Gerboise Blanche

Gerboise Blanche
Gerboise Blanche is located in Algeria
Gerboise Blanche
Location of the test site
Information
CountryFrance France
Test seriesReggane series
Test siteReggane, French Algeria
Coordinates26°09′58″N 00°06′09″W / 26.16611°N 0.10250°W / 26.16611; -0.10250
Date1 April 1960; 64 years ago (1960-04-01)
Test typeAtmospheric
Test altitude0 m
Device typeA-bomb
Yield3 kt (12.5 TJ)[a]
Test chronology

Gerboise Blanche (or Opération Gerboise Blanche) was the codename of the second French nuclear test. It was conducted by the Nuclear Experiments Operational Group (GOEN), a unit of the Joint Special Weapons Command[1] on 1 April 1960, at the Saharan Military Experiments Centre near Reggane, French Algeria in the Sahara desert region of Tanezrouft, during the Algerian War.[2][3]


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  1. ^ Sokolski, Henry D.; Tertrais, Bruno (2013). Nuclear Weapons Security Crises: What Does History Teach?. Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-5848-7574-1.
  2. ^ Senate of the French Republic (15 December 1997). "French Senate report #179: The first French tests in the Sahara". senat.fr (in French). Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  3. ^ Garrett, Benjamin C. (2017). Historical Dictionary of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 124. ISBN 978-1-5381-0684-6.