Operation Whetstone

Operation Whetstone
Rubble mound formed by the Sulky shot.
Information
Country	United States
Test site	NTS Area 15; NTS Area 16, Shoshone Mountain; NTS Area 18, Buckboard Mesa; NTS Area 19, 20, Pahute Mesa; NTS Areas 5, 11, Frenchman Flat; NTS, Areas 1-4, 6-10, Yucca Flat; Salmon Site, near Lumberton, Mississippi
Period	1964-1965
Number of tests	46
Test type	cratering, underground shaft, underground tunnel
Max. yield	51 kilotonnes of TNT (210 TJ)
Navigation
Previous test series	Operation Niblick
Next test series	Operation Flintlock (nuclear test)

The United States's Whetstone nuclear test series^[1] was a group of 46 nuclear tests conducted in 1964-1965. These tests ^{[note 1]} followed the Operation Niblick series and preceded the Operation Flintlock (nuclear test) series.

United States' Whetstone series tests and detonations

Name [note 2]	Date time (UT)	Local time zone [note 3][2]	Location [note 4]	Elevation + height [note 5]	Delivery [note 6] Purpose [note 7]	Device [note 8]	Yield [note 9]	Fallout [note 10]	References	Notes
Bye	16 July 1964 13:15:00.15	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U10i 37°10′56″N 116°02′46″W / 37.18215°N 116.04623°W	1,295 m (4,249 ft) - 389.26 m (1,277.1 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		20 kt	Venting detected, less than 390 Ci (14,000 GBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Links	23 July 1964 13:30:00.15	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U9bf 37°06′49″N 116°01′58″W / 37.11371°N 116.03288°W	1,273 m (4,177 ft) - 119.8 m (393 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		less than 20 kt	Venting detected on site, less than 7 Ci (260 GBq)	[1][3][4][6][7]
Trogon	24 July 1964 18:30:00.04	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3dj 37°02′46″N 116°00′47″W / 37.04606°N 116.01293°W	1,204 m (3,950 ft) - 193.03 m (633.3 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		less than 20 kt		[1][6][7]
Alva	19 August 1964 16:00:00.14	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U2j 37°09′32″N 116°05′02″W / 37.15902°N 116.08402°W	1,320 m (4,330 ft) - 166.04 m (544.8 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		4.4 kt	Venting detected off site, 6.4 kCi (240 TBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Canvasback	22 August 1964 22:17:00.06	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3cp 37°03′55″N 116°00′59″W / 37.06529°N 116.01631°W	1,226 m (4,022 ft) - 447.66 m (1,468.7 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		18 kt	Venting detected, 2 kCi (74 TBq)	[1][3][4][6][7][8]
Player	27 August 1964 14:30:00.15	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U9cc 37°07′02″N 116°02′30″W / 37.11731°N 116.04153°W	1,254 m (4,114 ft) - 91.44 m (300.0 ft)	underground shaft, safety experiment		less than 20 kt		[1][6][7]
Haddock	28 August 1964 17:06:00.04	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3dl 37°04′01″N 116°01′23″W / 37.06699°N 116.02304°W	1,222 m (4,009 ft) - 363.66 m (1,193.1 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		less than 20 kt		[1][6][7]
Guanay	4 September 1964 18:15:00.08	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3di 37°01′03″N 116°01′24″W / 37.01757°N 116.02343°W	1,184 m (3,885 ft) - 260.97 m (856.2 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		12 kt		[1][5][6][7][8]
Spoon	11 September 1964 14:00:00.1	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U9bd 37°06′49″N 116°01′35″W / 37.11367°N 116.02636°W	1,289 m (4,229 ft) - 179.68 m (589.5 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		200 t	Venting detected, 390 Ci (14,000 GBq)	[1][4][6][7][8]
Auk	2 October 1964 20:03:00.04	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U7b 37°04′40″N 116°00′34″W / 37.07787°N 116.00937°W	1,254 m (4,114 ft) - 452.38 m (1,484.2 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		12 kt		[1][6][7][9]
Par	9 October 1964 14:00:00.12	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U2p 37°09′05″N 116°04′40″W / 37.15138°N 116.0779°W	1,304 m (4,278 ft) - 403.86 m (1,325.0 ft)	underground shaft, peaceful research		38 kt	Venting detected, 610 Ci (23,000 GBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]	A Plowshare device with high neutron flux for creation of heavy isotopes.
Barbel - 1 (with Turnstone)	16 October 1964 15:59:30.038	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3bx 37°02′22″N 116°00′59″W / 37.03948°N 116.01641°W	1,194 m (3,917 ft) - 258.9 m (849 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		7 kt	Venting detected, 290 Ci (11,000 GBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]	simultaneous, separate holes.
