Operation Praetorian

The United States's Praetorian nuclear test series[1] was a group of 19 nuclear tests conducted in 1981-1982. These tests [note 1] followed the Operation Guardian series and preceded the Operation Phalanx series.

Praetorian
Information
CountryUnited States
Test siteNTS Area 12, Rainier Mesa; NTS Area 19, 20, Pahute Mesa; NTS, Areas 1-4, 6-10, Yucca Flat
Period1981-1982
Number of tests19
Test typeunderground shaft, tunnel
Max. yield140 kilotonnes of TNT (590 TJ)
Test series chronology

List of the nuclear tests
United States' Praetorian 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
Paliza October 1, 1981 19:00:00.1 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U7bd 37.08156°N 116.00962°W / 37.08156; -116.00962 (Paliza) 1,260 m (4,130 ft) - 472.1 m (1,549 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 38 kt [1][3][4][5][6]
Tilci November 11, 1981 20:00:09.086 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U4ak 37.07627°N 116.06936°W / 37.07627; -116.06936 (Tilci) 1,232 m (4,042 ft) - 445 m (1,460 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 29 kt Venting detected [1][3][5][6][7]
Akavi December 3, 1981 15:00:00.098 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U2es 37.14838°N 116.07171°W / 37.14838; -116.07171 (Akavi) 1,293 m (4,242 ft) - 494 m (1,621 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 20 kt Venting detected [1][3][5][6][7]
Caboc December 16, 1981 21:05:00.09 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U2cp 37.11447°N 116.12365°W / 37.11447; -116.12365 (Caboc) 1,348 m (4,423 ft) - 335 m (1,099 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 5 kt Venting detected, 0.3 Ci (11 GBq) [1][5][6][7][8]
Jornada January 28, 1982 16:00:00.104 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U4j 37.09129°N 116.0521°W / 37.09129; -116.0521 (Jornada) 1,233 m (4,045 ft) - 638.9 m (2,096 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 139 kt [1][3][4][5][6]
Molbo February 12, 1982 14:55:00.083 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U20ag 37.22428°N 116.46354°W / 37.22428; -116.46354 (Molbo) 1,873 m (6,145 ft) - 638 m (2,093 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 80 kt I-131 venting detected, 0 [1][5][6][7][8]
Hosta February 12, 1982 15:25:00.09 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U19ak 37.34792°N 116.31698°W / 37.34792; -116.31698 (Hosta) 2,076 m (6,811 ft) - 639.5 m (2,098 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 140 kt [1][5][6]
Tenaja April 17, 1982 18:00:00.088 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U3lh 37.01676°N 116.01063°W / 37.01676; -116.01063 (Tenaja) 1,177 m (3,862 ft) - 356.3 m (1,169 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 6 kt [1][5][6]
Kryddost May 6, 1982 20:00:00.083 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U2co 37.11662°N 116.12821°W / 37.11662; -116.12821 (Kryddost) 1,363 m (4,472 ft) - 335 m (1,099 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 3.5 kt [1][5][6]
Bouschet May 7, 1982 18:17:00.11 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U3la 37.069°N 116.04666°W / 37.069; -116.04666 (Bouschet) 1,217 m (3,993 ft) - 563.9 m (1,850 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 99 kt Venting detected, less than 1 Ci (37 GBq) [1][3][5][6][7]
Kesti June 16, 1982 14:00:00.085 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U9cn 37.11418°N 116.01745°W / 37.11418; -116.01745 (Kesti) 1,312 m (4,304 ft) - 289 m (948 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 less than 20 kt [1][5][6]
Nebbiolo June 24, 1982 14:15:00.09 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U19ae 37.23616°N 116.37106°W / 37.23616; -116.37106 (Nebbiolo) 2,038 m (6,686 ft) - 639.5 m (2,098 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 140 kt [1][5][6]
