18:00:00.076 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U7aj(s) 37°06′01″N 116°02′15″W / 37.1004°N 116.03755°W 1,255 m (4,117 ft) - 638.56 m (2,095.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 89 kt [1][4][5][6][7]
Cove - 1 (with Oarlock) 16 February 1977 17:53:00.16 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3ki 37°00′24″N 116°01′56″W / 37.00662°N 116.0321°W 1,181 m (3,875 ft) + underground shaft,
weapons development		 3 kt [1][4][5] Simultaneous, separate holes.
Oarlock - 2 (with Cove) 16 February 1977 17:53:00.073 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3km 37°00′48″N 116°01′46″W / 37.01346°N 116.02937°W 1,183 m (3,881 ft) - 317.6 m (1,042 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 8 kt [1][4][5] Simultaneous, separate holes.
Dofino - 1 8 March 1977 14:24:00.164 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U10ba 37°10′34″N 116°03′14″W / 37.17616°N 116.05385°W 1,283 m (4,209 ft) - 182.88 m (600.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 800 t Venting detected, 25 Ci (920 GBq) [1][3][4][5][8] Simultaneous, same hole.
Dofino-Lawton - 2 8 March 1977 14:24:00.16 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U10ba 37°10′34″N 116°03′14″W / 37.17616°N 116.05385°W 1,283 m (4,209 ft) - 282 m (925 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 less than 20 kt Venting detected [1][4][5][8] Simultaneous, same hole.
Marsilly 5 April 1977 15:00:00.167 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2ei 37°07′13″N 116°03′47″W / 37.12019°N 116.06315°W 1,259 m (4,131 ft) - 689.73 m (2,262.9 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 140 kt Venting detected, 15 Ci (560 GBq) [1][4][5][6][8][9]
Bulkhead 27 April 1977 15:00:00.084 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U7am 37°05′41″N 116°01′44″W / 37.09474°N 116.02875°W 1,259 m (4,131 ft) - 594.36 m (1,950.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 67 kt [1][4][5][6]
Crewline 25 May 1977 17:00:00.076 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U7ap 37°05′39″N 116°02′45″W / 37.0943°N 116.04574°W 1,237 m (4,058 ft) - 564.18 m (1,851.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 51 kt [1][4][5][6]
Forefoot 2 June 1977 17:15:00.098 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3kf 37°03′18″N 116°01′33″W / 37.0549°N 116.02583°W 1,207 m (3,960 ft) - 193.55 m (635.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 less than 20 kt [1][4][5]
Carnelian 28 July 1977 14:07:00.162 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U4af 37°05′51″N 116°05′31″W / 37.09751°N 116.09182°W 1,265 m (4,150 ft) - 208 m (682 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 600 t Venting detected, 7 Ci (260 GBq) [1][3][4][5][8]
Strake 4 August 1977 16:40:00.074 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U7ae 37°05′11″N 116°00′28″W / 37.08652°N 116.00774°W 1,273 m (4,177 ft) - 517.55 m (1,698.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 44 kt [1][4][5][6]
Gruyere - 1 16 August 1977 14:41:00.165 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U9cg 37°08′42″N 116°03′00″W / 37.14512°N 116.04996°W 1,263 m (4,144 ft) - 206.96 m (679.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 less than 20 kt [1][3][4][5] Simultaneous, same hole.
Gruyere-Gradino - 2 16 August 1977 14:41:00.16 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U9cg 37°08′42″N 116°03′00″W / 37.14512°N 116.04996°W 1,263 m (4,144 ft) - 320 m (1,050 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 600 t Venting detected, 0.8 Ci (30 GBq) [1][4][5][8] Simultaneous, same hole.
Flotost 16 August 1977 15:49:00.168 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2ao 37°08′48″N 116°03′50″W / 37.14669°N 116.06402°W 1,284 m (4,213 ft) - 274.93 m (902.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 1.5 kt Venting detected, 3 Ci (110 GBq) [1][3][4][5][8]
Scupper 19 August 1977 17:32:00.098 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3hj 37°01′03″N 116°01′57″W / 37.01757°N 116.03248°W 1,185 m (3,888 ft) - 449.58 m (1,475.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 200 t [1][3][4][5][6]
Scantling 19 August 1977 17:55:00.1 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U4h 37°06′36″N 116°03′20″W / 37.10997°N 116.05567°W 1,246 m (4,088 ft) - 701.04 m (2,300.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 120 kt [1][4][5][6][7]
Ebbtide 15 September 1977 14:36:30.077 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U3kt 37°01′58″N 116°02′38″W / 37.03274°N 116.044°W 1,194 m (3,917 ft) - 379.48 m (1,245.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 6 kt [1][4][5]
Coulommiers 27 September 1977 14:00:00.161 PST (-8 hrs)
 NTS Area U2ei 37°09′04″N 116°04′06″W / 37.15112°N 116.06843°W 1,292 m (4,239 ft) - 530.35 m (1,740.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 20 kt Venting detected, 0.9 Ci (33 GBq) [1][4][5][6][8][9]
  1. ↑ A bomb test may be a salvo test, defined as two or more explosions "where a period of time between successive individual explosions does not exceed 5 seconds and where the burial points of all explosive devices can be connected by segments of straight lines, each of them connecting two burial points and does not exceed 40 kilometers in length". Mikhailov, V. N., Editor in Chief. "Catalog of World Wide Nuclear Testing". Begell-Atom, LLC.
  2. ↑ The US, France and Great Britain 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.
  3. ↑ To convert the UT time into standard local, add the number of hours in parentheses to the UT time; for local daylight savings 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. All historical timezone data are derived from here:
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. ↑ 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.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
  10. ↑ 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.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 Yang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl (August 2000), CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3), SMDC Monitoring Research
  2. ↑ "Timezone Historical Database". iana.com. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Norris, Robert Standish; Cochran, Thomas B. (1 February 1994), "United States nuclear tests, July 1945 to 31 December 1992 (NWD 94-1)", Nuclear Weapons Databook Working Paper (Washington, DC: Natural Resources Defense Council), retrieved 2013-10-26
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 Official list of underground nuclear explosions, Sandia National Laboratories, 1994-07-01, retrieved 2013-12-18
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.8 5.9 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 5.23 United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992 (DOE/NV-209 REV15), Las Vegas, NV: Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, 2000-12-01, retrieved 2013-12-18
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Hechanova, Anthony E.; O'Donnell, James E. (1998-09-25), Estimates of yield for nuclear tests impacting the groundwater at the Nevada Test Site, Nuclear Science and Technology Division
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Operation Argus, 1958 (DNA6039F), Washington, DC: Defense Nuclear Agency, Department of Defense, retrieved 26 November 2013
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 Radiological Effluents Released from U.S. Continental Tests 1961 Through 1992 (DOE/NV-317 Rev. 1), DOE Nevada Operations Office, August 1996, retrieved 2013-10-31
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Estimated exposures and thyroid doses received by the American people from Iodine-131 in fallout following Nevada atmospheric nuclear bomb tests, Chapter 2, National Cancer Institute, 1997, retrieved 2014-01-05