Operation Grapple 300 kiloton H bomb test 1

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Operation Grapple 300 kiloton H bomb test 1
Operation Grapple 300 kiloton H bomb test 1

In 1957, Great Britain conducted a series of nuclear weapons tests at Christmas Island, in the mid-Pacific, code-named Operation Grapple.. Lt Cdr Julian Howard was assigned to HMNZS Roititi, a light ASW Frigate of the New Zealand Navy, which was to be one of two "weather ships" along with HMNZS Pukaki.

He took with him his camera and the following set showcases for the first time in public, aspects of Operation Grapple, the first British Megaton bomb test on 15th May 1957. The bomb was a failure, only yielding around 300 kilotons of force instead of the predicted 1.2 megatons and it was to be another 7 months before Britain's nuclear weapons scientists succeeded in obtaining a yield greater than 1 megaton - in Operation Grapple X.

However, with the Cold War at it's height, this earlier test was heralded as a great success at the time, as evidenced by the copy of Mid Pacific News - a hastily produced newssheet printed on a duplicating machine and circulated amongst all the Forces personnel stationed on Malden Island and it's vicinity.

We also see here a copy of the official Danger Zone Notice, which was air-dropped from Avro Shackletons on to any civilian ships which might inadvertently steam into the test area. Also shown here is a letter from Lt Cdr Howard to his Wife, who was staying in New Zealand at the time, carrying a full set of Gilbert & Ellice Islands stamps on a commemorative H bomb envelope!

Lt Cdr Howard's Certificate of attendance is a jokey affair knocked together on board by the look of it, but his photographs of the woefully inadequate protection, in the form of white cotton "anti-flash" clothes and dark goggles, afforded to the crew members are telling.

More than 50% of those present were to die from radiation-related cancers before reaching their 60th birthday. Many were present for the entire series of tests, culminating in the Grapple X explosion with a 1.2 megaton yield and never-before seen levels of harmful gamma radiation, which caused untold damage to the men present; a fact only admitted by the British Government in this century - after most of those affected had already died.

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Taken on: September 20, 2020
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Sets appears in:   • Operation Grapple Pacific nuclear tests 1957    • Lt Cdr J Howard's Naval pictures   
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