Monterey July 29, 1982 20:05:00.083 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U4aj 37.10234°N 116.07561°W / 37.10234; -116.07561 (Monterey) 1,253 m (4,111 ft) - 400 m (1,300 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 20 kt Venting detected, 0.1 Ci (3.7 GBq) [1][3][5][6][7][8]
Atrisco August 5, 1982 14:00:00.09 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U7bp 37.08458°N 116.00705°W / 37.08458; -116.00705 (Atrisco) 1,268 m (4,160 ft) - 639.78 m (2,099.0 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 138 kt [1][3][4][5][6]
Queso August 11, 1982 15:00:00.0 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U10bf 37.18974°N 116.04855°W / 37.18974; -116.04855 (Queso) 1,310 m (4,300 ft) - 216 m (709 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 less than 20 kt [1][5][6]
Cerro September 2, 1982 14:00:00.085 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U3lf 37.0197°N 116.0164°W / 37.0197; -116.0164 (Cerro) 1,184 m (3,885 ft) - 228.6 m (750 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 less than 20 kt [1][5][6]
Diamond Ace - 2 (with Huron Landing) September 23, 1982 16:00:00.091 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U12n.15 37.21197°N 116.20764°W / 37.21197; -116.20764 (Diamond Ace - 2) 1,824 m (5,984 ft) - 407.26 m (1,336.2 ft) tunnel,
weapon effect		 less than 20 kt Venting detected [1][5][6][7] Simultaneous.
Huron Landing - 1 (with Diamond Ace) September 23, 1982 16:00:00.09 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U12n.15 37.21197°N 116.20765°W / 37.21197; -116.20765 (Huron Landing - 1) 1,824 m (5,984 ft) - 408 m (1,339 ft) tunnel,
weapon effect		 20 kt Venting detected, 280 Ci (10,000 GBq) [1][5][6][7][8] Simultaneous.
Frisco September 23, 1982 17:00:00.085 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U8m 37.1747°N 116.08867°W / 37.1747; -116.08867 (Frisco) 1,347 m (4,419 ft) - 451 m (1,480 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 20 kt Venting detected, 2 Ci (74 GBq) [1][5][6][7][8]
Borrego September 29, 1982 13:30:00.096 PST (-8 hrs)
NTS Area U7br 37.09123°N 116.04546°W / 37.09123; -116.04546 (Borrego) 1,234 m (4,049 ft) - 563.3 m (1,848 ft) underground shaft,
weapons development		 1 kt [1][3][5][6]
  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. Archived from the original on April 26, 2014. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  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. Historical time zone data obtained from the IANA time zone database.
  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.
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References
  1. Yang, Xiaoping; North, Robert; Romney, Carl (August 2000), CMR Nuclear Explosion Database (Revision 3), SMDC Monitoring Research
  2. "Time Zone Historical Database". iana.com. Retrieved March 8, 2014.
  3. Hechanova, Anthony E.; O'Donnell, James E. (September 25, 1998), Estimates of yield for nuclear tests impacting the groundwater at the Nevada Test Site, Nuclear Science and Technology Division
  4. Operation Argus, 1958 (DNA6039F), Washington, DC: Defense Nuclear Agency, Department of Defense, retrieved November 26, 2013
  5. Official list of underground nuclear explosions, Sandia National Laboratories, July 1, 1994, retrieved December 18, 2013
  6. United States Nuclear Tests: July 1945 through September 1992 (PDF) (DOE/NV-209 REV15), Las Vegas, NV: Department of Energy, Nevada Operations Office, December 1, 2000, archived from the original (PDF) on October 12, 2006, retrieved December 18, 2013
  7. Radiological Effluents Released from U.S. Continental Tests 1961 Through 1992 (DOE/NV-317 Rev. 1) (PDF), DOE Nevada Operations Office, August 1996, archived from the original (PDF) on November 3, 2013, retrieved October 31, 2013
  8. 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 January 5, 2014
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