Operation Snowball (test)
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Operation Snowball was a conventional explosive test to obtain information on nuclear weapon detonations run by the
Defence Research Board Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC; , ''RDDC'') is the science and technology organization of the Department of National Defence (DND), whose purpose is to provide the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), other government departments, and public ...
with participation from the United Kingdom and United States. A detonation of of
TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...
was used to study the resulting phenomena. The test was held at the
Suffield Experimental Station The military research facility located north of Suffield, Alberta, operated under the name of the Suffield Experimental Station (SES) from 1950 to its renaming to the Defence Research Establishment Suffield in 1967. History Experimental Station ...
in Alberta and was the largest ever man-made, non-accidental explosion in Canada. The test was also the first of its kind using a stacked TNT block hemisphere of such magnitude, a method repeated in six subsequent tests such as
Operation Sailor Hat Operation Sailor Hat was a series of explosives effects tests, conducted by the United States Navy Bureau of Ships under the sponsorship of the Defense Atomic Support Agency. The tests consisted of two underwater explosions at San Clemente Islan ...
and Prairie Flat. The test allowed verifying predicted properties of shock and blast and determining its effect on a variety of military targets at varied distances from ground zero.


Background

Suffield Experimental Station is in an isolated part of the rolling
prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
terrain of Alberta and at the time of the test was part of a test range. This unique landscape offers clear views due to treelessness and favourable weather conditions. Starting in fall 1963, teams from the involved countries began assembling at the test grounds for the joint operation, one of many in a series of non-nuclear blast tests under the Tripartite Technical Cooperation Program. Initial preparations and construction work began in the winter of 1963 which was unusually mild and proved helpful. Virtually the entire station was mobilized for the effort and unusual equipment was designed and manufactured at the site's engineering and machine shops. The casting of the TNT was performed on site and began two years in advance of the test. Molten TNT was poured into special rectangular moulds and allowed to cool for 5 hours, producing smooth caramel-coloured rectangular blocks. A total of 30,678 were made with an average weight of each.


Test

Construction of the TNT hemisphere began six days before detonation. To protect from dust and sunlight and due to risk of lightning, the construction was not done in the open; instead, a building was constructed at ground zero that was to be wheeled away when the charge was complete. Each block was carefully fitted into a pre-calculated position to approximate a perfect hemisphere. When completed the stack measured in diameter. Columns were drilled into the ground at the blast site and then back filled with a coloured soil mix to measure the expected horizontal and vertical displacement. Various military targets were also placed around the blast site. Local residents in
Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, R ...
may have seen unusual cargo arriving on rail flatcars including heavy
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and
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configuration rockets. Other targets included a minefield, chambers and tunnels, reinforced concrete arches, fibreglass shelters, full-scale troop models exposed and inside vehicles and gas masks. 60% of the targets were buried. Smoke mortars were installed to provide a white trail by which the shock wave could be tracked high above ground. An
RCAF The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Canad ...
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aircraft was also immediately above the test area for aerial photography. The detonation turned the TNT into a mass of highly pressurized gas and produced a large fireball and mushroom-shaped cloud. The resulting crater was across and within minutes partially filled with water. Unexpectedly, the crater also had a central updraft similar to moon craters which resulted in much speculation by the scientists. Many target objects were moved and damaged by the overpressure blast, especially the heavy rockets, and two
M113 The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier (APC) that was developed and produced by the FMC Corporation. The M113 was sent to United States Army Europe in 1961 to replace the mechanized infantry's M59 APCs. The M113 was first used ...
armoured personnel carriers were flipped on their side. After the test, a full cross section of the crater was excavated to analyze the effects below ground.


References

{{coord, 50.272401, N, 111.172639, W, display=title Explosions in Canada Explosions in 1964 1964 in Canada Military projects of the United States 1964 in military history
Snowball A snowball is a sphere, spherical object made from snow, usually created by scooping snow with the hands and pressing the snow together to compact it into a ball. Snowballs are often used in games such as snowball fights. A snowball may also be ...