1972 - French Atmospheric Nuclear Testing Series

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The objective of the 1972 series was to test the primary trigger for the TN-60 warhead. Only three nuclear tests were fired during this series, all had low yields. The last shot, Ariel (July 31, 1972), was a safety test conducted on the surface at Mururoa Atoll.

The Tests

Code Name: Umbriel
Time and Date: June 25, 1972 (GMT)
Location: Denise Sector, Mururoa Atoll
Height: 736 feet
Type: Air Burst - Balloon
Predicted Yield: ???
Actual Yield: 0.5 kilotons

Three aircraft conducted cloud sampling missions.

Code Name: Titania
Time and Date: June 30, 1972 (GMT)
Location: Dindon Sector, Mururoa Atoll
Height: 704 feet
Type: Air Burst - Balloon
Predicted Yield: ???
Actual Yield: 4 kilotons

Mushroom cloud rose to an altitude of 18,560 feet.

Code Name: Oberon
Time and Date: July 29, 1972 (GMT)
Location: Dindon Sector, Mururoa Atoll
Height: 704 feet
Type: Air Burst - Balloon
Predicted Yield: ???
Actual Yield: 6 kilotons

Mushroom cloud rose to an altitude of 12,080 feet. Three aircraft conducted cloud sampling missions.


Principle References and Notes

1. Poisoned Pacific: The legacy of French nuclear testing, By Bengt Danielsson, March 1990 pp. 22-31 (vol. 46, no. 02), 1990 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

2. French Nuclear Testing, 1960-1988, Burrows, Andrew S., Norris, Robert S., Arkin, William M., Cochran, Thomas B., Rebruary 1989, NRDC

3. LES 41 ESSAIS NUCLÉAIRES AÉRIENS • Mission du délégué à la sûreté nucléaire et à la radioprotection pour les activités et installations intéressant la défense (DSND), May 2006

4. Histoire des Essais Nucléaires Français : Du Désert de la Soif à l'île du Grand Secret., Yves et Ada Rémy, ECPA, 3 July 1998

5. Mushroom over Mururoa, TIME magazine, 15 July 1966

6. LA DIMENSION RADIOLOGIQUE DES ESSAIS NUCLÉAIRES FRANÇAIS EN POLYNÉSIE - À l’épreuve des faits, Ministére De La Défense

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