Turnstone - 2 (with Barbel)	16 October 1964 15:59:30.03	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3dt 37°02′01″N 116°01′32″W / 37.03349°N 116.02555°W	1,191 m (3,907 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		less than 20 kt		[1][6][7]	simultaneous, separate holes.
Salmon	22 October 1964 16:00:00.0	CST (-6 hrs)	Salmon Site, near Lumberton, Mississippi 31°08′32″N 89°34′12″W / 31.14229°N 89.57001°W	74 m (243 ft) - 830 m (2,720 ft)	underground shaft, joint verification		5.3 kt		[1][7]	Project Vela Uniform/Dribble, detection of underground tests. Exploded in Tatum salt dome.
Garden	23 October 1964 15:00:00.94	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U9aj 37°07′01″N 116°01′55″W / 37.11699°N 116.03202°W	1,274 m (4,180 ft) - 149.66 m (491.0 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		less than 20 kt		[1][6][7]
Forest	31 October 1964 17:04:58.61	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U7a 37°06′26″N 116°01′59″W / 37.10717°N 116.03312°W	1,270 m (4,170 ft) - 380.73 m (1,249.1 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		less than 20 kt	Venting detected, 5 Ci (180 GBq)	[1][3][4][6][7]
Handcar	5 November 1964 15:00:00.11	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U10b 37°10′28″N 116°04′04″W / 37.17431°N 116.0679°W	1,307 m (4,288 ft) - 402.95 m (1,322.0 ft)	underground shaft, peaceful research		12 kt	Venting detected on site, 70 Ci (2,600 GBq)	[1][3][4][6][7]	A Plowshare project for measuring effects of contained explosion on carbonate rock.
Crepe	5 December 1964 21:15:00.1	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U2q 37°06′52″N 116°03′16″W / 37.11437°N 116.05431°W	1,252 m (4,108 ft) - 404.2 m (1,326 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		20 kt	Venting detected, 250 Ci (9,200 GBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Drill (Source-Lower) - 1	5 December 1964 21:15:00.16	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U2ai 37°08′03″N 116°04′14″W / 37.13424°N 116.07062°W	1,280 m (4,200 ft) - 219.46 m (720.0 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		3.4 kt	Venting detected off site, 61 kCi (2,300 TBq)	[1][3][4][6][7]	simultaneous, same hole.
Drill (Target-Upper) - 2	5 December 1964 21:15:00.16	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U2ai 37°08′03″N 116°04′14″W / 37.13424°N 116.07062°W	1,280 m (4,200 ft) +	underground shaft, weapons development		less than 20 kt	Venting detected off site	[1][3][6][7]	simultaneous, same hole.
Cassowary - 1 (with Hoopoe)	16 December 1964 20:00:00.07	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3bn 37°02′22″N 116°01′29″W / 37.03954°N 116.02462°W	1,194 m (3,917 ft) - 150.14 m (492.6 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		less than 20 kt		[1][6][7]	simultaneous, different holes.
Hoopoe - 2 (with Cassowary)	16 December 1964 20:00:00.07	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3cf 37°02′54″N 116°02′02″W / 37.0484°N 116.03397°W	1,200 m (3,900 ft) +	underground shaft, safety experiment		less than 20 kt		[1][6][7]	simultaneous, different holes.
Parrot	16 December 1964 20:00:00.04	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3dk 37°02′05″N 116°00′47″W / 37.03479°N 116.01303°W	1,192 m (3,911 ft) - 180.32 m (591.6 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		1.3 kt	Venting detected off site, 230 kCi (8,500 TBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Mudpack	16 December 1964 20:10:00.1	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U10n 37°10′40″N 116°04′04″W / 37.17776°N 116.06781°W	1,310 m (4,300 ft) - 151.79 m (498.0 ft)	underground shaft, weapon effect		2.7 kt	Venting detected, less than 54 Ci (2,000 GBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Sulky	18 December 1964 19:35:00.09	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U18d 37°04′57″N 116°20′36″W / 37.08259°N 116.34345°W	1,597 m (5,240 ft) - 27.28 m (89.5 ft)	underground shaft, peaceful research		92 t	Venting detected off site, 130 kCi (4,800 TBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7][10][11]	A Plowshare project for hard, dry excavation test, to study dispersion of radionuclides.
