Hardtack Teak
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HARDTACK-Teak was an exoatmospheric high altitude nuclear weapon test performed during Operation Newsreel. It was launched from Johnston Atoll on a
Redstone missile The PGM-11 Redstone was the first large American ballistic missile. A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), it was in active service with the United States Army in West Germany from June 1958 to June 1964 as part of NATO's Cold War defense of W ...
.
Operation HARDTACK Military Effects Studies Part III: High Altitude Tests
' (1958), Department of Defense documentary film, Lookout Mountain Laboratory USAF.
On 1 August 1958, the shot detonated at an
altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...
of . Along with HARDTACK-Orange it was one of the two largest
high-altitude nuclear explosion High-altitude nuclear explosions are the result of nuclear weapons testing within the upper layers of the Earth's atmosphere and in outer space. Several such tests were performed at high altitudes by the United States and the Soviet Union betwe ...
s.


Planning

The 3.8-
megaton Megaton may refer to: * A million tons * Megaton TNT equivalent, explosive energy equal to 4.184 petajoules * megatonne, a million tonnes, SI unit of mass Other uses * Olivier Megaton (born 1965), French film director, writer and editor * ''Me ...
detonation was planned to occur at an altitude of above a point approximately south of Johnston Island. However, due to a programming failure, it burst directly above the island at the desired altitude, making the island the effective
ground zero In relation to nuclear explosions and other large bombs, ground zero (also called surface zero) is the point on the Earth's surface closest to a detonation. In the case of an explosion above the ground, ''ground zero'' is the point on the groun ...
. This brought the explosion nearer the launch site control and analysis crews than intended. The ''Teak'' test was originally planned to be launched from
Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese: , , meaning "coconut place"), sometimes known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 1800s and 1946 is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. After the Seco ...
, but
Lewis Strauss Lewis Lichtenstein Strauss ( "straws"; January 31, 1896January 21, 1974) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and naval officer who served two terms on the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the second as its chairman. He was a major ...
, chairman of the
United States Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President ...
opposed the test because of fears that the flash from the nighttime detonation might blind Islanders who were living on nearby atolls. He finally agreed to approve the high-altitude test on the condition that the launch point be moved from Bikini Atoll to the more remote site at
Johnston Island Johnston Atoll is an unincorporated territory of the United States, currently administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Johnston Atoll is a National Wildlife Refuge and part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine Natio ...
. According to the United States Defense Nuclear Agency report (DNA6038F) on Operation Hardtack I:


Effects

When the warhead burst at directly above Johnston Island, the flash effectively turned night into day, as shown in the "After" photo in the section above. The initial glow faded over a period of about 30 seconds. The thermal radiation output of the explosion was such that observers were forced to take cover in the "shade" for the first few moments, as can be seen in film footage of the test. ''Teak'' caused communications impairment over a widespread area in the
Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...
basin. This was due to the injection of a large quantity of fission debris into the ionosphere. The debris prevented normal ionospheric reflection of
high-frequency High frequency (HF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) between 3 and 30 megahertz (MHz). It is also known as the decameter band or decameter wave as its wavelengths range from one to te ...
(HF) radio waves back towards
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, which disrupted most long-distance HF
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmi ...
communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...
s. The nuclear detonation occurred at 10:50 UTC on 1 August 1958 (which was 11:50 p.m., Johnston Island local time, on 31 July 1958).Hoerlin, Herman "United States High-Altitude Test Experiences: A Review Emphasizing the Impact on the Environment" Report LA-6405, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. October 197

Retrieved 2009-10-25
According to the book ''Defense's Nuclear Agency 1947–1997'', when the ''Teak'' detonation occurred:''Defense's Nuclear Agency 1947–1997''. Page 140. Defense Threat Reduction Agency, 2002 :The
Apia Apia () is the capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō'') of Tuamasaga. ...
Observatory in
Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
approximately 2,000 miles to the south described the ". . . violent magnetic disturbance," which heralded ". . . the most brilliant manifestation of the
Aurora Australis An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of br ...
outhern Lightsever seen in Samoa."  The resulting persistent ionization of the low-density atmosphere cut high frequency radio communications with New Zealand for six hours. :In Hawaii, where there had been no announcement of the test, the TEAK fireball turned from light yellow to dark yellow to orange to red. . . . The red glow remained clearly visible in the southwestern sky for half an hour. In Honolulu, military and civilian air traffic communications were interrupted for several hours. At the AFSWP’s
Armed Forces Special Weapons Project The Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) was a United States military agency responsible for those aspects of nuclear weapons remaining under military control after the Manhattan Project was succeeded by the Atomic Energy Commission on ...
offices in the Pentagon, Admiral Parker grew concerned for the personnel on Johnston Island as hour after hour passed with no word regarding the test. Finally, some eight hours after TEAK had occurred, the word that all was well came from
Alvin Luedecke Alvin Roubal Luedecke (10 October 1910 – 9 August 1998) was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II. He commanded the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project after the war. After retiring from the Air Force in 1958, he was Gene ...
, the commander of Joint Task Force 7 and soon to be General Manager of the AEC. The communications blackout worried others as well. Later AFSWP learned that one of the first radio messages received at Johnston Island once communications were restored was:  "Are you still there?" According to page 269 of the Defense Nuclear Agency report on Operation Hardtack:''Operation Hardtack I, 1958, DNA6038F, ADA136819'' page 269
/ref> :The detonation spread a layer of fission debris in the upper atmosphere and destroyed the ability of the normally ionized layers of the upper atmosphere to bend radio waves back to the Earth, thus cutting many trans-Pacific high-frequency communications circuits. This blackout lasted 9 hours in Australia and at least 2 hours in Hawaii. Honolulu telephone service was apparently not affected; the Honolulu police registered over 1,000 extra calls that night as startled residents asked for information on what they had seen. According to civilian observer reports contained in the official United States Defense Nuclear Agency report on Operation Hardtack I:''Operation Hardtack I, 1958, DNA6038F, ADA136819'' page 266
/ref> :A Honolulu resident described the burst in a page-1 story in the 1 August Honolulu Star-Bulletin: ::I stepped out on the lanai and saw what must have been the reflection of the fireball. It turned from light yellow to dark yellow and from orange to red. ::The red spread in a semi-circular manner until it seemed to engulf a large part of the horizon. ::A cloud rose in the center of the circle. It was quite large and clearly visible. It remained visible for about a half-hour. ::It looked much closer than Johnston Island. The elevation of the circle was perhaps 20° above the horizon. :Other descriptions in the same issue emphasized the red feature that appeared. From Mt. Haleakala on Maui, observers reported that this red shell appeared to pass overhead about 40 minutes after the detonation.


References

{{US Nuclear Tests Johnston Atoll American nuclear explosive tests Exoatmospheric nuclear weapons testing Explosions in 1958 1958 in military history August 1958 events in the United States 1958 in the United States 1958 in Oceania August 1958 events in Oceania