Nuclear weapons tests in Australia
list of atomic weapons exploded in Australia
Between 1952 and 1963, the British Government, with the agreement and support of the Australian Government, carried out nuclear weapons tests in Australia as part of its early nuclear weapons programme. The tests included 12 major nuclear weapon detonations conducted between 1952 and 1957 at the Montebello Islands off the coast of Western Australia, and at Emu Field and Maralinga in South Australia. Hundreds of smaller trials, predominately conducted at Maralinga between 1953 and 1963, were also carried out to support British nuclear weapons development.
Sites
The British conducted testing in the Pacific Ocean at Malden Island and Kiritimati known at the time as Christmas Island (not to be confused with Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean) between 1957 and 1958. These were airbursts mostly occurring over water or suspended a few hundred metres above the ground by balloon.
In Australia there were three sites. Testing was carried out between 1952 and 1957 and was mostly done at the surface. A few hundred smaller scale tests were conducted at both Emu Field and Maralinga between 1953 and 1963.
Montebello Islands
Two separate atomic test projects occurred at the islands, the first being Operation Hurricane and the second being Operation Mosaic. Following the second Mosaic explosion, the radioactive cloud that was supposed to be taken away from the site, was sent back by wind that was not anticipated by the British scientists.
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