USA INITIATES OPERATION DOMINIC
Christmas Island (JFK+50) On April 25, 1962, the United States of America detonated a nuclear bomb over Christmas Island* . This was the first atmospheric nuclear test by the USA since an agreement to stop such tests was signed with the USSR in 1958.
President John F. Kennedy authorized the test, code-named OPERATION DOMINIC, after the Soviets stated their intention to violate the agreement and launched a series of forty-five tests over a two month period.
Operation Dominic comprised a series of 31 nuclear tests with a yield totaling 38.1 megatons. The nuclear weapons were dropped from B-52s. The
operation was the largest nuclear weapons program ever conducted by the United States and also the last atmospheric test before passage of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963.
*Christmas Island is located in the Indian Ocean. It was discovered by Captain William Mynors on Christmas Day 1643. Today the island is a territory of Australia and has a population of just over 2000. Two-thirds of the populace are Malaysian Chinese. From 1957 to 1963, the British military conducted nuclear tests using the island as their base.
SOURCE
"Christmas Island: In search of Britain's nuclear legacy," by John Pickford, July 8, 2013, www.bbc.com/
Christmas Island (JFK+50) On April 25, 1962, the United States of America detonated a nuclear bomb over Christmas Island* . This was the first atmospheric nuclear test by the USA since an agreement to stop such tests was signed with the USSR in 1958.
President John F. Kennedy authorized the test, code-named OPERATION DOMINIC, after the Soviets stated their intention to violate the agreement and launched a series of forty-five tests over a two month period.
Operation Dominic comprised a series of 31 nuclear tests with a yield totaling 38.1 megatons. The nuclear weapons were dropped from B-52s. The
operation was the largest nuclear weapons program ever conducted by the United States and also the last atmospheric test before passage of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963.
*Christmas Island is located in the Indian Ocean. It was discovered by Captain William Mynors on Christmas Day 1643. Today the island is a territory of Australia and has a population of just over 2000. Two-thirds of the populace are Malaysian Chinese. From 1957 to 1963, the British military conducted nuclear tests using the island as their base.
SOURCE
"Christmas Island: In search of Britain's nuclear legacy," by John Pickford, July 8, 2013, www.bbc.com/
Christmas Island
