Operation Redwing was a United States series of 17 nuclear test detonations from May to July 1956. They were conducted at

Bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features one piece on top that covers the breasts, and a second piece on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but usually exposing the navel, and the back generally covering ...

and Enewetak atolls by Joint Task Force 7 (JTF7).Blumenson, Martin and Hugh D. Hexamer (1956). ''A History of Operation Redwing: The Atomic Weapons Tests in the Pacific''. Joint Task Force Seven Headquarters, Washington, D.C. p. 19. The entire operation followed '' Project 56'' and preceded '' Project 57''. The primary intention was to test new, second-generation

thermonuclear weapon A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...

s. Also tested were fission devices intended to be used as primaries for thermonuclear weapons, and small tactical weapons for air defense. ''Redwing'' demonstrated the first United States airdrop of a deliverable

hydrogen bomb A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H-bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lo ...

during test ''Cherokee''. Because the yields for many tests at

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''. Con ...

in 1954 were dramatically higher than predictions, ''Redwing'' was conducted using an "energy budget": There were limits to the total amount of energy released, and the amount of fission yield was also strictly controlled. Fission, primarily "fast" fission of the natural

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Ura ...

tamper surrounding the fusion capsule, greatly increases the yield of thermonuclear devices, and constitutes the great majority of the fallout, as

nuclear fusion Nuclear fusion is a nuclear reaction, reaction in which two or more atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nuclei, nuclei/neutrons, neutron by-products. The difference in mass between the reactants and products is manifested as either the rele ...

is a relatively clean reaction. All shots were named after various Native American

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

Redwing series tests

Gallery

File:Bassoon Prime.jpg, ''Redwing-Tewa'' device within shot-cab. File:Redwing Tewa 003.jpg, ''Redwing-Tewa'' event crater. File:Redwing Seminole 002.jpg, ''Redwing-Seminole'' test device. File:Atombombentest Redwing-Seminole 02.jpg, Redwing-''Seminole'', 13.7-kilotons. File:Redwing Apache.jpg, Redwing-''Apache'', 1.8-megatons. File:RedWingZuni.gif, Redwing-''Zuni'', 3.5-megatons. File:Redwing Tewa 2.gif, Redwing-''Tewa'', 5-megatons. File:RedwingLacrosse.gif, Redwing-''Lacrosse'', 40-kilotons. File:Redwing Dakota 001.jpg, Redwing-''Dakota.'', 1.1-megatons. File:RedwingCherokee.gif, Redwing-''Cherokee'', 3.8-megatons. File:Operation Redwing - Huron 001.jpg, Redwing-''Huron'', 250-kilotons.

References

External links

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Summary and review of ''The Atomic Times''
{{Authority control Explosions in 1956 Redwing Redwing 1956 in military history 1956 in the environment 1950s in the Marshall Islands 1956 in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands