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Nuclear Test Film - Operation Wigwam
30 kt · May 14, 1955 · Pacific Ocean · 2 Hiroshimas
Operation Wigwam (14 May 1955) was a single 30-kiloton shot detonated 2,000 feet underwater, 500 miles off the California coast — the only deep-water nuclear test ever conducted by the United States. It studied the effects of a nuclear depth charge on submarines, three of which were tethered at distance as scale-model targets.
Aftermath
Wigwam's spray dome rose over a mile wide. Crews aboard the support ships were exposed to contaminated water, and like the atomic veterans of the desert tests, spent decades fighting for recognition of their illnesses.