Operation Storax was a series of 47 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1962–1963 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the Operation Fishbowl series and preceded the Operation Roller Coaster series.
British tests
Some accounts include the second British nuclear weapons test at the Nevada Test Site, shot Tendrac, as part of Storax. See British nuclear testing in the United States for more details.
Tests
+ United States' Storax series tests and detonations Name The US, France and Great Britain have code-named their test events, while the USSR and China did not, and therefore have only test numbers (with some exceptions – Soviet peaceful explosions were named). Word translations into English in parentheses unless the name is a proper noun. A dash followed by a number indicates a member of a salvo event. The US also sometimes named the individual explosions in such a salvo test, which results in "name1 – 1(with name2)". If test is canceled or aborted, then the row data like date and location discloses the intended plans, where known. Date time (UT) Local time zoneTo convert the UT time into standard local, add the number of hours in parentheses to the UT time; for local daylight saving time, add one additional hour. If the result is earlier than 00:00, add 24 hours and subtract 1 from the day; if it is 24:00 or later, subtract 24 hours and add 1 to the day. Historical time zone data obtained from the IANA time zone database. LocationRough place name and a latitude/longitude reference; for rocket-carried tests, the launch location is specified before the detonation location, if known. Some locations are extremely accurate; others (like airdrops and space blasts) may be quite inaccurate. "~" indicates a likely pro-forma rough location, shared with other tests in that same area. Elevation + height Elevation is the ground level at the point directly below the explosion relative to sea level; height is the additional distance added or subtracted by tower, balloon, shaft, tunnel, air drop or other contrivance. For rocket bursts the ground level is "N/A". In some cases it is not clear if the height is absolute or relative to ground, for example, Plumbbob/John. No number or units indicates the value is unknown, while "0" means zero. Sorting on this column is by elevation and height added together. Delivery Atmospheric, airdrop, balloon, gun, cruise missile, rocket, surface, tower, and barge are all disallowed by the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Sealed shaft and tunnel are underground, and remained useful under the PTBT. Intentional cratering tests are borderline; they occurred under the treaty, were sometimes protested, and generally overlooked if the test was declared to be a peaceful use.Purpose Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down. DeviceDesignations for test items where known, "?" indicates some uncertainty about the preceding value, nicknames for particular devices in quotes. This category of information is often not officially disclosed. YieldEstimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie). FalloutRadioactive emission to the atmosphere aside from prompt neutrons, where known. The measured species is only iodine-131 if mentioned, otherwise it is all species. No entry means unknown, probably none if underground and "all" if not; otherwise notation for whether measured on the site only or off the site, where known, and the measured amount of radioactivity released. References Notes Sedan 17:00:00.15 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U10h – cratering,peaceful research W56
Venting detected off site,
2nd Plowshare test, cratering experiment, TN device similar to Dominic Bluestone and Swanee, 12 million tons of soil displaced, crater was . Merrimac 16:00:00.15 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3bd – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected on site,
Wichita 21:00:00.16 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9y – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected on site,
York 15:00:00.15 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9z – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected,
Bobac 17:00:00.13 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3bl – underground shaft,weapons development
I-131 venting detected, 0
Raritan 17:00:00.16 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9u – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected,
Hyrax 17:10:00.12 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3bh – underground shaft,weapons development
I-131 venting detected, 0
Peba 17:00:00.12 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3bb – underground shaft,weapons development
Allegheny 17:00:00.15 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9x – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected on site,
Mississippi 17:00:00.16 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9ad – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected,
Roanoke 15:00:00.16 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9q – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected on site,
Wolverine 17:00:00.12 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3av – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected on site, less than
Tioga 15:00:00.15 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9f – underground shaft,weapons development
Bandicoot 18:00:00.08 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3bj – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected off site,
Yield was higher than expected, leading to a containement failure and venting as the stemming plan anticipated a lower yield. Santee 15:00:00.15 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U10f – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected,
Subsidence crater created by Santee and Niblick Turf converted into the U10c waste disposal facility in 1971. St. Lawrence 18:00:00.16 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U2b – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected on site,
Gundi 16:30:00.08 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3bm – underground shaft,weapons development
Anacostia 18:00:00.14 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9i – underground shaft,peaceful research
Venting detected on site,
3rd Plowshare test, device development, accidental release of radioactivity detected on site only. Designed to produce heavy isotopes and provide radioachemical analysis data for Coach. Taunton 16:00:00.15 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9aa – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected,
Madison 17:25:00.12 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U12g.01 – tunnel,weapons development
Venting detected,
Numbat 18:45:00.12 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3bu – underground shaft,weapons development
I-131 venting detected, 0
Manatee 18:00:00.16 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9af – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected,
Casselman 16:00:00.16 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U10g – underground shaft,weapons development W47Y2 primary.
Venting detected,
Part of the test was to determine warhead tritium requirements for a 4 year service life. The Y2 version of the W47 used a delta-plutonium pit to increase the weapon's resistance to hostile neutron effects. Hatchie 16:00:01.15 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9e – underground shaft,weapons development
Acushi 18:30:00.14 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3bg – underground shaft,weapons development
Ferret 18:30:00.13 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3bf – underground shaft,weapons development
Chipmunk 17:00:00.13 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3ay – underground shaft,safety experiment
Kaweah 19:47:00.14 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9ab – underground shaft,peaceful research
Venting detected,
4th Plowshare test, device development. Designed to produce heavy isotopes and provide radioachemical analysis data for Coach. Carmel 19:47:08.63 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U2h – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected,
Jerboa 19:00:00.12 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3at – underground shaft,weapons development
Toyah 16:22:53.14 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9ac – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected,
Gerbil 15:49:00.12 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3bp – underground shaft,weapons development
Ferret Prime 17:52:00.13 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3by – underground shaft,weapons development
Coypu 16:01:30.12 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3af – underground shaft,safety experiment
Cumberland 16:03:00.16 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U2e – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected,
Kootanai 16:09:30.141 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9w – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected on site,
Paisano 16:09:30.142 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9w1(wi?) – underground shaft,weapons development
I-131 venting detected, 0
Gundi Prime 18:19:00 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3db – underground shaft,weapons development
Harkee 14:55:00.0 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3bv – underground shaft,weapons development
Tejon 14:55:00.0 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3cg – underground shaft,safety experiment
Stones 15:40:00.14 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9ae – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected,
Pleasant 15:03:30.16 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9ah – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected on site,
Yuba 17:00:00.12 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U12b.10 – tunnel,weapons development
Venting detected off site,
Hutia 14:00:00.13 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3bc – underground shaft,weapons development
Apshapa 16:58:00.15 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U9ai – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected on site,
Mataco 14:10:00.13 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U3bk – underground shaft,weapons development
Kennebec 23:00:00.15 PST (–8 hrs) NTS Area U2af – underground shaft,weapons development
Venting detected on site,
References