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Operation Redwing was a United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 series of 17 nuclear test detonations from May to July 1956. They were conducted at Bikini
Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is an atoll in one of the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Marshall Islands. It consists of 36 islands surrounding a lagoon....
 and Eniwetok
Enewetak

File:Enewetak or Eniwetok atoll.jpgEnewetak is an atoll in the Marshall Islands of the central Pacific Ocean. Its land consists of about 40 small islets totaling less than 6 km?, surrounding a lagoon, 80 km in circumference....
 atolls. The entire operation followed Operation Wigwam
Operation Wigwam

File:Operation Wigwam test.oggOperation Wigwam involved a single test of the Mark 90 Betty nuclear bomb. It was conducted between Operation Teapot and Operation Redwing on May 14 1955, about 500 miles southwest of San Diego, California....
 and preceded Operation Plumbbob
Operation Plumbbob

Operation Plumbbob was a series of Nuclear testing conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site, following Operation Redwing, and preceding Operation Hardtack....
. The primary intention was to test new, second-generation thermonuclear devices. Fission devices intended to be used as primaries for thermonuclear weapons, and small tactical weapons for air defense were also tested.






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Operation Redwing was a United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 series of 17 nuclear test detonations from May to July 1956. They were conducted at Bikini
Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is an atoll in one of the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Marshall Islands. It consists of 36 islands surrounding a lagoon....
 and Eniwetok
Enewetak

File:Enewetak or Eniwetok atoll.jpgEnewetak is an atoll in the Marshall Islands of the central Pacific Ocean. Its land consists of about 40 small islets totaling less than 6 km?, surrounding a lagoon, 80 km in circumference....
 atolls. The entire operation followed Operation Wigwam
Operation Wigwam

File:Operation Wigwam test.oggOperation Wigwam involved a single test of the Mark 90 Betty nuclear bomb. It was conducted between Operation Teapot and Operation Redwing on May 14 1955, about 500 miles southwest of San Diego, California....
 and preceded Operation Plumbbob
Operation Plumbbob

Operation Plumbbob was a series of Nuclear testing conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site, following Operation Redwing, and preceding Operation Hardtack....
. The primary intention was to test new, second-generation thermonuclear devices. Fission devices intended to be used as primaries for thermonuclear weapons, and small tactical weapons for air defense were also tested. Redwing is notable for having demonstrated the first airdrop of a deliverable hydrogen bomb - test "Cherokee". Because the yields for many tests at Operation Castle in 1954 were dramatically higher than predictions, Redwing was conducted using an "energy budget" - there were limits to the total amount of energy released, and the amount of fission yield was also strictly controlled. Fission, primarily "fast" fission of the natural uranium tamper surrounding the fusion capsule, greatly increases the yield of thermonuclear devices, and contributes the vast majority of the fallout - fusion being a relatively clean reaction.

The following tests all took place in 1956. The dates are in local time, followed by the yield.

Redwing Tests
Test Name Date Location Yield Note
Lacrosse 4 May 1956 Enewetak Atoll 40 kilotons
Cherokee 20 May 1956 Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is an atoll in one of the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Marshall Islands. It consists of 36 islands surrounding a lagoon....
 3.8 megatons first airdrop of a thermonuclear bomb, specifically (Mark 15 nuclear bomb
Mark 15 nuclear bomb

The Mark 15 nuclear bomb was a 1950s American thermonuclear bomb, the first relatively lightweight thermonuclear bomb created by the United States....
)
Zuni 27 May 1956 Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is an atoll in one of the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Marshall Islands. It consists of 36 islands surrounding a lagoon....
 3.5 megatons first test of three-stage thermonuclear design
Yuma 27 May 1956 Enewetak
Enewetak

File:Enewetak or Eniwetok atoll.jpgEnewetak is an atoll in the Marshall Islands of the central Pacific Ocean. Its land consists of about 40 small islets totaling less than 6 km?, surrounding a lagoon, 80 km in circumference....
 190 tons a fizzle, but the device weighed only 96 pounds
Erie 30 May 1956 Enewetak Atoll 14.9 kilotons  
Seminole June 6 1956 Enewetak Atoll 13.7 kilotons exploded in a tank of water
Flathead June 11 1956 Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is an atoll in one of the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Marshall Islands. It consists of 36 islands surrounding a lagoon....
 365 kilotons intended to be particularly "dirty" - a high-fallout weapon
Blackfoot June 11 1956 Enewetak Atoll 8 kilotons  
Kickapoo June 13 1956 Enewetak Atoll 1.49 kilotons  
Osage June 16 1956 Enewetak Atoll 1.7 kilotons  
Inca June 21 1956 Enewetak Atoll 15.2 kilotons  
Dakota June 25 1956 Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is an atoll in one of the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Marshall Islands. It consists of 36 islands surrounding a lagoon....
 1.1 megatons  
Mohawk July 2 1956 Enewetak Atoll 360 kilotons  
Apache July 8 1956 Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is an atoll in one of the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Marshall Islands. It consists of 36 islands surrounding a lagoon....
 1.85 megatons  
Navajo July 10 1956 Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is an atoll in one of the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Marshall Islands. It consists of 36 islands surrounding a lagoon....
 4.5 megatons 95% fusion, the cleanest known US shot
Tewa July 20 1956 Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll is an atoll in one of the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Marshall Islands. It consists of 36 islands surrounding a lagoon....
 5 megatons dirty (87% fission, the highest percentage in any known US thermonuclear test)
Huron July 21 1956 Enewetak Atoll 250 kilotons  


All shots were named after various US Native American
Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States United States, including parts of Alaska and the island state of Hawaii....
 tribes.