France's First Atomic Explosion
New Your: Ambassade de France, Service de Presse et D'Information [Embassy of France, Press and Information Service], 1960. Presumed First Edition, First printing thus. Staplebound. 4 and 34, [2] pages. Illustrations. Some page discoloration. Some ink notations (marks to cover page, names and affiliations and comments on page 34. This is a four page press release announcing the first French atomic explosive test. Attached is an English Translation of the French "White Paper" (Advance Edition). This is a 38 page document of which 34 pages are numbered and the front and back sheets are not. The last sheet has a chart of the Organization of Research and Development, Manufacture and testing of Nuclear Weapons. Page 34 is a list of the French Defense Ministers from June 1953 to June 1958 to which in ink additions have been made bringing the list up to circa 1960. The Press Release addresses: Why?, How?, Where? The White Paper has a Summary, Preamble, Historical Survey, The Role and Action of the CEA, The Role and Action of the Ministre des Armees, and Cost. Gerboise Bleue ("blue jerboa") was the name of the first French nuclear test. It was an atomic bomb detonated near Reggane, in the middle of the Algerian Sahara desert on 13 February 1960, during the Algerian War (1954–62). General Pierre Marie Gallois was instrumental in the endeavor, and earned the nickname of père de la bombe A ("father of the A-bomb").
On February 13, 1960 at 6:04 AM (GMT), the plutonium filled Gerboise Bleue was detonated atop a steel tower with an altitude of 100m. The command post was located 16 kilometers away from the blast. In order to study the immediate effects, military equipment was placed at varying distances from the epicenter, while jets flew overhead to take samples of radioactive particles. No journalists were allowed on site; instead, an eyewitness account was given to the French press, saying “the desert was lit up by a vast flash, followed 45 seconds later by an appreciable shock-wave; an “enormous ball of bluish fire with an orange-red centre” gave way to the typical “mushroom” cloud”
With Gerboise Bleue, France became the fourth nuclear power, after the United States, the USSR, and the United Kingdom. Prior to this test, there had been no nuclear detonations for 15 months. Gerboise Bleue was by far the largest first test bomb up to that date, larger than the American "Trinity" (20 kt), the Soviet "RDS-1" (22 kt), or the British "Hurricane" (25 kt). The yield was 70 kilotons, bigger than these three bombs put together.
In comparison, Fat Man, the Nagasaki bomb, was 22 kilotons, one-third as powerful.
As the atomic yield of a new bomb design cannot be precisely predicted, the French army planned an explosion between 60 and 70 kt. Gerboise Bleue was a total success, yielding the full designed power. However, because of the bomb’s irregularly high yield, some experts believe that the bomb may have been "overfilled with plutonium to assure success".
Only two other A-bombs tested in the Sahara facilities were more powerful: "Rubis" (<100 kt, 20 October 1963), and "Saphir" (<150 kt, 25 February 1965). Both were detonated underground at the In Ekker facilities. Condition: Fair.
Keywords: Atomic Bomb, Atomic Test, Atomic Explosion, Nuclear Weapon, Nuclear Test, France, CEA, Reggan, Algeria, Plutonium, Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique
[Book #79468]
Price: $125.00