Christmas Island Pacific Nuclear Tests

We are the largest and fastest growing community of uk forces veterans on the web with over 500 000 members.

Christmas island pacific nuclear tests. Thomas harmsworth publishing 1987. An account of the planning and execution of the british thermo nuclear bomb tests 1957. The uk s atmospheric nuclear test programme experimented on weapons not personnel. In 1957 the british military began conducting nuclear tests in the pacific ocean and based themselves on christmas island.

The british nuclear weapon tests on kiritimati or christmas island had profound and lasting cultural consequences for both atomic veterans and local islanders. Forgotten victims of britain s nuclear tests on christmas island. Operation grapple was a set of four british nuclear weapons test series of early atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs carried out in 1957 and 1958 at malden island and kiritimati christmas island in the gilbert and ellice islands in the pacific ocean modern kiribati as part of the british hydrogen bomb programme nine nuclear explosions were initiated culminating in the united kingdom becoming. No compensation for british servicemen exposed to nuclear explosions around australia and the pacific in the 1950s and 60s.

Members who served with christmas island british nuclear tests. The first such test took place high in the air over the central pacific. The nuclear age in the pacific islands the contemporary pacific 17 no. The weapons were the focus of the operations in the south pacific.

1962 christmas island johnston island central pacific last changed 3 january 2005 the soviet union had abrogated the 34 month old de facto nuclear testing moratorium on 1 september 1961 by initiating an unprecedented series of atmospheric nuclear tests. Many thousands of service personnel deployed to the south pacific including christmas island from 1956 to 1961 were in support of testing the uk s first thermo nuclear weapon system. The tests ended six years later and parts of the island were sealed off. Christmas island an isolated coral atoll in the pacific was chosen for britain s first hydrogen bomb tests.

In may last year when the device was dropped from a valiant four engined jet bomber.