Wool	14 January 1965 16:00:00.14	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U9bh 37°07′08″N 116°01′32″W / 37.11895°N 116.02565°W	1,287 m (4,222 ft) - 215.13 m (705.8 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		7 kt	Venting detected, 200 Ci (7,400 GBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Tern	29 January 1965 18:22:00.03	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3dw 37°02′42″N 116°00′50″W / 37.04497°N 116.01396°W	1,202 m (3,944 ft) - 210.65 m (691.1 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		500 t	Venting detected on site, 170 Ci (6,300 GBq)	[1][3][4][6][7][8]
Cashmere	4 February 1965 15:30:00.11	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U2ad 37°07′51″N 116°03′45″W / 37.13073°N 116.06253°W	1,270 m (4,170 ft) - 232.18 m (761.7 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		4 kt	Venting detected, 8 Ci (300 GBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Alpaca	12 February 1965 15:10:29.49	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U2a 37°09′54″N 116°04′39″W / 37.165°N 116.07744°W	1,315 m (4,314 ft) - 224.61 m (736.9 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		330 t	Venting detected off site, 40 kCi (1,500 TBq)	[1][3][4][6][7]
Merlin	16 February 1965 17:30:00.04	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3ct 37°03′06″N 116°01′28″W / 37.05163°N 116.02452°W	1,203 m (3,947 ft) - 296.14 m (971.6 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		10.1 kt	I-131 venting detected, 0	[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Wishbone	18 February 1965 16:18:47.15	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U5a 36°49′05″N 115°57′00″W / 36.81798°N 115.9501°W	913 m (2,995 ft) - 179.22 m (588.0 ft)	underground shaft, weapon effect		5 kt	Venting detected on site, 6.9 kCi (260 TBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Seersucker	19 February 1965 15:28:54.11	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U9bm 37°07′02″N 116°01′55″W / 37.11723°N 116.03185°W	1,274 m (4,180 ft) - 142.34 m (467.0 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		less than 20 kt	Venting detected on site, less than 410 Ci (15,000 GBq)	[1][3][4][6][7]
Wagtail	3 March 1965 19:13:00.03	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3an 37°03′52″N 116°02′17″W / 37.06448°N 116.03793°W	1,210 m (3,970 ft) - 749.59 m (2,459.3 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		51 kt	Venting detected, 13 Ci (480 GBq)	[1][3][4][6][7][9]
Suede	20 March 1965 15:30:49.1	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U9bk 37°06′55″N 116°01′38″W / 37.11538°N 116.02736°W	1,286 m (4,219 ft) - 143.52 m (470.9 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		200 t	Venting detected, 1.3 kCi (48 TBq)	[1][4][6][7][8]
Cup	26 March 1965 15:34:08.16	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U9cb 37°08′51″N 116°02′39″W / 37.14748°N 116.04415°W	1,267 m (4,157 ft) - 536.75 m (1,761.0 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		38 kt	Venting detected, 4.7 kCi (170 TBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Kestrel	5 April 1965 21:00:00.04	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3dd 37°01′33″N 116°01′25″W / 37.02576°N 116.02351°W	1,187 m (3,894 ft) - 446.87 m (1,466.1 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		7 kt	Venting detected, 230 Ci (8,500 GBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Palanquin	14 April 1965 13:14:00.1	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U20k 37°16′49″N 116°31′28″W / 37.28033°N 116.52445°W	1,861 m (6,106 ft) - 85.34 m (280.0 ft)	cratering, peaceful research		4.3 kt	Venting detected off site, 11 MCi (410 PBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7][10]	A Plowshare project for hard, dry excavation test, to study dispersion of radionuclides.
Gum Drop	21 April 1965 22:00:00.03	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U16a.02 37°00′26″N 116°12′11″W / 37.00712°N 116.20293°W	1,931 m (6,335 ft) - 304.8 m (1,000 ft)	underground tunnel, weapon effect		20 kt	Venting detected, 1.9 kCi (70 TBq)	[1][3][4][6][7][8]
Chenille	22 April 1965 13:39:00.1	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U9bg 37°06′41″N 116°01′53″W / 37.11137°N 116.03136°W	1,276 m (4,186 ft) - 140.74 m (461.7 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		1 kt	Venting detected on site, less than 110 Ci (4,100 GBq)	[1][3][4][6][7][8]
Muscovy	23 April 1965 21:44:00.04	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3dx 37°01′03″N 115°59′46″W / 37.01741°N 115.99605°W	1,189 m (3,901 ft) - 180.29 m (591.5 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		600 t		[1][6][7][8]
Tee	7 May 1965 15:47:11.15	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U2ab 37°08′26″N 116°04′03″W / 37.14042°N 116.06745°W	1,283 m (4,209 ft) - 190.2 m (624 ft)	underground shaft, weapon effect		7 kt	Venting detected off site, 1.6 kCi (59 TBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Buteo	12 May 1965 18:15:00.1	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U20a 37°14′33″N 116°25′54″W / 37.24261°N 116.43175°W	1,960 m (6,430 ft) - 695.55 m (2,282.0 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		less than 20 kt		[1][6][7]
Cambric	14 May 1965 14:57:52.15	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U5e 36°49′24″N 115°58′04″W / 36.82334°N 115.9677°W	929 m (3,048 ft) - 294.28 m (965.5 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		750 t		[1][6][7]	Cambric and Cheshire (on Pahute Mesa) to study radioactivity movement in ground water. In 16 years 4 billion gallons (30 billion liters) were pumped, took 2 yrs for the tritium to move 300 ft (91 m). Sr-40 and Cs-137 never detected.
