Atomic Cannon: The 280mm Gun at the Nevada Proving Ground" 1953 DOD

more at http://scitech.quickfound.net/

also see: Nuclear Test: "Operation Upshot-Knothole" 1953 DOD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q9yXA...

"The testing of the Mark 9 atomic artillery shell was the Grable event, part of a much larger series of nuclear detonations under the umbrella of Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE in 1953.

This operation conducted at the Nevada Test Site consisted of 11 atmospheric tests. There were three airdrops, seven tower tests, and one airburst. Conducted between March 17 and June 4, 1953... Approximately 21,000 Department of Defense military and civilian personnel participated in Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE as part of the DESERT ROCK V exercise.

Unfortunately, Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE, particularly the "Harry" test, drew a great deal of criticism as resultant fallout levels produced increased offsite radiation exposures.

The tests comprising the 1953 Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE were as follows:

ANNIE, March 17, tower, weapons related, 16 kilotons (kt)
NANCY, March 24, tower, weapons related, 24 kt
RUTH, March 31, tower, weapons related, 200 tons
DIXIE, April 6, airdrop, weapons related, 11 kt
RAY, April 11, tower, weapons related, 200 tons
BADGER, April 18, tower, weapons related, 23 kt
SIMON, April 25, tower, weapons related, 43 kt
ENCORE, May 8, airdrop, weapons effects, 27 kt [an important test in correlating blastwave and devastating precursor wave formation data of the Grable event]
HARRY, May 19, tower, weapons related, 32 kt
GRABLE, May 25, fired from 280 mm gun, 500 feet airburst, weapons related, 15 kt [equivalent to the yield of the bomb the destroyed Hiroshima, Japan]
CLIMAX, June 4, airdrop, weapons related, 61 kt

The Mark 9 nuclear artillery shell weighed 550 pounds and was fired 7 miles from the cannon firing location to the target array downrange.."

Public domain film slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied.
The soundtrack was also processed with volume normalization, noise reduction, clipping reduction, and equalization (the resulting sound, though far from perfect, is far less noisy than the original).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M65_Atom...

The M65 Atomic Cannon, often called Atomic Annie,[3] was a towed artillery piece built by the United States and capable of firing a nuclear device. It was developed in the early 1950s, at the beginning of the Cold War, and fielded by 1953 in Europe and Korea.

Picatinny Arsenal was tasked to create a nuclear capable artillery piece in 1949. Robert Schwartz, the engineer who created the preliminary designs, essentially scaled up the 240mm shell (then the maximum in the arsenal) and used the German K5 railroad gun as a point of departure for the carriage. (The name "Atomic Annie" likely derives from the nickname "Anzio Annie" given to a German K5 gun which was employed against the American landings in Italy.) The design was approved by the Pentagon, largely through the intervention of chief of the Ballistics Section of the Ordnance Department's Research and Development Division, Samuel Feltman,[2] and a three-year developmental effort was begun. The project proceeded quickly enough to produce a demonstration model to participate in Dwight Eisenhower's inaugural parade in January of 1953.

The cannon was transported by two specially designed tractors, both capable of independent steering in the manner of some extra-long fire engines. Each of the tractors was rated at 375 hp, and the somewhat awkward combination could achieve speeds of 35 miles an hour and negotiate right turns on 28 ft wide, paved or packed roads. The artillery piece could be unlimbered in 15 minutes and then returned to traveling configuration in 15 minutes more.

On May 25, 1953 at 8:30am local time, the Atomic Cannon was tested at Nevada Test Site (specifically Frenchman Flat) as part of the Upshot-Knothole series of nuclear tests. The test--codenamed Grable--was attended by then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Arthur W. Radford and Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson; it resulted in the successful detonation of a 15 kt shell (warhead W9) at a range of 7 miles. This was the first and only nuclear shell to be fired from a cannon.

After the successful test, there were at least 20 of the cannons manufactured at Watervliet and Watertown Arsenals, at a cost of $800,000 each. They were deployed overseas to Europe and Korea, often continuously shifted around to avoid being detected and targeted by opposing forces. Due to the size of the apparatus, their limited range, the development of nuclear shells compatible with existing artillery pieces (the W48 for the 155mm and the W33 for the 203mm), and the development of rocket and missile based nuclear artillery, the M65 was effectively obsolete soon after it was deployed. However, it remained a prestige weapon and was not retired until 1963.

