Many people may not be aware that back in 1950-60s , Australia was a key player – and oh too willing due to the government in power at the time – in testing nuclear weapons.
The British Government decided after searching the world in late 1940s that Australia would make a fine test centre.
Nuclear fallout was deemed safe and wouldnt harm anyone – quoted the UK government.
So in the early 1950s, the British began testing nuclear devices off the north western coast of Western Australia at a island called Monte Bello and aslo at Maralinga and Emu – in central and north South Australia.
These various nuclear tests , detonated devices up until 1958. One involved up to a rumoured 98 ktn device at Monte Bello. The US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and were low 20ktns… and they did massive damage.
That 98ktn is only what the UK has released… many suspect it was larger.
Many British and Australian civil and milirary personel who were used in the many tests as support staff, were exposed to dangerously high radiation levels – one group were reported placed around 2miles from a test at Monte Bello in a bunker.
Protection and safety in the 1950s was basic sandals, shorts, goggles and a rad badge – if it worked at all. Checking the exposure was not followed through in cases recorded so most veterans have no idea what their true dose of radiation was.
Tests in South Australia blew fallout – sometimes heavy all around Australia and overseas – even as far as the USA i understand in some recordings. Heavy local contamination was found.
In the 1960s the areas now not doing atmospheric tests were in South Australia used for dangerous tests on fallout of explosions and localised radioactivity effects. Plutonium and many nasty by products were merely bulldozed into the ground in some cases of “cleaning up” in late 1960s in a cheap and poorly done UK cleanup..
In the 1990s-2000s millions of dollars was spent cleaning Maralinga up and if you google it you will see massive cleared areas now showing the pits and testing areas.
Many people totally forget or dont know Australia suffered deeply for these tests.
Most veterans suffered cancers and horrific injuries from radiation. Some even died in 1950-60s at 20-30yrs age in the worst cases. Nuclear weapons testing killed many people and injured thousands more. Kids have grown up with radiation defects even in whole families.
Why is this related to aviation?
Not only were many aircraft used such as Valiant bombers over South Australia, Lincolin bombers for tests sorties, C-47 Dakota for sample and Canberra for tests flight in nuclear clouds… but Australia also contributed a few key interesting targets.
In the Emu tests in Australia in early 1950s, the RAAF used some CAC (NAA licensed) P-51 Mustangs as ground targets. The first ever Mustang A68-1 was one of these aircraft exposed and results recorded.
In the late 1960s, it was salvaged on the spot and restored to running. It was flown out of the test site and onto Adelaide for more checks.
Here are 3 clips showing the “Hot” Mustangs as they were in the 1950s-1960s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8_xQcfls3A&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Snhrqd5RT-A&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA1wvAiuj2o&feature=player_embedded
I hope this insight makes people aware that Australia has paid a heavy price for nuclear weapon testing.
By: pagen01 - 20th August 2011 at 11:24
Yes, at least six Swift F.2s were sent out to be used on the Maralinga range for Atomic proofing tests in op ‘Buffalo’.
I guess a subject like this will always have politics and tricky subjects (a later realisation of the effects on personnel of atomic tests example) attached, the subjects shouldn’t be avoided but certainly not solely dwelled on.
edit, just found this site (http://www.adf-serials.com/aa31.shtml) which lists the Swifts as F.1 WK199, F.2s WK215-‘217, ‘229, and ‘231. Probably alot more other relevant info on there aswel.
By: FoxVC10 - 20th August 2011 at 11:12
Wasnt there some Supermarine Swifts involved as well, or was this a different test?
I seem to remember a grainy photo of one aircraft being bulldozed into a big hole somewhere.
By: Oggsplosh - 20th August 2011 at 11:01
NOR is it the place to have (another) political rant.
Not one connection to aviation in your post.
Now….
Having flown over the Emu site in 1987, for an hour, I can confirm there are no aviation relics left there.
The Mustangs were sited at Emu, film badges and radiation monitors fitted at various points on the airframe, and the effect measured after the blast.
To gain some perspective, these tests were carried out very soon after the Hiroshima blast, when computing was in its infancy. The effects of a detonation were largely unknown, and so the Maralinga/Emu sites established to experiment ‘first hand’.
