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DOE OSTI · 1822703

Operation Castle

Meade, Roger Allen
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Abstract

On February 28, 1954, Bravo, the first of six thermonuclear devices tested during Operation Castle, burst into the sky over Bikini Atoll. 1 In an instant, and unexpectedly, Bravo became the highest yield device tested by the United States. Romeo, Koon, Union, Yankee, and Nectar followed. Each, with the exception of Koon, performed better than predicted, providing the United States with stable, deliverable thermonuclear weapons, albeit ones still very large and cumbersome. 2 The overall success of Castle, however, had a downside. Bravo’s fallout injured Marshallese natives and contaminated a Japanese fishing trawler. The international uproar that followed ultimately led to the cessation of atmospheric testing.

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45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE

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Meade, Roger Allen. 2021-09-27. Operation Castle. https://doi.org/10.2172/1822703

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