Operation Plumbbob SMOKY, 1957
Brush fires burn on the hillside to the left of Smoky, the 15th full-scale atomic detonation of Operation Plumbbob on August 31st, 1957 at the Nevada Test Site. The cloud is shown as it begins to separate from the stem. Operation Plumbbob was a series of nuclear tests conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site. It was the biggest, longest, and most controversial test series in the continental United States. The operation consisted of 29 explosions, of which only two did not produce any nuclear yield. While most Operation Plumbbob tests contributed to the development of warheads for intercontinental and intermediate range missiles, they also tested air defense and anti-submarine warheads with smaller yields. They included 43 military effects tests on civil and military structures, radiation and bio-medical studies, and aircraft structural tests. Operation Plumbbob had the tallest tower tests to date in the nuclear testing program as well as high-altitude balloon tests. Approximately 18,000 members of the Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines participated in exercises Desert Rock VII and VIII during Operation Plumbbob. The military was interested in knowing how the average foot-soldier would stand up, physically and psychologically, to the rigors of the tactical nuclear battlefield.
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Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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