Operation Nougat

Operation Nougat was a series of 44 nuclear tests conducted (with one exception) at the Nevada Test Site in 1961 and 1962, immediately after the Soviet Union abrogated a testing moratorium, with the US' Mink test shot taking place the day before the Soviets test-detonated the Tsar Bomba. Most tests were limited-yield underground test shots. New designs would be further developed in atmospheric testing during Operation Dominic I and II.

Operation Dominic I and II would follow Operation Nougat, with some testing overlap. Operation Hardtack II preceded Nougat and the testing moratorium.

Tests Antler Antler was the first shot fired as part of the resumption of nuclear testing by the United States. Fired 15 September 1961, containment was immediately lost when the shot vented via the tunnel portal, destroying much of the test data. This was a recurring problem for tunnel tests of the era. The problem was thought to be caused by water above the blast zone draining into the explosion cavity where it was vaporised and escaped as steam.

Shrew Shrew was the first Los Alamos test after the resumption of testing. The device was buried to a depth of in a canister long. The shaft was wide, lined with steel, and backfilled with sand to above the canister and concrete to the surface. Post-test, some radioactivity was detected by sampling aircraft.

British tests Some accounts include the first British nuclear weapons test at the Nevada Test Site, shot Pampas, as part of Nougat. See British nuclear testing in the United States for more details.

Full list of tests + United States' Nougat series tests and detonations Name The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China did not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions – Soviet peaceful explosions were named). Word translations into English in parentheses unless the name is a proper noun. A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also sometimes named the individual explosions in such a salvo test, which results in "name1 – 1(with name2)". If test is canceled or aborted, then the row data like date and location discloses the intended plans, where known. Date time (UT) Local time zoneTo convert the UT time into standard local, add the number of hours in parentheses to the UT time; for local daylight saving time, add one additional hour. If the result is earlier than 00:00, add 24 hours and subtract 1 from the day; if it is 24:00 or later, subtract 24 hours and add 1 to the day. Historical time zone data obtained from the IANA time zone database. LocationRough place name and a latitude/longitude reference; for rocket-carried tests, the launch location is specified before the detonation location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area. Elevation + height Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example, Plumbbob/John. No number or units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero. Sorting on this column is by elevation and height added together. Delivery Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT. Intentional cratering tests are borderline; they occurred under the treaty, were sometimes protested, and generally overlooked if the test was declared to be a peaceful use.Purpose Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down. DeviceDesignations for test items where known, "?" indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. This category of information is often not officially disclosed. YieldEstimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie). FalloutRadioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it is all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and "all" if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, where known, and the measured amount of radioactivity released. References Notes Antler 17:00:00.12 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U12e.03a

tunnel,weapons development W-45

Venting detected off site,

Shrew 19:45:00.12 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3ac

underground shaft,weapons development Scarab device

Venting detected on site, less than

Boomer 21:30:00.12 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3aa

underground shaft,weapons development Scarab device

Venting detected on site, less than

Chena 18:00:00.13 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U12b.09

tunnel,weapons development Tsetse and Arrow

Venting detected on site,

Similar to Fishbowl Swordfish, yield much lower than predicted. Mink 18:30:00.13 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3ae

underground shaft,weapons development Tsetse

Venting detected on site,

similar to HT-II Quay, HT-I Linden, fizzle. Fisher 23:04:59.63 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3ah

underground shaft,weapons development Tsetse

Venting detected on site, less than

Repeat of Mink, yield below predicted due to Zipper failure. Gnome 19:00:00.0 MST (-7 hrs) near Carlsbad, New Mexico

underground shaft,peaceful research Kinglet

Venting detected off site

Project Gnome, fired in salt dome, cavity formed was in diameter, and high, some radioactivity accidentally released and detected off-site. Shaft drilled to SW. Mad 18:00:00.16 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U9a

underground shaft,weapons development Kinglet

I-131 venting detected on site, 0

Similar to Hoosic and Stillwater, yield below predicted, attempt to standardize low yield energy source for future experiments. Ringtail 16:35:00.13 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3ak

underground shaft,weapons development Scarab

Venting detected on site, less than

Possible XW-54 test, similar to Shrew and Boomer, purpose to optimize small light system for high yield tactical weapon. Feather 16:30:00.13 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U12b.08

tunnel,weapons development

Venting detected off site,

"...results quite striking.". Stoat 16:30:00.14 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3ap

underground shaft,weapons development Croton ("Test of new multipoint system")

