| Operation Ranger | |
|---|---|
 Ranger Able, 1 kiloton. | |
| Information | |
| Country | United States |
| Test site | NTS Areas 5, 11, Frenchman Flat |
| Period | 1951 |
| Number of tests | 5 |
| Test type | free air drop |
| Max. yield | 22 kilotonnes of TNT (92 TJ) |
| Test series chronology | |
Operation Ranger was the fourth American nuclear test series. It was conducted in 1951 and was the first series to be carried out at the Nevada Test Site.[1] All the bombs were dropped by B-50D bombers and exploded in the open air over Frenchman Flat (Area 5).
These tests centered on the practicality of developing a second generation of nuclear weapons using smaller amounts of valuable nuclear materials. They were planned under the name Operation Faust.
The exact locations of the tests are unknown, as they were all air drops. However, the planned ground zero was set at 36°49′32″N 115°57′54″W / 36.82556°N 115.96500°W[2] for all except the Fox shot, which was "500 feet [150 m] west and 300 feet [91 m] south" in order to minimize damage to the control point.[3]
Footage of the Buster-Jangle Baker test is often mislabeled as belonging to the Ranger Able test. Both shots can be told apart because the Buster Baker test was conducted at Yucca Flat in the daytime, meanwhile Ranger Able was conducted at Frenchman Flat in the nighttime. No motion picture of Operation Ranger has ever been declassified.
- ^ Hacker, Barton C (1994). Elements of Controversy: The Atomic Energy Commission and Radiation Safety in Nuclear Weapons Testing 1947-1974. University of California Press. p. 44. ISBN 0-520-08323-7. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
- ^ Maag, Carl; Rohrer, Stephen; Shepanek, Robert (October 1985). Operation Ranger: Shots Able, Baker, Easy, Baker-2, Fox (PDF) (Report). Defense Nuclear Agency. DNA-6022F. Archived from the original on April 9, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
- ^ Fehner, Terrence R.; Gosling, F. G. (2000). Origins of the Nevada Test Site (PDF) (Report). Department of Energy. DOE.MA-0158. Retrieved March 5, 2013.