Scaup	14 May 1965 17:32:36.23	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3da(s) 37°03′32″N 116°00′45″W / 37.05875°N 116.0125°W	1,222 m (4,009 ft) - 427.02 m (1,401.0 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		12 kt		[1][5][6][7]
Tweed	21 May 1965 13:08:52.11	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U9bn 37°07′07″N 116°01′42″W / 37.11848°N 116.02843°W	1,281 m (4,203 ft) - 281.07 m (922.1 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		15 kt	Venting detected, 600 Ci (22,000 GBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Petrel	11 June 1965 19:45:00.04	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U3dy 37°02′34″N 116°01′04″W / 37.04279°N 116.01776°W	1,197 m (3,927 ft) - 180.75 m (593.0 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		1.3 kt		[1][5][6][7]
Organdy	11 June 1965 20:28:37.11	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U9bo 37°06′57″N 116°01′27″W / 37.11573°N 116.02412°W	1,294 m (4,245 ft) - 169.47 m (556.0 ft)	underground shaft, weapons development		500 t	Venting detected, 130 Ci (4,800 GBq)	[1][4][6][7][8]
Diluted Waters	16 June 1965 16:30:00.15	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U5b 36°49′05″N 115°57′26″W / 36.81808°N 115.95709°W	916 m (3,005 ft) - 190.5 m (625 ft)	underground shaft, weapon effect		4 kt	Venting detected off site, 30 kCi (1,100 TBq)	[1][3][4][5][6][7]
Tiny Tot	17 June 1965 17:00:00.09	PST (-8 hrs)	NTS Area U15e 37°13′24″N 116°03′28″W / 37.22337°N 116.05784°W	1,533 m (5,030 ft) - 110.95 m (364.0 ft)	underground tunnel, weapon effect		less than 20 kt	Venting detected on site, 7 Ci (260 GBq)	[1][3][4][6][7]

1. A bomb test may be a salvo test, defined as two or more explosions "where a period of time between successive individual explosions does not exceed 5 seconds and where the burial points of all explosive devices can be connected by segments of straight lines, each of them connecting two burial points and does not exceed 40 kilometers in length". Mikhailov, V. N., Editor in Chief. "Catalog of World Wide Nuclear Testing". Begell-Atom, LLC.
2. 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.
3. To 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. All historical timezone data are derived from here:
4. Rough 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Include weapons development, weapon effects, safety test, transport safety test, war, science, joint verification and industrial/peaceful, which may be further broken down.
8. Designations 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.
9. Estimated energy yield in tons, kilotons, and megatons. A ton of TNT equivalent is defined as 4.184 gigajoules (1 gigacalorie).
10. Radioactive 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

1. Yang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl (August 2000). "CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3)". SMDC Monitoring Research.
2. "Timezone Historical Database". iana.com. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
3. Estimated exposures and thyroid doses received by the American people from Iodine-131 in fallout following Nevada atmospheric nuclear bomb tests, Chapter 2 (PDF), National Cancer Institute, 1997, retrieved 2014-01-05
4. Radiological Effluents Released from U.S. Continental Tests 1961 Through 1992 (DOE/NV-317 Rev. 1) (PDF), DOE Nevada Operations Office, August 1996, retrieved 2013-10-31
5. Bolt, Bruce A. (1976), Nuclear Explosions and Earthquakes: The Parted Veil, San Francisco, CA: W.H. Freeman and Co.
6. Official list of underground nuclear explosions, Sandia National Laboratories, 1994-07-01, retrieved 2013-12-18
7. "United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992" (PDF) (DOE/NV-209 REV15). Las Vegas, NV: Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office. 2000-12-01. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
8. Norris, Robert Standish; Cochran, Thomas B. (1 February 1994). "United States nuclear tests, July 1945 to 31 December 1992 (NWD 94-1)" (PDF). Nuclear Weapons Databook Working Paper (Washington, DC: Natural Resources Defense Council). Retrieved October 26, 2013.
9. Hechanova, Anthony E.; O'Donnell, James E. (1998-09-25), Estimates of yield for nuclear tests impacting the groundwater at the Nevada Test Site, Nuclear Science and Technology Division
10. Sublette, Carey. "Nuclear Weapons Archive". Retrieved January 6, 2014.
11. Letter to J. S. Kelly, AEC on the Project Sulky Concept, by G. E. Johnson(leader of the Plowshare program for a time