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The following is a list of nuclear test series designations, organized first by country and then by date. For more information on countries with nuclear weapons, see List of countries with nuclear weapons. For more information on nuclear weapon arsenals, see List of nuclear weapons.

Nuclear tests by known nuclear countries

United States of America

The United States conducted around 1,054 nuclear tests (by official count) between 1945 and 1992. Most of the tests took place at the Nevada Test Site and the Pacific Proving Grounds in the Marshall Islands. Ten other tests took place at various locations in the United States, including Alaska, Colorado, Mississippi, and New Mexico.

1945–1963

Year	Series	No. shots	Total yields	Location(s)	Image	Notes
1945	Trinity	1	20 kt	Alamogordo, New Mexico		First ever nuclear explosion.
1946	Crossroads	2	46 kt	Pacific Proving Grounds		First postwar test series. First underwater nuclear explosion.
1948	Sandstone	3	104 kt	Pacific Proving Grounds		The first use of "levitated" cores. Developed the Mark IV warhead.
1951	Ranger	5	40 kt	Nevada Test Site		First tests at the Nevada Test Site.
1951	Greenhouse	4	398.5 kt	Pacific Proving Grounds		"George" shot was physics experiment relating to the hydrogen bomb; "Item" shot was first boosted fission weapon.
1951	Buster-Jangle	7	71.9 kt	Nevada Test Site		Many shots done in conjunction with troop exercises on ground.
1952	Tumbler-Snapper	7	104 kt	Nevada Test Site		Operation "Snapper" tested a number of new devices, and also explored the "rope trick effect".
1952	Ivy	2	10.9 Mt	Pacific Proving Grounds		"Mike" shot was first hydrogen bomb; "King" shot was largest pure-fission bomb (500 kt).
1953	Upshot-Knothole	11	252.4 kt	Nevada Test Site		Grable shot used a 280mm M65 Atomic cannon.
1954	Castle	6	48.2 Mt	Pacific Proving Grounds		Deployable thermonuclears. "Bravo" was over twice as large as expected (most powerful ever by U.S.) and spread fallout over a wide area. Hydrogen bombs that used cryogenic fuel were obsolete.
1955	Teapot	14	167.8 kt	Nevada Test Site		First successful designs by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (after two years of trying).
1955	Wigwam	1	30 kt	Pacific Ocean		A single shot, 2000 ft underwater, to determine the vulnerability of submarines to nuclear explosions.
1955	Project 56	4	.01 to .1 kt	Nevada Test Site		Four 'one-point' safety tests, to ensure the safety of deployed designs.
1956	Redwing	17	20.82 Mt	Pacific Proving Grounds		All thermonuclear weapons designs tests, including first "three stage" weapon test.
1957	Plumbbob	29	343.74 kt	Nevada Test Site		One of the most controversial test series, release more radiation to continental U.S. than any series. Close proximity of troop exercises to shot "Smoky" produced significantly increased levels of leukemia among exposed soldiers.
1957–58	Project 57, 58, 58A	5	0.5 kt	Nevada Test Site		Five 'one-point' safety tests, to ensure the safety of deployed designs.
1958	Chariot	Cancelled		Cape Thompson, Alaska		Had planned to create an artificial harbor in Alaska as part of Operation Plowshare using thermonuclear explosions. Was eventually cancelled amid controversy and outcry.
1958	Hardtack I	35	35.6 Mt	Pacific Proving Grounds
1958	Argus	3	5.1 kt	South Atlantic Ocean		Clandestine high-altitude test series carried out 1,110 miles southwest of South Africa to test whether nuclear explosions could create artificial Van Allen belts in near space.
1958	Hardtack II	37	45.8 kt	Nevada Test Site
1961–62	Nougat	32		Nevada Test Site, Carlsbad, New Mexico		First all-underground test series. Included Operation Plowshare shot "Gnome" in Carlsbad, New Mexico, which was detonated in an underground salt dome.
1962–63	Dominic	36	38.1 Mt	Christmas Island, Johnston Island, Central Pacific Ocean		"Frigate Bird" was the only operational test of a missile "mated" with a live warhead. Series also included three high-altitude tests known as Operation Fishbowl.
1962–63	Storax	48		Nevada Test Site		Included the "Sedan" test, a cratering experiment as part of Operation Plowshare.
1962	Sunbeam	4	2.19 kt	Nevada Test Site		Test of small tactical warheads, including the man-portable "Davy Crockett". Last atmospheric test series.
1963	Roller Coaster	4	0	Nellis Air Force Range, Nevada		Storage-transportation safety experiment, measured plutonium dispersal risk.

1963–1992

After the signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963, all U.S. nuclear testing became underground testing.

A number of shots whose goals were to assess the non-military use of nuclear weapons were known as Operation Plowshare, and done during many different test series.

The United States has not conducted any tests since 1992, though they have conducted a number of sub-critical tests (which do not involve a chain reaction).

