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General Discussion => Historical Spaceflight => Topic started by: Hoonte on 12/04/2017 10:31 am

Title: Full up ballistic missile question
Post by: Hoonte on 12/04/2017 10:31 am
Hi
Anyone knows what the first (if there was any) full ballistic missile test was with an active nuclear device that detonated on or near the earth's surface?
Title: Re: Full up ballistic missile question
Post by: GClark on 12/04/2017 10:44 am
Dominic Frigate Bird - 6 May, 1962.
Title: Re: Full up ballistic missile question
Post by: Arch Admiral on 12/04/2017 10:27 pm
Frigate Bird was the first and only American full-up nuclear missile test, but the Soviets were way ahead with

Joe 8
14 September 1954
Troitsk Maneuver Area
52-38-32N  52-48-33E
R-5A missile, ~40kt warhead

Look at this site on Google Earth and you can still see the trenches where the unfortunate Red Army conscripts were forced to serve as guinea pigs. For some reason the trees haven't grown back...
Title: Re: Full up ballistic missile question
Post by: Jim on 12/05/2017 12:10 am
Dominic Frigate Bird - 6 May, 1962.


That was an SLBM
Title: Re: Full up ballistic missile question
Post by: Jim on 12/05/2017 12:16 am
Frigate Bird was the first and only American full-up nuclear missile test, but the Soviets were way ahead with
.

not true.

Operation Fishbowl
Title: Re: Full up ballistic missile question
Post by: GClark on 12/05/2017 05:15 pm
The original post was asking about full tests with bursts "...on or near the earth's surface."

This would exclude the Hardtack and Fishbowl tests, which were (as all here know) mid-to-high altitude air bursts.





Edited:  To clarify.
Title: Re: Full up ballistic missile question
Post by: Hoonte on 12/06/2017 07:29 am
The original post was asking about full tests with bursts "...on or near the earth's surface."

This would exclude the Hardtack and Fishbowl tests, which were (as all here know) mid-to-high altitude air bursts.





Edited:  To clarify.


Yes.. indeed surface or near surface.
So there has been only 1 test ever of this. Makes you wonder if that system would operate in a real war situation (not the lab enviroment the first test was done)

I hope it will never be used!



Where/was there any Soviet test(s) like this?
Title: Re: Full up ballistic missile question
Post by: plutogno on 12/06/2017 08:35 am
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_weapons_tests#Tests_of_live_warheads_on_rockets