Operation Sailor Hat
1965 explosives test in Kahoolawe, Hawaii / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Operation Sailor Hat was a series of explosives effects tests, conducted by the United States Navy Bureau of Ships under the sponsorship of the Defense Atomic Support Agency.[1] The tests consisted of two underwater explosions at San Clemente Island, California in 1964[2] and three surface explosions at Kahoʻolawe, Hawaii in 1965. They were non-nuclear tests employing large quantities of conventional explosives (TNT and HBX) to determine the effects of a nuclear weapon blast on naval vessels, and the first major test of this kind since Operation Crossroads in July 1946.
Operation Sailor Hat | |
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Information | |
Country | United States |
Test site |
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Coordinates | 20°30′15″N 156°40′44″W |
Date | November 12, 1964 – June 19, 1965 |
Number of tests | 5 |
Agency | Bureau of Ships, DASA |
Explosive | TNT, HBX |
Configuration |
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Max. yield | 0.5 kilotons of TNT (2.1 TJ) |
Test chronology | |
Each "Sailor Hat" test at Kahoʻolawe consisted of a dome-stacked 500-short-ton (454 t) charge of TNT high explosive detonated on the shore close to the ships under test. Since a TNT detonation releases energy more slowly than a nuclear explosion, the blast effect at close range was designed to be equivalent to a 1 kiloton of TNT (4.2 TJ) nuclear weapon at greater distance.[3] The main ship used for testing was the former Cleveland-class light cruiser USS Atlanta. In addition, the guided-missile frigates USS England and USS Dale, the guided-missile destroyers USS Cochrane, USS Benjamin Stoddert, and USS Towers, and the Royal Canadian Navy's escort destroyer HMCS Fraser all participated in the trial.[4] These were a mixture of the obsolete, Atlanta being built during WWII, and the recently constructed Cochrane. The highly complex operation yielded data useful for determining and improving blast resistance of naval ships.