Operation Wigwam

See also: Wigwam (disambiguation)

Operation Wigwam
Information
Country	United States
Test site	500 miles (800 km) southwest of San Diego
Date	14 May 1955
Test type	Underwater
Device type	Fission
Yield	30 kilotons of TNT (130 TJ)
Navigation
Previous test	Operation Teapot
Next test	Project 56

Video of the test

Operation Wigwam involved a single test of the Mark 90 Betty nuclear bomb. It was conducted between Operation Teapot and Operation Redwing on May 14, 1955, about 500 miles (800 km) southwest of San Diego, California. 6,800 personnel aboard 30 ships were involved in Wigwam. The purpose of Wigwam was to determine the vulnerability of submarines to deeply detonated nuclear weapons, and to evaluate the feasibility of using such weapons in a combat situation. The task force commander, Admiral John Sylvester, was embarked on the task force flagship USS Mount McKinley (AGC-7).

The test device was suspended by a {{convert|2000|ft) cable under a barge. A six-mile tow line connected a fleet tug, the USS Tawasa, and the shot barge itself. Suspended from the tow lines of other tugs were three miniature unmanned submarines named "Squaws", each packed with cameras and telemetry instruments.

The time of detonation was 1300 hrs Pacific Time. The test was carried out without incident, and radiation effects were negligible. The device yielded 30 kilotons. Only three personnel received doses of over 0.5 rems.

The equipment intended for direct measurement of the explosion-generated underwater bubble was not operational at the time of the shot, but based on other measurements, the bubble's maximum radius was calculated as 376 feet (115 m), and its pulsation period approximately 2.83 seconds. (See Scientific Director's Report)

Wigwam Test Blast

Test name	Date Time (UT)	Location	Yield	Note
Wigwam	14 May 1955 20:00:00.0	500 miles (800 km) SW of San Diego, 28.7333°N 126.2667°W / 28.7333; -126.2667	30 kilotons	Exploded deep underwater at −610 metres (−2,000 ft); Mark 90 B7 "Betty" atomic depth charge

External links

• Operation Wigwam Test Report, DTRA (PDF)
• The short film Nuclear Test Film - Operation Wigwam (1955) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]

References

• "Probing the earth with nuclear explosions". 1961. pp. 237–258. http://www.agu.org/journals/ABS/1961/JZ066i001p00237.shtml. 
• "United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992 (Revision 15)". Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office. December 2000. http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/publications/historical/DOENV_209_REV15.pdf. Retrieved 10/26/2013. 
• "CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3)". SMDC Monitoring Research. August 2000. http://www.rdss.info/database/nucex/report/explosion.pdf. Retrieved 10/26/2013.