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union conducted 715 nuclear tests (by official count) [5] between 1949 and 1990. Most of them took place at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan and the Northern Test Site at Novaya Zemlya. Additional tests were conducted at various locations in Russia and Kazakhstan, while a small number of tests were conducted in Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.

Some significant Soviet tests include:

• Operation First Lightning/RDS-1 (known as Joe 1 in the West), August 29, 1949 — first Soviet nuclear test.
• RDS-4 (known as Joe 4 in the West), August 12, 1953 — first Soviet thermonuclear test (not a "true" hydrogen bomb).
• RDS-37, November 22, 1955 — first Soviet multi-megaton, "true" hydrogen bomb test.
• Tsar Bomba, October 30, 1961 — largest nuclear weapon ever detonated, with a yield of 50 Mt.
• Chagan, January 15, 1965 — large cratering experiment as part of Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy program.

The last Soviet test took place on October 24, 1990. After the dissolution of the USSR in 1992, Russia inherited their former nuclear stockpile, but has not conducted any nuclear tests.

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom has conducted 45 tests (21 in Australian territory, including 9 in mainland South Australia at Maralinga and Emu Field, many others in the U.S. as part of joint test series). Tests include:

• Operation Hurricane, October 3, 1952 (first atomic bomb)
• Operation Totem, 1953
• Operation Mosaic, 1956
• Operation Buffalo, 1956
• Operation Antler, 1957
• Operation Grapple, 1957–1958 (first hydrogen bomb)

Last test: Julin Bristol, November 26, 1991, vertical shaft.

Atmospheric tests involving nuclear material but conventional explosions:^[1]

• Operation Kittens, 1953-1961 (initiator tests using conventional explosive)
• Operation Rats, 1956-1960 (conventional explosions to study dispersal of uranium)
• Operation Tims, 1955-1963 (conventional explosions for tamper, plutonium compression trials)
• Operation Vixen, 1959-1963 (effects of accidental fire or explosion on nuclear weapons)

France

France conducted 210 nuclear tests between February 13, 1960 and January 27, 1996. [6]

• Operation Gerboise bleue, February 13, 1960 (first atomic bomb) and three more — Reggane, Algeria; in the atmosphere; final test reputed to be more intended to prevent the weapon from falling into the hands of generals rebelling against Charles de Gaulle than for testing purposes.
• Operation Agathe, November 7, 1961 and 12 more — In Ekker, Hoggar Algeria; underground
• Operation Aldébaran, July 2, 1966 and 45 more — Mururoa and Fangataufa, French Polynesia; in the atmosphere;
  • first hydrogen bomb: August 28, 1968 Canopus (Fangataufa)
• Operation Achille June 5, 1975 and 146 more — Mururoa and Fangataufa, French Polynesia; underground
  • last test: January 27, 1996 Operation Xouthos (Fangataufa)

China

The People's Republic of China conducted 45 tests (23 atmospheric and 22 underground, all conducted at Lop Nur Nuclear Weapons Test Base, in Malan, Xinjiang)

• First test: "596" — October 16, 1964
• First hydrogen bomb test: "Test No. 6" - June 17, 1967
• 200kT-1MT atmospheric test, June 17, 1974 (16th test)^[2]
• Last atmospheric test: October 16, 1980. The would also be the last atmospheric nuclear explosion by any other country^[3]
• Last test: July 29, 1996, underground.^[4]

India

India conducted 5 or 6 tests, at Pokhran.

• Operation Smiling Buddha, May 18, 1974 — implosion type, plutonium, underground, 6 to 20 kt
• Operation Shakti, all underground:
  • May 11, 1998 — three simultaneously, of which one was claimed to be a fusion device
  • May 13, 1998 — two simultaneously

Pakistan

Pakistan conducted 2 tests^[5]:

• May 28, 1998 — One underground horizontal-shaft tunnel tests (inside a granite mountain) of boosted fission devices with the largest having a yield of approximately 30-35 kilotonnes at Koh Kambaran in the Ras Koh Hills in Chagai District of Balochistan Province.^[6][7]
• May 30, 1998 — one underground vertical-shaft tunnel test of a miniaturized fission device having a yield of approximately 18-20 kilotonnes in the Kharan Desert in Kharan District of Balochistan Province.^[6]

North Korea

On October 9, 2006 North Korea announced they had conducted a nuclear test in North Hamgyong province on the northeast coast at 10:36 AM (11:30 AEST). There was a 3.58 magnitude earthquake reported in South Korea. There was a 4.2 magnitude tremor detected 240 miles north of P'yongyang. The low estimates on the yield of the test — potentially less than a kiloton in strength — have led to speculation as to whether it was a fizzle (unsuccessful test), or a genuine nuclear test at all.

On May 25, 2009, North Korea announced having conducted a second nuclear test. A tremor, with magnitude reports ranging from 4.7 to 5.3, was detected 233 miles northeast of P'yongyang, within a few kilometers of the 2006 test location. While estimates as to yield are still uncertain, with reports ranging from 3 to 20 kilotons, the stronger tremor indicates a significantly larger yield than the 2006 test.

