Operation Teapot
1955 - Nevada Proving Ground
| Test: | Ess |
|---|---|
| Time: | 20:30 23 March 1955 (GMT) 12:30 23 March 1955 (PST) |
| Location: | Nevada Test Site (NTS), Area 10 |
| Test Height and Type: | -67 Feet Sub-surface Shot |
| Yield: | 1.2 kt |
This LASL test was the sixth to use the Ranger Able U-235 core, this time in a Mk-6 HE assembly. Ess ("Effects Sub-Surface") was a test of atomic demolition munition (ADM) cratering. The 8000 lb bomb was placed in a shaft lined with corrugated steel,10 feet wide and 70 feet deep (so that the bomb center was at -67 feet), which was back-filled with sandbags and dirt prior to firing. The crater was 300 feet wide and 128 feet deep.
Teapot Ess (43 K)
| Test: | Apple-1 |
|---|---|
| Time: | 12:55 29 March 1955 (GMT) 4:55 29 March 1955 (PST) |
| Location: | Nevada Test Site (NTS), Area 4 |
| Test Height and Type: | 500 Foot Tower Shot |
| Yield: | 14 kt |
LASL test of a Class "D" (light weight) thermonuclear weapon primary and radiation implosion system, using small quantities of fusion fuel. The primary failed, yielding much less than the predicted 40 kt. No reaction was detected in the secondary stage. The nuclear system was 29.5 inches wide and 74.6 inches long and weighed 2300 lb.
Teapot Apple-1 (38 K)
| Test: | Wasp Prime |
|---|---|
| Time: | 18:00 29 March 1955 (GMT) 10:00 29 March 1955 (PST) |
| Location: | Nevada Test Site (NTS), Area 7 |
| Test Height and Type: | 737 Foot Airdrop |
| Yield: | 3.2 kt |
This was a repeat LASL test of the Wasp design, using a higher yield core for weapons development purposes, but otherwise identical. B-36 airdrop. The yield was about the same as predicted. As a minor footnote - this shot was fired 5 hours and 5 minutes after Apple-1, the first time in U.S. history that two nuclear explosions were set off in one day.
| Test: | HA |
|---|---|
| Time: | 18:00 6 April 1955 (GMT) 10:00 6 April 1955 (PST) |
| Location: | Nevada Test Site (NTS), Area 1 |
| Test Height and Type: | 36,620 Foot Airdrop |
| Yield: | 3.2 kt |
This B-36H airdrop was a LASL high-altitude (= HA) test of an air-to-air missile warhead. Similar to the Wasp Prime device (17 inch spherical system weighing 125 lb) in a 1085 lb Mk-5 ballistic case. Due to the extreme high altitude of this test (for an air dropped device) it was parachute retarded to permit the release aircraft to escape to a safe distance, the only parachute weapon drop ever conducted at the NTS.
Teapot HA(22 K)
The nuclear fallout paths from the three tests mentioned above all trailed southeast over Arizona, New Mexico, and over Texas. In this area these is a sudden "Storm" of "Fireballs" see below:
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Page ID (PID) : NARA-PBB89-824
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