- Operation Hardtack II
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Operation Hardtack II 
Hardtack De BacaInformation Country 
United StatesTest site Nevada Test Site Period April - October 1958 Number of tests 37 Navigation Previous test Operation Argus Next test Operation Nougat Operation Hardtack II was a series of 37 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1958 at the Nevada Test Site.
With test moratoriums on the horizon, American weapons labs rushed out many new designs. After the conclusion of Hardtack II, the United States announced a unilateral testing moratorium, which the Soviet Union joined until September, 1961.[1] In September 1961, the Soviet Union resumed nuclear testing, and the United States followed suit with Operation Nougat.
Contents
Test Blasts
Hardtack II Test Blasts Test Name Date Location Yield Note Image Otero 12 September, 1958 NTS Area 3q 0.038 kilotons 1PT, failed Bernalillo 17 September, 1958 NTS Area 3h 0.015 kilotons 1PT; unsafe Eddy 19 September, 1958 NTS Area 7b 0.083 kilotons balloon shot 
Luna 21 September, 1958 NTS Area 3m 0.0015 kilotons 1PT; unsafe 
Mercury 23 September, 1958 NTS Area 12f "slight" 1PT Valencia 26 September, 1958 NTS Area 3r 0.002 kilotons 1PT Mars 28 September, 1958 NTS Area 12f 0.013 kilotons 1PT Mora 29 September, 1958 NTS Area 7b 2 kilotons balloon shot; fizzled Hidalgo 5 October, 1958 NTS Area 7b 0.077 kilotons balloon test; failed Colfax 5 October, 1958 NTS Area 3k 0.0055 kilotons 1PT; failed Tamalpais 8 October, 1958 NTS Area 12b 0.072 kilotons Quay 10 October, 1958 NTS Area 7c 0.079 kilotons tower shot Lea 13 October, 1958 NTS Area 7b 1.4 kilotons balloon shot; fizzled 
Neptune 14 October, 1958 NTS Area 12c 0.115 kilotons 1pt; failed Hamilton 15 October, 1958 NTS Area 5 0.0012 tower shot; fizzled Logan 16 October, 1958 NTS Area 12e 5 kilotons Dona Ana 16 October, 1958 NTS Area 7b 0.037 kilotons Vesta 17 October, 1958 NTS Area 9e 0.024 kilotons 1pt; surface shot; failed Rio Arriba 18 October, 1958 NTS Area 3s 0.090 kilotons tower shot San Juan 20 October, 1958 NTS Area 3p "zero" 1pt Socorro 22 October, 1958 NTS Area 3b 6 kilotons balloon shot 
Wrangell 22 October, 1958 NTS Area 5 0.115 kilotons balloon shot; fizzle Oberon 22 October, 1958 NTS Area 8a "zero" 1pt Rushmore 22 October, 1958 NTS Area 9a 0.188 kilotons balloon test; fizzle Catron 24 October, 1958 NTS Area 3T 0.021 kilotons 1pt; failed Juno 24 October, 1958 NTS Area 9f 0.0017 kilotons 1pt, surface shot Ceres 26 October, 1958 NTS Area 3b 0.0007 kilotons 1pt; tower shot Sanford 26 October, 1958 NTS Area 5 4.9 kilotons balloon shot De Baca 26 October, 1958 NTS Area 7b 2.2 kilotons balloon shot 
Chavez 27 October, 1958 NTS Area 3u 0.0006 kilotons 1pt; tower shot; failed Evans 29 October, 1958 NTS Area 12b 0.055 kilotons fizzle Mazama 29 October, 1958 NTS Area 9 "zero" fizzle Humbodt 29 October, 1958 NTS Area 3v 0.0078 kilotons tower shot Santa Fe 30 October, 1958 NTS Area 7b 1.3 kilotons balloon shot 
Ganymede 30 October, 1958 NTS Area 9g "zero" 1pt; surface shot Blanca 30 October, 1958 NTS Area 12e 22 kilotons largest test on Hardtack II 
Titania 30 October, 1958 NTS Area 3c 0.0002 kilotons 1pt; tower shot See also
Notes
References
- Chuck Hansen, U. S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History (Arlington: AeroFax, 1988) ISBN 0517567407
- The Nuclear Weapons Archive
- "United States Nuclear Tests, July 1945 through September 1992 (DOE/NV-209)" (pdf). U.S. Department of Energy Nevada Operations Office. 2000. http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/publications/historical/DOENV_209_REV15.pdf.
External links
- Operation HARDTACK Military Effects Studies Part I: Basic Effects Structures and Materiel (1958), Department of Defense documentary film, Lookout Mountain Laboratory USAF.
- Operation HARDTACK Military Effects Studies Part II: Underwater Tests (1958), Department of Defense documentary film, Lookout Mountain Laboratory USAF.
- Operation HARDTACK Military Effects Studies Part III: High Altitude Tests (1958), Department of Defense documentary film, Lookout Mountain Laboratory USAF.
Categories:- American nuclear explosive tests
- 1958 in military history
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