French ‘Canopus’ nuclear weapons test at Fangataufa atoll; August 24, 1968

On 24 August 1968, France conducted the ‘Canopus’ nuclear test, the country’s first multi-stage thermonuclear test, at Fangataufa atoll in the South Pacific Ocean. It was the fifth nation after the United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom and China to cross the thermonuclear threshold.

‘Canopus’ was also France’s highest yielding test. With a 2.6 megaton yield, its explosive power was 200 times that of the Hiroshima bomb. The device weighed three tons and was suspended from a balloon at 520 meters. The fallout caused by this test contaminated large parts of Fangataufa atoll, leaving it off-limits for humans for six years, also affecting neighboring atolls.

(Source)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8X4qDol4OA

January 3, 2015 | Categories: History, History of Science and Technology, Human History, Images of History, Military History, Modern Warfare, Nuclear Technology, Photography, The Drama Of It All, Weapons & Equipment Used in War, Weird | Tags: atoll, Canopus, Canopus nuclear weapons test, Fangataufa, Fangataufa atoll, French, French 'Canopus' nuclear weapons test, Nuclear bomb, nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons test, Warfare | Leave a comment