Operation Totem was a two shot atmospheric nuclear testing series conducted by Great Britain in Australia during the Spring of 1953. Totem was the first weapons development series conducted by Great Britain; Operation Hurricane was primarily a weapons effects test. Even before Hurricane was conducted in 1952, it was already apparent that further nuclear tests would be required to develop a reliable nuclear deterrent.[1] Though no trials were expected before 1954, several urgent questions arose following Operation Hurricane surrounding fissile material production and assessment of nuclear weapons under development at the time.
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The primary motivation for the Totem trials was to assess plutonium being produced at two new plutonium-producing power reactors (PIPPA) constructed at Calder Hall. Fissile material being produced at Calder Hall had a higher proportion of Pu-240 as opposed to the plutonium being produced at Windscale. The Calder Hall plutonium was thus subject to a greater risk of spontaneous fission, producing neutrons which could spontaneously initiate an atomic reaction. The Calder Hall plutonium would also produce a smaller yield for the same amount of Windscale plutonium.
The purpose of Totem was to test two designs, each using different isotopic levels of Pu-140; this would help in determining the ideal Pu-140 level in the fissile core while still attaining an optimum yield for the weapon design. For this reason, in December 1952, William Penney obtained ministerial approval for two nuclear tests. Since it was expected to fire the tests in October 1953, less than a year was allowed for planning and preparation for Totem, including the search for a new test site.
A new test site was needed for Operation Totem since the Royal Navy did not have the means to conduct another operation at Monte Bello at the time. Since using an American test site, either in the Pacific or at the newly established Nevada Test Site, was out of the question, as was a worldwide search for an alternate test site, it was decided to conduct Totem within the mainland of Australia. Due to the immense logistical problems posed by nuclear testing in Australia, Totem was to be a much simpler operation than Hurricane.
| Emu Field, located in the desert of South Australia at approximately 29° S 132° E, is a flat clay pan, dotted with mulga trees. The land surface of Emu Field is a compact mixture of sand and stone, with an underlying layer of fine red dust. Temperature reached 105°F during the day and dropped to low temperatures at night. Clothing was required to cover the entire body, including a bush hat and veil; bush flies were a constant nuisance.
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An Australian explorer, Len Beadell, was assigned the task of finding and surveying a location for the Totem trials. Working for the British Army Survery Corps, Beadell was commissioned by the Australian government in 1947 to build roads across the interior of Australia during the search for a weapons test site, which would become Woomera.
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The new test site was required to be be in an area roughly three hundred miles from Woomera, in a location where fallout from the tests would not interfere with missile range activities; the area needed to be five miles in diameter and clear of any topographical obstructions, such as sandhills, to permit ideal instrumentation and accessibility of the test site.
A location about 480 km north west from Woomera, in the Great Victoria Desert of South Ausralia, was chosen for the trials. Originally codenamed X200, the name of the site was changed to Emu Field. Shortly following the approval for Operation Totem, Churchill officially asked Australian Prime Minister Menzies for approval of the use of the site. Approval was given for the use of Emu Field for the Totem trials, with the UK giving full safety assurance to the Australian government. The tests also would be conducted only if Australian authorities were satisfied that the necessary weather conditions were met.
Since the tests were to be fired within the mainland of Australian, Australian authorities demanded more information regarding the actual mechanics of the test devices, including principles of implosion-compression. Australian authorities were told that the purpose of Totem was to compare efficiency of two low-yield nuclear warheads to settle 'controversial design information'.[1] Information would also be obtained by Australian authorities about radiation contamination, as several Australian Army Officers were recruited to serve in the radiation survey teams. These exercises would give Australian officials valuable military experience regarding tactical nuclear weapons and reduce the number of men needed to be sent from the United Kingdom to participate in the Totem trials.
| The Totem shots were instrumented for the collection of many types of data, including weapons effects studies on military and civilian equipment (gas masks, tanks, aircraft). Radiological safety studies were conducted by British and Australian personnel following post shot re-entry procedures. The RAAF conducted air-sampling and cloud tracking missions.
