Operation PLUMBBOB: Secondary Missiles Generated by Nuclear-Produced Blast Waves

The generation of secondary missiles by blast waves was investigated in Operation Plumb-bob for three nuclear detonations with estimated yields of 11, 38, and 44.5 kt. A trapping technique was used to determine the impact velocities for 17,524 missiles stones, glass fragments, spheres, and military debris or steel fragments which occurred in open areas, houses, and an underground shelter with an open entryway. The equivalent ideal-wave peak overpressures computed from measured blast data for the open-area stations varied from 3.8 to 21 psi. Two houses and an underground shelter were located where the overpressures were 3.8 and 65 psi, respectively. The effect of hill-and-dale terrain on the production of missiles was investigated on one of the shots. Precursor effects were noted on two of the shots at stations near Ground Zero GZ. Missile velocities measured at all stations except the underground shelter were compared with those computed by use of a model based on an ideal blast wave. An analytical procedure was presented by which translational velocities of man can be estimated using the measured velocities of spheres and stones. Total distances of displacement were measured for 145 stones that weighed up to 20 kg and for 1528 fragments from a concrete-block wall.