Alleged tests

There have been a number of significant alleged/disputed/unacknowledged accounts of countries testing nuclear explosives. Their status is either not certain or entirely disputed by most mainstream experts.

Japan

There is a disputed report about the Japanese atomic program being able to test a nuclear weapon in Korea on August 12, 1945, a few days after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, and three days before the Japanese surrender on August 15, but this is seen as being highly unlikely by mainstream historians. See Japanese atomic program for more information.

Vela incident

In what is known as the Vela Incident, some country may have detonated a nuclear device on September 22, 1979 in the Indian Ocean, according to satellite data. It is not certain whether there was actually a test, or if it was who would have been responsible for it although France^[8], Israel or South Africa are sometimes named. See Vela Incident for more information.

Pakistan

In the their book, The Nuclear Express, authors Thomas Reed and Danny Stillman allege that the People's Republic of China allowed Pakistan to detonate a nuclear weapon at its Lop Nur test site in 1990, eight years before Pakistan held its first official weapons test.^[9]

North Korea

On September 9, 2004 it was reported by South Korean media that there had been a large explosion at the Chinese/North Korean border. This explosion left a crater visible by satellite and precipitated a large (2 mile diameter) mushroom cloud. The United States and South Korea quickly downplayed this, explaining it away as a forest fire that had nothing to do with the DPRK's nuclear weapons program. See Ryanggang explosion for more information.

Germany

Hitlers Bombe, a book published in German by the historian Rainer Karlsch in 2005, has alleged that there is evidence that Nazi Germany performed some sort of test of a "nuclear device" (a hybrid fusion device unlike any modern nuclear weapons) in March 1945, though the evidence for this has not yet been fully evaluated, and has been doubted by many historians.

Tests of live warheads on rockets

The Frigate Bird explosion seen through the periscope of USS Carbonero (SS-337).

Missiles and nuclear warheads have usually been tested separately, because testing them together is considered highly dangerous (they are the most extreme type of live fire exercise). The only US live test of an operational missile was the following:

• Frigate Bird — on May 6, 1962, a UGM-27 Polaris A-2 missile with a live 600 kt W47 warhead was launched from the USS Ethan Allen (SSBN-608); it flew 1900 km, re-entered the atmosphere, and detonated at an altitude of 3.4 km over the South Pacific. The test was part of Operation Dominic I. Planned as a method to dispel doubts about whether the USA's nuclear missiles would actually function in practice, it had less effect than was hoped, as the stockpile warhead was substantially modified prior to testing, and the missile tested was a relatively low-flying SLBM and not a high-flying ICBM.

Other live tests with the nuclear explosive delivered by rocket by the USA include:

• Operation Argus — three tests
• On August 1, 1958, Redstone rocket #CC50 launched nuclear test Teak that detonated at an altitude of 77.8-km. On August 12, 1958, Redstone #CC51 launched nuclear test Orange to a detonation altitude of 43 km. Both were part of Operation Hardtack and had a yield of 3.75 Mt
• On July 9, 1962, Thor missile 195 launched a Mk4 reentry vehicle containing a W49 thermonuclear warhead to an altitude of 248 miles (400 km). The warhead detonated with a yield of 1.45 Mt. This was the Starfish Prime event of nuclear test operation Dominic-Fishbowl
• In the same series in 1962: Checkmate, Bluegill, Kingfish, and Tightrope

The Soviet Union tested a number of nuclear explosives on rockets as part of their development of a localised anti-ballistic missile system in the 1960s.

List of most powerful nuclear tests

The following incomplete list contains nuclear tests conducted with a yield of over 10 Mt TNT.

Sources: http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Russia/Sovatmtest.html

External links

• United States Nuclear Tests July 1945 through September 1992
• Australian Government — Geoscience Australia — database of nuclear explosions since 1945
• Video archive of nuclear weapon testing

References

1. ^ "Australian participants in British nuclear tests in Australia — Vol 1: Dosimetry" (PDF). Australian Department of Veteran's Affairs. http://www.dva.gov.au/media/publicat/2006/nuclear_test/dosimetry/pdf/dosimetry_chapter_1_introduction.pdf. Retrieved 2007-12-24.  
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ Chinas Nuclear program in the 80's nti.org
4. ^ "Chinese Nuclear Tests Allegedly Cause 750,000 Deaths" Epoch Times. March 30, 2009. [2]
5. ^ [3]
6. ^ ^{a b} When Mountains Move — The Story of Chagai RAI MUHAMMAD SALEH AZAM, defencejournal.com
7. ^ [4]
8. ^ Jeffrey T. Richelson, Spying on the Bomb: American Nuclear Intelligence from Nazi Germany to Iran and North Korea (New York: W. W. Norton, 2006) page 296
9. ^ William Broad, "Hidden Travels of the Atomic Bomb", New York Times (8 December 2008).