Operation Upshot–Knothole was a series of eleven nuclear test shots conducted in 1953 at the

Nevada Test Site The Nevada National Security Site (N2S2 or NNSS), known as the Nevada Test Site (NTS) until 2010, is a United States Department of Energy (DOE) reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about 65 miles (105 km) northwest of the ...

. It followed ''

Operation Ivy Operation Ivy was the eighth series of American nuclear tests, coming after '' Tumbler-Snapper'' and before '' Upshot–Knothole''. The two explosions were staged in late 1952 at Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Proving Ground in the Marshall I ...

'' and preceded ''

Operation Castle Operation Castle was a United States series of high-yield (high-energy) nuclear tests by Joint Task Force 7 (JTF-7) at Bikini Atoll beginning in March 1954. It followed ''Operation Upshot–Knothole'' and preceded '' Operation Teapot''. Cond ...

''. Over 21,000 soldiers took part in the ground exercise Desert Rock V in conjunction with the ''Grable'' shot.Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE Fact Sheet
, Defense Threat Reduction Agency ''Grable'' was a 280mm Artillery Fired Atomic Projectile (AFAP) shell fired from the " Atomic Cannon" and was viewed by a number of high-ranking military officials. The test series was notable as containing the first time an AFAP shell was fired (''GRABLE'' Shot), the first two shots (both fizzles) by University of California Radiation Laboratory—Livermore (now Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), and for testing out some of the thermonuclear components that would be used for the massive thermonuclear series of

. One primary device ( RACER) was tested in thermonuclear system mockup assemblies of

TX-14 Texas's 14th congressional district for the United States House of Representatives stretches from Freeport to Beaumont. It formerly covered the area south and southwest of the Greater Houston region, including Galveston, in the state of Texas ...

, TX-16, and TX-17/ TX-24, to examine and evaluate the behaviour of radiation cases and the compression of the secondary geometries by the primary's x-rays prior to full-scale testing during

Castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

. Following RACER's dodgy performance, the COBRA primary was used in the emergency capability

ALARM CLOCK An alarm clock (or sometimes just an alarm) is a clock that is designed to alert an individual or group of individuals at a specified time. The primary function of these clocks is to awaken people from their night's sleep or short naps; they ar ...

, JUGHEAD, RUNT I, RUNT II thermonuclear devices, as well as in the SHRIMP device. RACER IV (as redesigned and proof-tested in the

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

test) was employed as primary for the ZOMBIE, RAMROD and MORGENSTERN devices.

List of tests

References

;Notes ;Citations ;Bibliography * Chuck Hansen, ''Swords of Armageddon, Version 2'' (Chukelea Publications, 1995-2007)

External links

Operation Upshot-Knothole
* * *

Film about Upshot Knothole Tests
{{DEFAULTSORT:Operation Upshot-Knothole Explosions in 1953 Upshot-Knothole 1953 in military history 1953 in Nevada 1953 in the environment Articles containing video clips