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Deseret News
Thursday, December 22, 1994
AT A GLANCE: WEAPONS TESTING TRENDS AND TOTALS
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By Lee Davidson, Washington
Correspondent |
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Germ tests
| Germ tested |
Series |
Test series start |
Finish dates of tests |
| |
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| "coccidioides" |
3 |
Sept. 1960 |
March 1964 |
| "fluorescent particles" |
11 |
May 1953 |
May 21, 1963 |
| "pasteurella" |
1 |
Oct. 9, 1952 |
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| "pathogens" * |
1 |
June 1950 |
November 1950 |
| "undisclosed agents" |
1 |
throughout 1954 |
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| "unknown agents" |
1 |
Jan. 24, '64 |
Feb. 3, '64 |
| aspergillus fumigatus |
1 |
May 1953 |
June 1953 |
| bacillus anthracis |
7 |
January 1954 |
Sept. 1960 |
| bacillus subtilis |
54 |
through 1945 |
Sept. 10, '86 |
| botulinum toxin |
1 |
September 1960 |
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| brucella melitensis |
3 |
June 1952 |
December 1952 |
| brucella suis |
17 |
May 12, 1952 |
February '56 |
| clostridium botulinum |
1 |
Nov. 19, 1952 |
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| coccidioides uranine |
1 |
Nov. 1962 |
March 1963 |
| coxiella burnetii |
11 |
June 1, 1951 |
April 4, 1967 |
| virus bacterophage |
(28 tests) |
Sept. 4, 1986 |
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| pasteurella pestis |
1 |
March 27, 1952 |
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| pasteurella tularensis |
21 |
April 9, 1952 |
April 4, 1967 |
| psittacosis |
1 |
throughout 1951 |
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| serratia marcescens |
11 |
May 1953 |
May 18, '78 |
| uranine dye |
1 |
Aug. 1964 |
Sept. 1964 |
| wheat rust spores |
1 |
Feb. 18, 1952 |
May 27, '52 |
| wheat stem rust |
5 |
Sept. 12, 1952 |
August '54 |
* - test unsubstantiated by government
Unsure if germs were confined to Army lands
From January 1951 through February 1956, Dugway Proving Ground
conducted 36 test operations in which officials were unsure if tests
were confined to Army lands.
Total
| Germ tested |
Series |
Date started |
Date ended |
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| Bacillus anthracis |
3 |
January 1954 |
February 1956 |
| Brucella melitensis |
3 |
June 1952 |
December 1952 |
| Brucella suis |
16 |
May 19, 1952 |
February 1956 |
| Clostridium botulinum |
1 |
Nov. 19, 1952 |
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| Coxiella burnetii |
3 |
June 1, 1951 |
November 1952 |
| Pasteurella pestis |
1 |
Mar. 27, 1952 |
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| Pasteurella tularensis |
6 |
April 9, 1952 |
Nov. 18, 1954 |
| Psittacosis |
1 |
through 1951 |
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| "Pasteurella" |
1 |
Oct. 9, 1954 |
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| "Undisclosed agents" |
1 |
through 1954 |
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Chemical tests
Aerial testing of nerve agent GA
- Deadly nerve agent GA was sprayed at Dugway Proving Ground in six
different instances, from Dec. 19, 1952, to Feb. 2, 1953. In the first
four experiments, GA was spread by an F80 fighter jet flying 480 mph
at a height of 100 feet. In the last two tests, F-47M and F-47N
fighters were used at speeds of 310 mph and at the same 100-foot
heights.
Aerial testing of nerve agent GB
- In 10 tests conducted between July 16, 1952, to Feb. 12, 1953,
Dugway Proving Ground sprayed nerve agent GB from an F-80 flying 480
mph at heights ranging from 75 to 200 feet.
- GB was sprayed at Dugway in seven tests between April 17, 1953, to
May 13, 1953, using an F3D-2 aircraft flying at 360 knots at heights
ranging from 20 to 40 feet.
- In four more tests conducted at Dugway between Feb. 10-24, 1954, an
F-80 sprayed GB while flying at 470 mph at heights between 65 and 130
feets.