For example, the ‘Kitten’ trials were conducted at Maralinga. What would happen to a bomb if the ac caught fire on t/o, exploded, etc. So, one bomb was placed in a vat of Avgas, light blue touchpaper and then retire to a safe distance. Bang! Only the initiator detonated, but the plutonium was scattered over a large area. Trial complete.
To put it in perspective, the Taranaki explosion was 27kT, from a baloon at 800ft. This would flatten a small town, but merely break the glass in the windows of the adjoining towns.
Hope this gets the thread back to where it should be..please!
By: TempestNut - 20th August 2011 at 10:12
This forum is defiantly NOT the place to discuss the effect of radio active fallout or the effects of any form of radiation. After Fucushima I decided to gather all the information about this subject I could. I approached the subject with an open mind and decided I would make my decision based on factual evidence.
All I can say at this point is, we don’t understand radiation and its effects, except for high doses that cause immediate effects, low doses seem to be beneficial, although no one is prepared to say so, but it makes sense seeing as life evolved under a huge radiation ball. The safety levels for nuclear workers are often lower than you and I get in our every day lives. The rest of the information is either tainted with politics or rejected out of hand as not conforming with popular consensus, and therefore almost impossible to dig out.
So, much like just about everything else in our world today we can’t get to the truth and make progress because of dogma, and the fear that those that may have been effected by nuclear tests will sue the current generation for their problems. Maybe it will be children’s childrens generation that will finally start making progress again.
By: JDK - 20th August 2011 at 09:38
Just a note to say my last post wasn’t meant to come over as grumpy as it reads! Sorry, iPad typing frustrations.
By: Batman - 20th August 2011 at 04:49
The six aircraft were all shipped to the USA:
CA-17s (i.e. assembled in Australia from P-51D components) A68-1 (N7773, N51WB), A68-7, A68-30, A68-35, and A68-72; and CA-18 (Australian produced P-51D) A68-87.
Although A68-1 was flown in the US (marked as A68-1001), the remainder (shipped to the US in 1968) were evidently broken down by Cavalier to components. 🙁
By: oz rb fan - 20th August 2011 at 04:35
the one that flew out(a68-1) is owned by Wiley sanders(as far as i know no relation to the sanders that race seafuries)it was flown at reno a few times and is in a camouflage scheme with a kangaroo mural on one of the main gear doors. the others seem to have disappeared.
By: JDK - 20th August 2011 at 02:23
We published a couple of authoritative articles on these aircraft in Warbirds Worldwide some years ago, and more recently in Flightpath here in Australia, written by a Mustang owner who had researched the stories in depth. If anyone wants the details I can look out the articles later if I have time.
Politics is on another forum, I think?
Certainly it’s true that no one wants to discuss the issues arising from this nuclear testing and the death rates among the Australian and British service personnel and the aborigines in the area.
One of the Mustangs was flown out after consultation with the Aussie CAA. The only stipulation was that the head of the CAA would do the flight.
“Typical CAA” is the first reaction.
Actually, he had flown it on it’s factory test flight from the CAAC!!
CAC is the abbreviation for Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation. CAAC (IIRC) was a Chinese airline, now the aviation body of that country, apparently.
The ‘Typical CAA’ element was refusing more permanent certification of any of the aircraft, so they were all sold overseas at bargain prices to the buyers, and put back the Australian warbird scene by several years.
So where are these 6 now?
I don’t keep notes on Mustangs as a rule, and I don’t recall off the cuff, but as a general observation, hiding under a NAA dataplate, in some cases, for certification reasons. It was a great opportunity screwd by Australian aviation bureaucrats, albeit a very minor success in fuelling the US’ insatiable appetite for ‘North American’ Mustangs.
Regards,
By: Fouga23 - 19th August 2011 at 17:36
So where are these 6 now?
By: Mark12 - 19th August 2011 at 17:14
Langdon Badger landed his Mooney along side and took these shots.
Some time later he did own an aiworthy Mustang but I don’t think it was one of these.
Mark
Images by Langdon Badger
By: Oggsplosh - 19th August 2011 at 12:33
Politics is on another forum, I think?
One of the Mustangs was flown out after consultation with the Aussie CAA. The only stipulation was that the head of the CAA would do the flight.
“Typical CAA” is the first reaction.
Actually, he had flown it on it’s factory test flight from the CAAC!!
Closing the loop, eh?
Ac went on to be a Reno Racer…
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August 19, 2011 at 12:06 pm