Operation Upshot-Knothole: Activities of the Artillery Test Unit.
Abstract
As directed by higher authority, the Commanding General, Artillery Center, was charged with the mission of detonating a T-124 (Mark 9) projectile at the time and place designated by the Test Director at the Nevada Proving Grounds (NPG). The Artillery Test Unit (ATU) was organized at Ft. Sill, Okla., and there it conducted preliminary firing during March and April of 1953. The ATU was stationed at Camp Desert Rock on 6 May 1953, under the following arrangement: The ATU for the Nevada phase of the test performed its tasks on a mission basis as requested by the Chief, Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP), but it remained under command of its own service. The ATU was supported administratively and logistically by the Commanding General, Camp Desert Rock. Further preliminary firing was conducted at NPG on 15 May 1953, and a dress rehearsal was fired on 22 May 1953. At 0830 on 25 May 1953 the T-124 (Mark 9) was successfully delivered and detonated over Frenchman Flat, with a calculated error from the predicted point (500 ft above Ground Zero) as follows: height, +8 yd; range, -54 yd; and deflection, 15 yd left. This error was well within the limits prescribed by the Test Director--namely, to ensure a 90 per cent probability of not exceeding a height-of-burst error of +/-100 ft.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1953
- Accession Number
- ADA304517
Entities
People
- Devere Armstrong
Organizations
- United States Department of Energy