- On six dates from April 1, 1962, to May 31, 1962, more than 4,100
pounds of GB was sprayed at Dugway at heights ranging from 115 to 190
feet (the type of aircraft and speeds were undocumented).
Firing arms at fortifications with caged animals inside
Dugway Proving Ground conducted demonstrations weekly by firing 12
arms filled with nerve agent GB at fortifications with caged animals
inside, as soldiers watched their deaths via TV.
The tests were conducted for 12 weeks from September 1959 to December
1959. During the next nine years - from 1960 to 1968 - the tests were
performed 40 of the 52 weeks annually. The operation concluded the
following year, with the tests being conducted weekly from January
1969 to June 1969.
Nonaerial tests with VX, GA and GB
GA, GB and VX were used in 1,178 documented tests from 1951 to 1969.
Tests ranged from exploding shells filled with nerve agent to
assessing troop operations in contaminated areas.
Test Total
| Test type |
Series |
Tests |
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| Attacks on planes, arms leaks on plane |
3 |
48 |
| Arms and rockets filled with GA or GB |
2 |
155 |
| Arms filled with GA or GB |
14 |
715 |
| Assessments in VX-contaminated areas |
2 |
5 |
| Burned B-24 bomber with GB aboard |
1 |
1 |
| Downwind hazards of M-55 destruction |
1 |
5 |
| Landmines filled with VX |
3 |
14 |
| M-55 rockets filled with VX |
10 |
126 |
| 155-mm shells filled with VX |
8 |
55 |
| 8-inch howitzer shells filled with VX |
3 |
21 |
| Testing GB persistency in various temps |
1 |
10 |
| Various disposal, contamination tests
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2 |
23 |
Nuclear tests
Nevada Test Site has hosted the likes of Buster, Sunbeam, Mandrel and
Tinderbox - four of the 25 total operations with nuclear bomb tests.
Nearly two-thirds of the 141 nuclear-bomb tests documented by the
Deseret News were open-air detonations. The underground tests
documented are only those where the government acknowledges at least a
slight release of radiation to the atmosphere. Hundreds of other
underground tests were conducted where the government says all
radiation was contained underground.
- First open-air test operation: Operation Ranger, five tests, January
and February 1951.
- First under-ground test operation: Operation Plumbbob, 1 underground
test (of 25 total detonations), May through October 1957.
- Last open-air test operation: Operation Charioteer, two open-air
tests, March and April 1986.
- Last underground operation: Operation Grenadier, 1 test, April 6,
1985.
- Total number of test operations: 25
- Total open-air tests: 94
- Total underground tests: 46
4 largest open-air nuclear bomb tests
| TNT amount |
Date |
Operation |
Code name |
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| 80,000 |
Sept. 19, 1958 |
Hardtack II |
Eddy |
| 74,000 |
July 5, 1957 |
Plumbbob |
Hood |
| 61,000 |
June 4, 1953 |
Upshot-Knothole |
Climax |
| 44,000 |
Aug. 31, 1957 |
Plumbbob |
Smoky |
4 largest underground nuclear bomb tests
| Amount |
Date |
Operation Name |
Radiation |
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| 104,000 |
July 6, 1962 |
Storax Sedan |
release detected |
| 40,000 |
Oct. 29, 1969 |
Mandrel Pod |
accidental |
| 38,000 |
Sept. 12, '58 |
Hardtack II Otero |
some released |
| 30,000 |
Dec. 8, 1968 |
Bowline Schooner |
release detected |
Even bigger bombs?
Army documents show that an underground test was conducted on Jan. 19,
1967, with an undisclosed yield of 20,000 to 200,000 tons of TNT.
Code-named Nash of Operation Latchkey, the test at Nevada Test Site
resulted in "accidental release of radioactivity detected off site."
Similarly, an underground test with "radioactivity detected off
site" at Nevada Test Site on April 10, 1968, had a TNT-tonnage yield
of 20,000 to 150,000 tons. The test was code-named Glencoe of
Operation Charioteer.
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