Template:Milestone nuclear explosions
Milestone nuclear explosions[edit]
The following list is of milestone nuclear explosions. In addition to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the first nuclear test of a given weapon type for a country is included, and tests which were otherwise notable (such as the largest test ever). All yields (explosive power) are given in their estimated energy equivalents in kilotons of TNT (see TNT equivalent). Putative tests (like Vela Incident) have not been included.
| Date | Name | Yield (kt) | Country | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1945-07-16 | Trinity | 18–20 | USA | First fission device test, first plutonium implosion detonation |
| 1945-08-06 | Little Boy | 12–18 | USA | Bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, first detonation of a uranium gun-type device, first use of a nuclear device in combat. |
| 1945-08-09 | Fat Man | 18–23 | USA | Bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, second detonation of a plutonium implosion device (the first being the Trinity Test), second and last use of a nuclear device in combat. |
| 1949-08-29 | RDS-1 | 22 | USSR | First fission weapon test by the USSR |
| 1952-10-03 | Hurricane | 25 | UK | First fission weapon test by the UK |
| 1952-11-01 | Ivy Mike | 10,400 | USA | First cryogenic fusion fuel "staged" thermonuclear weapon, primarily a test device and not weaponized |
| 1952-11-16 | Ivy King | 500 | USA | Largest pure-fission weapon ever tested |
| 1953-08-12 | Joe 4 | 400 | USSR | First fusion weapon test by the USSR (not "staged") |
| 1954-03-01 | Castle Bravo | 15,000 | USA | First dry fusion fuel "staged" thermonuclear weapon; a serious nuclear fallout accident occurred; largest nuclear detonation conducted by United States |
| 1955-11-22 | RDS-37 | 1,600 | USSR | First "staged" thermonuclear weapon test by the USSR (deployable) |
| 1957-05-31 | Orange Herald | 720 | UK | Largest boosted fission weapon ever tested. Intended as a fallback "in megaton range" in case British thermonuclear development failed. |
| 1957-11-08 | Grapple X | 1,800 | UK | First (successful) "staged" thermonuclear weapon test by the UK |
| 1960-02-13 | Gerboise Bleue | 70 | France | First fission weapon test by France |
| 1961-10-31 | Tsar Bomba | 50,000 | USSR | Largest thermonuclear weapon ever tested—scaled down from its initial 100 Mt design by 50% |
| 1964-10-16 | 596 | 22 | PR China | First fission weapon test by the People's Republic of China |
| 1967-06-17 | Test No. 6 | 3,300 | PR China | First "staged" thermonuclear weapon test by the People's Republic of China |
| 1968-08-24 | Canopus | 2,600 | France | First "staged" thermonuclear weapon test by France |
| 1974-05-18 | Smiling Buddha | 12 | India | First fission nuclear explosive test by India |
| 1998-05-11 | Pokhran-II | 45-50 | India | First potential fusion/boosted weapon test by India; first deployable fission weapon test by India |
| 1998-05-28 | Chagai-I | 40[1] | Pakistan | First fission weapon (boosted) test by Pakistan |
| 2006-10-09 | 2006 North Korean nuclear test | under 1 | North Korea | First fission weapon test by North Korea (plutonium-based) |
| 2017-09-03 | 2017 North Korean nuclear test | 200-300 | North Korea | First "staged" thermonuclear weapon test claimed by North Korea |
"Staging" refers to whether it was a "true" hydrogen bomb of the so-called Teller-Ulam configuration or simply a form of a boosted fission weapon. For a more complete list of nuclear test series, see List of nuclear tests. Some exact yield estimates, such as that of the Tsar Bomba and the tests by India and Pakistan in 1998, are somewhat contested among specialists.
References
- ^ Pakistan Nuclear Weapons. Federation of American Scientists. December 11, 2002