Venting detected on site,

Performed as expected, 1st in series to develop new multi-point detonation system, similar to Agouti, Armadillo, Ermine, Chinchilla I/II. Agouti 18:00:00.13 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3ao

underground shaft,weapons development Croton

Develop test for new implosion system, similar to Stoat. Dormouse 18:00:00.13 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3aq

underground shaft,weapons development Tsetse in final W50 configuration

I-131 venting detected, 0

Configuration optimization test, similar to Mink, Fisher, Raccoon, Dormouse Prime, Packrat. Stillwater 18:00:00.16 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U9c

underground shaft,weapons development Kinglet

I-131 venting detected, 0

Similar to Mad and Hoosic. Armadillo 16:30:00.13 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3ar

underground shaft,weapons development Croton

Venting detected on site, less than

Develop test for new implosion system, similar Stoat. Hardhat 18:00:00.1 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U15a

underground shaft,weapon effect Mark 7

I-131 venting detected, 0

Test of underground structure hardening. Chinchilla I 16:30:00.13 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3ag

underground shaft,weapons development Croton

Venting detected on site,

Test of new implosion system, performed as expected, showed device not 1-point safe. Codsaw 17:50:00.16 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U9g

underground shaft,weapons development Kinglet

Venting detected on site, less than

Similar to Hoosic, Hudson, Arikaree. Cimarron 18:00:00.16 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U9h

underground shaft,weapons development Starling in XW-56 configuration

Venting detected,

Confirmed advanced warhead design, device performed better than expected. Platypus 16:30:00.13 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3ad

cratering,weapons development Scarab

I-131 venting detected, 0

similar to Shrew, Boomer, Ringtail. Danny Boy 18:15:00.12 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U18a

cratering,weapon effect

Venting detected off site,

Test of atomic demolition munition (ADM) cratering effects in basalt, crater , design yield 470 tonnes. Ermine 16:30:00.13 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3ab

underground shaft,safety experiment Croton

I-131 venting detected, 0

Test of new implosion system, 1-point safety test. Brazos 18:00:00.21 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U9d

underground shaft,weapons development XW-55 primary

Venting detected on site,

Successful system proof test, developmental test of advanced implosion system, design yield 5-10 kt. Hognose 16:30:00.13 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3ai

underground shaft,weapons development Test of Zippo device fired in Operation Dominic

I-131 venting detected, 0

similar to HT-II Mercury and Oberon. Hoosic 18:00:00.16 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U9j

underground shaft,weapons development Kinglet

Venting detected,

Test to determine minimum boosted yield for device previously tested in Mad and Stillwater, predicted yield 2–3.5 kt, similar to Hudson and Arikaree. Chinchilla II 18:00:00.13 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3as

underground shaft,weapons development Croton

Venting detected on site, less than

Retest of Chinchilla I which was not 1-point safe, similar to Stoat. Dormouse Prime 18:00:00.13 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U3az

underground shaft,weapons development Tsetse in W50 configuration

I-131 venting detected, 0

Yield verification test, design yield 10.5 kt, boron lined shot hole, similar to Dormouse, Mink, Fisher, Raccoon, Packrat, HT-I Linden, HT-II Quay. Passaic 18:00:00.16 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U9l (i?)

underground shaft,weapons development Robin in W47 configuration

Venting detected,

Verification test. Hudson 18:00:00.16 PST (-8 hrs) NTS Area U9n (h?)

underground shaft,weapons development Kinglet

Venting detected,

similar to Arikaree, Hoosic, Codsaw'''.

! Platte | 18:00:00.13 | style="text-align:center;" | PST (-8 hrs) || NTS Area U12k.01

| Yield reproducibility test, failed, retested in Des Moines.

! Dead | 18:40:00.16 | style="text-align:center;" | PST (-8 hrs) || NTS Area U9k

! Black | 18:00:00.16 | style="text-align:center;" | PST (-8 hrs) || NTS Area U9p

| Thermonuke mockup.

! Paca | 19:33:00.14 | style="text-align:center;" | PST (-8 hrs) || NTS Area U3ax

| Test of "100 lb/100 kt" class device.

! Arikaree | 15:00:00.16 | style="text-align:center;" | PST (-8 hrs) || NTS Area U9r

Operation Nougat

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