Operation Ivy 229634 223348857 2008-07-03T18:10:22Z 134.53.145.22 {{For|the ska-punk band|Operation Ivy (band)}} [[Image:IvyMike2.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The [[mushroom cloud]] from the ''Mike'' shot.]] '''Operation Ivy''' was the eighth series of American [[Nuclear testing|nuclear tests]], coming after [[Operation Tumbler-Snapper|Tumbler-Snapper]] and before [[Operation Upshot-Knothole|Upshot-Knothole]]. The purpose of the tests were to help upgrade the U.S. arsenal of [[nuclear weapon]]s, in response to the [[Soviet]] nuclear weapons program. The two explosions were staged in late 1952 at the [[Pacific Proving Ground]] in the [[Marshall Islands]]. The first device, codenamed ''[[Ivy Mike|Mike]]'', was notable for being the first successful test of a multi-megaton thermonuclear weapon design (the [[Teller-Ulam design]]), usually considered the world's first [[hydrogen bomb]] test. It used liquid deuterium as its fusion fuel, kept cold with an expensive and cumbersome cryogenic system. Too unwieldy to be deployed as a weapon, it was built to demonstrate the power and possibility of using [[nuclear fusion]] as a principle for larger-yield nuclear weapons than previously possible. It was detonated on [[Elugelab|Elugelab Island]] in the [[Enewetak]] atoll of the [[Marshall Islands]]. It yielded 10.4 [[megaton]]s of explosive power, almost 500 times the power of the bomb that was dropped on [[Nagasaki, Nagasaki|Nagasaki]]. 8 megatons of the yield was from fast fission of the uranium tamper. The detonation obliterated Elugelab, leaving an underwater crater 6,240 ft (1.9 km) wide and 164 ft (50 m) deep where an island had once been. The second test, ''[[Ivy King|King]]'', was a test of the largest nuclear weapon ever built at the time which utilized only [[nuclear fission]] as the source of its energy (it had none of its energy added from fusion or [[boosted fission weapon|fusion boosting]]). It was dubbed the "Super [[Enriched uranium|Oralloy]] Bomb", and was intended as a backup if the fusion weapon was a failure. It had a yield of 500 kilotons, 25-40 times more powerful than the weapons dropped during [[World War II]]. A [[USAF]] captain was lost during the testing. See <ref>[[http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jprobinson.htm]]</ref> {| class="wikitable" |+ Ivy Test Blasts |- ! Test Name ! Date ! Location ! Yield ! Note |- ! ''[[Ivy Mike|Mike]]'' | 1 November, 1952 | Elugelab Island, Eniwetok | 10.4 megatons | First hydrogen bomb |- ! ''[[Ivy King|King]]'' | 16 November, 1952 | Airburst 2,000 feet North of Runit Island, Eniwetok | 500 kilotons | Largest pure-fission bomb |} ==In Popular Culture== The influential East Bay ska-punk band [[Operation Ivy (band)|Operation Ivy]] was named after this test.<ref>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ivy_(band)</ref> ==See also== {{commons|Operation Ivy}} * [[History of nuclear weapons]] * [[Operation Castle]] ==External links== *[http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Ivy.html Operation Ivy] *[http://www.dtra.mil/documents/rd/DNATR8298.pdf Analysis of Radiation Exposure for Navy Personnel at Operation Ivy] *[http://www.archive.org/details/operation_ivy Internet Archive: Operation Ivy (1952)] — film about Operation Ivy created by the US Air Force ==References== * Chuck Hansen, ''U. S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History'' (Arlington: AeroFax, 1988) {{Reflist}} [[Category:American nuclear explosive tests|Ivy]] [[Category:1952 in the United States]] [[de:Operation Ivy (Atomtest)]] [[es:Operación Ivy]] [[fr:Ivy (Arme nucléaire)]]