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Closed Caption:

yeah
the date was made 1953 the place
nevada and just outside the town of Las
Vegas at Nellis Air Force Base a series
of events took place events not included
in routine airfield operations the 280
millimeter guns were taken off their
railroad flatcars and started on the 65
mile journey - the Atomic Energy
Commission about the proving ground
where they will provide the proof of
their atomic might
on their way through Las Vegas the big
guns experienced no trouble whatsoever
in negotiating the city streets on the
sharpest of turns however was where they
really prove their mettle handled
exactly like the biggest hook and ladder
trucks of any fire department but some
30 feet longer and many tons heavier the
guns took every twist and turn in stride
and they are big but flexible
once out of Las Vegas they settled down
to the long runs north to the proving
ground during field operations involving
the 280 millimeter gun
they travel in batteries such as these a
battery consists of two guns three
batteries make up a battalion of
Italians provide support for field army
or separate core action
there are with each battery nine support
vehicles acting as transports for gun
personnel supplies and ammunition in
convoy on the hardtop highways the guns
can travel at 30 miles per hour and in
spite of their Road weight of 76 tons
can use the standard army bridges
wherever necessary 70 miles north of Las
Vegas was the turnoff to the firing site
in 1944 when the original design
specifications were drawn up the gun was
to have been a hundred forty millimeter
weapon
however these specifications were soon
changed but the rapidly advancing
artillery capabilities and a
foreshadowing of the Atomic Age instead
were substituted the designs for 280
millimeter weapon was not only a chi but
atomic fire power in 1951 the gun was
tested as a normal artillery piece at
Everdeen
needless two
these tests were successful all that
remained was to check out its other
capability the atomic shell even on
secondary roads are rough terrain the
guns retain relatively high mobility in
spite of the fact that their speeds are
lowered to approximately 10 miles per
hour
the main reason for this mobility are
the prime movers connected to the front
and the rear of each weapon
each prime mover is capable of 365
horsepower just one of these calves has
fifty percent more payload than the
largest western highway truck for a
heavyweight fighter the big guns are
light on their toes
once of the pairing sites the line of
fire was given and the guns were
directed to their respective
emplacements
after getting into position the rear cab
lowers the gun and moves away
then the front cab which is the tube
into battery and moves away
unlike field operations of World War two
these guns need no extensive ground
preparations in most cases there is no
necessity for excavation of any kind
the entire 47 tongue weight of the gun
itself is balanced by a turntable and
three jacks to hear bread
specifications for the total time to
prepare for firing just 20 minutes after
being in placed in their firing
positions and prior to the firing of the
mark 9 atomic shell a series of a chi
realms were fired rounds serve the
purpose of a final check on the many
ballistic variables which could affect
the accuracy in a given situation
unlike the standard artillery weapons
which are single recoil mechanisms the
280 millimeter gun has the advantage of
a double recoil action then fired the
tube recoil into the upper carriage and
then the upper carriage recoil such a
system is the main reason for the lack
of ground preparation needed before
firing a folding 12 is used to load the
project all and the propellant during
firing operations programming can be
done both manually and hydraulically
the gun is capable of a 360-degree
traverse and can go to a maximum
elevation of 55 degrees of the time for
rehearsals and final checkouts is over
now as zero hour approaches the big gun
is ready to prove its atomic punch with
the firing of the mark 9 shell as one
phase of operation up shot in the whole
amount of other desert everything
functions with a precision found in any
capable
well trained team zero hour is minutes
away now
the projector was prepared and brought
to the gum
yeah
the final correct setting for time of
burst is made
the reach closed and the primary
inserted
once loaded the guns elevation is set
with the Gunners quadrants
citing is done with a panoramic
telescope
and the last step the primer is
connected and continuity of timing and
firing circuit is completed that between
the control . and the firing sites
with everything set now the gun crew
moves back to take positions and slept
trenches during firing
the time is 0 8 30 the date 25 me 1953
three
yeah
we have accuracy for x greater than any
gun developed before World War 2 the 200
millimeter gun has proven its worth
capable of delivering the atomic shells
some 13 miles under any weather
condition
day or night the big gun provides more
accurate and damaging support to ground
troops than any other gun in the
recorded history of warfare exceedingly
powerful but flexible and with a high
degree of mobility the 280 millimeter
gun is one of the Army Field force's
newest tactical weapons