Operation Tumbler–Snapper was a series of

nuclear weapons tests Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine nuclear weapons' effectiveness, yield, and explosive capability. Testing nuclear weapons offers practical information about how the weapons function, how detonations are affected by ...

conducted by the United States in early 1952 at the

Nevada Test Site The Nevada National Security Site (N2S2 or NNSS), known as the Nevada Test Site (NTS) until 2010, is a United States Department of Energy (DOE) reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about 65 miles (105 km) northwest of th ...

. The ''Tumbler–Snapper'' series of tests followed ''

Operation Buster–Jangle Operation Buster–Jangle was a series of seven (six atmospheric, one Explosion crater, cratering) nuclear weapons tests conducted by the United States in late 1951 at the Nevada Test Site. ''Buster–Jangle'' was the first joint test program ...

'' and preceded ''

Operation Ivy Operation Ivy was the eighth series of American nuclear tests, coming after '' Tumbler-Snapper'' and before '' Upshot–Knothole''. The two explosions were staged in late 1952 at Enewetak Atoll in the Pacific Proving Ground in the Marshall Is ...

''.

Tests

Tumbler

The ''Tumbler'' phase, sponsored by the Atomic Energy Commission, consisted of three airdrops intended to help explain discrepancies in the actual and estimated blast

shock wave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a med ...

damage noted on previous detonations and to establish more accurately the optimal height of burst.

Snapper

The ''Snapper'' phase, sponsored by the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

, consisted of one airdrop and four tower shots intended to test various new weapons developments. The military exercise '' Desert Rock IV'', involving 7350 soldiers, took place during the test series. They trained during the ''Charlie'', ''Dog'', and ''George'' shots and observed shot ''Fox''.

Aftermath

The Tumbler-Snapper detonations included some particularly fallout heavy weapons. Of particular note is shot ''George'', which contaminated more citizens than any other nuclear test in the United States. ''George'' alone accounted for some 7 percent of all population exposure to radiation during the 1,032 nuclear tests performed by the United States. US_nuclear_test_exposure

Summary

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Operation Tumbler-Snapper Explosions in 1952 Tumbler-Snapper 1952 in military history 1952 in Nevada 1952 in the environment