Operation Redwing was one of the major series of atmospheric tests of nuclear and
thermonuclear weapons conducted by the
United States of America in the 1950s, before the first major
atmospheric test ban treaty was signed between the U.S. and the
Soviet Union. Thirteen different atmospheric test series were conducted before
Redwing, including the '
Trinity' test at
Alamogordo, NM in 1945. Redwing was carried out in the
Marshall Islands, in the area around the
Bikini and
Enewetak atolls.
From May to July of 1956, there were seventeen seperate 'shots' (nuclear device tests) in Operation Redwing, the most numerous of any US tests at the time.
Operation Redwing was conducted under an 'energy budget'. A previous test series, Operation Castle had exceeded the expected energy release by almost 100% (26 megatons expected, 48.2 megatons actual). This massive amount of unexpected energy led to a number of immediate radiation related injuries and at least one death (note: The lingering effects of the radioactive fallout are possibly responsible for many more radiation injuries since the Castle tests). Of the 48.2 megatons released in Operation Castle, 30.5 megatons was fallout-producing fission energy, making Castle and extremely 'dirty' series. Redwing was conducted under the energy budget to prevent another nuclear incident.
Some highlights of Operation Redwing
Cherokee: The first 'air drop' (by way of B-52 Stratofortress), with a 4350 foot (error 150 feet) detonation. Was the first U.S. air drop of a thermonuclear H-bomb. Used for politics, to demonstrate U.S. ability to drop high yield nuclear weapons on the Soviet Union. Bomber crew dropped bomb 4 miles off target, and nearly all data was lost.
Dakota: The Dakota test was one of the most spectacular tests ever recorded (visually speaking). The Dakota fireball is famous, for the way it ominously creeps up out of the clouds, throwing a sick red light on them. The Dakota weapon was extremely successful (with a yield several hundred kilotons greater than expected), and was soon put into production as the W-28 nuclear weapon. The W-28 remained one of the most common U.S. nuclear weapons, and was in service up until 1990, with the last one being dismantled in September of 1991.
Navajo: The Navajo weapon was very successful. It had a very high yield, and had an extremely high percentage of fusion energy release (95%). Fusion energy does not produce radioactive fallout, making Navajo the cleanest nuclear test by the United States period (It's all relative, however. Navajo may have been the cleanest percentage wise, but the total fission energy of Navajo was 225 kilotons, approximately ten Hiroshima weapons).
Tewa: The Redwing tests may have had the cleanest thermonuclear device, but it also had the 'dirtiest'. The Tewa weapon produced 5 megatons of energy, 87% of which was fission, the highest fission percentage in a US thermonuclear device ever (however, the Bravo shot of Operation Castle produced more fallout than the entirety of Operation Redwing, so again, it's all relative). The Tewa device was developed into the Mk-41, the highest yield nuclear weapon ever fielded by the United States (25 megatons).
Redwing Original Schedule (as of 25 January 1956)
Shot Name Date Location Test Method
Lacrosse May 1 Eniwetok (off Runit) Barge
Cherokee May 1 Bikini (Namu) Air Drop, 5000 Ft burst height
Zuni May 15 Bikini (Eninman) Ground
Erie May 23 Eniwetok (Runit) 300 Ft tower burst
Seminole May 28 Eniwetok (Bogon) Ground
Yuma June 1 Eniwetok (Aomon) 200 Ft tower
Flathead June 2 Bikini (Yurochi) Barge
Blackfoot June 7 Eniwetok (Runit) 200 Ft tower
Inca June 8 Eniwetok (Rujoru) 200 Ft tower
Huron June 12 Bikini (Yurochi) Barge
Osage June 14 Eniwetok (Runit) Air drop, 700 Ft burst height
Kickapoo June 18 Eniwetok (Aomon) 300 Ft tower
Navajo June 18 Bikini (Yurochi) Barge
Mohawk July 1 Eniwetok (Eberiru) 300 Ft tower
Apache July 1 Bikini (Yurochi) Barge
Tewa July 7 Bikini (Yurochi) Barge
Redwing Actual Results
Shot Name Time* Date Yield - Actual (Predicted)
Lacrosse 18:25 4 May 40 kt (25-50 kt)
Cherokee 17:51 20 May 3.8 Mt
Zuni 17:56 27 May 3.5 Mt (2-3 Mt)
Yuma 19:56 27 May 0.19 kt
Erie 18:15 30 May 14.9 kt
Seminole 00:55 6 June 13.7 kt (10 kt)
Flathead 18:26 11 June 365 kt
Blackfoot 18:26 11 June 8 kt
Kickapoo 23:26 13 June 1.49 kt
Osage 01:14 16 June 1.7 kt
Inca 21:26 21 June 15.2 kt (10-15 kt)
Dakota 18:06 25 June 1.1 Mt (800 kt)
Mohawk 18:06 2 July 360 kt
Apache 18:06 8 July 1.85 Mt
Navajo 17:56 10 July 4.5 Mt
Tewa 17:46 20 July 5 Mt (6-8 Mt)
Huron 18:12 21 July 250 kt
*Times are Greenwich Mean Time