Gerboise Bleue (nuclear test)

Gerboise Bleue
Gerboise Bleue (nuclear test) is located in Algeria
Gerboise Bleue (nuclear test)
Location of the test site
Information
CountryFrance France
Test seriesReggane series
Test siteReggane, French Algeria
Coordinates26°18′42″N 00°03′26″W / 26.31167°N 0.05722°W / 26.31167; -0.05722
Date13 February 1960; 64 years ago (1960-02-13)
Test typeAtmospheric
Test altitude100 m
Device typeA-bomb
Yield70 kt (292.88 TJ)[a]
Test chronology

Gerboise Bleue (French: [ʒɛʁbwaz blø]; lit.'Blue Jerboa') was the codename of the first French nuclear test. It was conducted by the Nuclear Experiments Operational Group (GOEN), a unit of the Joint Special Weapons Command[1] on 13 February 1960, at the Saharan Military Experiments Centre near Reggane, French Algeria in the Sahara desert region of the Tanezrouft, during the Algerian War.[2][3] General Pierre Marie Gallois was instrumental in the endeavour, and earned the nickname of père de la bombe A ("father of the A-bomb").


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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 8 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.