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Britain assumed all responsibility for the safety of the shots, as well as full responsibility for weapons development. Australian troops immediately began the construction work for the test site while the British had set up an interdepartmental committee called the Totem Executive (Totex). Instructor Commander Westwater RN was made responsible for weather forecasting with Australia providing major meteorological support in personnel and equipment. The RAAF was once again requested for cloud sampling missions. Australia also provided ground infra-structure, aircraft, ground support and air crews, trial coordination, and performance of day-to-day operations such as the issue of protective clothing, monitoring and decontamination of re-entry teams.
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Since it was considered that there was negligible risk of aircraft becoming contaminated, RAAF air and ground crews were not included in the operational orders that required that radiological safety regulations be followed; no personal monitoring devices were issued to personnel.[3]
The isolation of Emu Field forced the majority of the transportation of supplies and equipment to be handled by British and Australian Air Forces. An all-weather airstrip was constructed at the site for this purpose, since only supplies which were not able to be airlifted were taken by road to Emu Field. 2,500 tons of supplies and equipment was airlifted to Emu Field; only 500 tons was transported over land. Trailers were originally supposed to be towed to the site to serve as shelters for the personnel as well as laboratories. However, due to the logistical problems posed by the isolation of the site, the village at Emu would be comprised of Nissen huts.
The nearest inhabited area was about 110 miles from Emu Field, however a region some 50 miles to the north was used by Aboriginals for hunting. An Australian official and nine Commonwealth government officers had been appointed by Australian authorities to handle native affairs and ensure the safety of Aboriginals.
The firing station for the shots consisted of several clocks, three buttons, some cathode ray tubes, and a board covered with lights, and a row of key holes ending with a large black master key. These key slots were for 'personal keys' which would be kept in possession of the men whos last jobs involved final weapons checks and device arming on the shot tower; these were the last men to leave the shot area before the test. The three clocks were divided separately, one read four minutes, the other one minute, and other read seconds.
| A Centurion tank, with a simulated crew, was used for weapons effects studies. The tank was provided by the Australian Army and was placed at about 250 yards from ground zero. At T-2 hours the hatch would be left closed and the engines of the tank left running with the brakes off. The simulated crew was represented by dummies, each equipped with two film badges. Following the explosion, the tank was discovered to be only lightly damaged but the crew would have received a lethal radiation dose, enough to cause death within a day.
The Air Ministry conducted an experiment code named Hot Box. This involved a Canberra aircraft flying into the atomic mushroom cloud within a few minutes of detonation. The purpose of this experiment was to investigate aircrew safety as well as behavior of the aircraft and contamination. This was the first such experiment of its kind ever conducted and provided valuable data for both the RAF and US Air Force. - Please click on an image thumbnail for a larger Version
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Despite the relative simplicity of shot operations for Totem, the areas surrounding the ground zeros of the tests were heavily instrumented. To save time and effort, much of the equipment used for Hurricane was recycled for Totem. Thousands of tooth paste tubes (minus the toothpaste) were provided by a firm in England for the tests. These tubes were placed in slotted baffle plates in groups directed at the bomb; the blast would destroy the nearer ones, flatten those further out, and only slightly dent the extreme ones. Much field work was involved in the construction of calorimeter poles. These instruments were designed to record the intensity of heat generated by the explosions at varying distances from ground zero.
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Cameras capable of recording five thousand frames per second filmed the early stages of the explosions. Due to the length of the film used for these cameras, they only operated for less than one second. This required a precision timing device which would electronically trigger the camera to begin photographing just prior to the initial burst of energy.
Several camera towers were constructed to film the explosions from different angles. These towers included Nissen hut bases with dark rooms for handling of film. Each tower contained dozens of cameras, and were designed to give a three-way intersecting view of the explosion. The cameras were controlled by a single switch on the firing control desk to start filming automatically. Many miles of cable were used for the connection of the camera towers to the firing station; some cables had to be buried under access roads while others were unrolled alongside bulldozed roads.[2]
Several pieces of battleship superstructure, supplied by the Royal Navy, were exposed to the tests. Army units supplied ammunition and high explosives to be placed a strategic points from the shot tower to study their response to the effects of atomic detonations. Catering units provided cases of tinned rations to have tested following the explosions. Six Mustang fighters from the New South Wales depot were also exposed to the tests for Air Force studies.
Emu Field Map
This map shows the location of Emu Field in relation to the Australian continent and other atomic test sites. |
