Castle Bravo

E290915

Castle Bravo was the United States’ first and most powerful dry-fuel thermonuclear (hydrogen) bomb test, conducted in 1954 and infamous for its unexpectedly massive yield and severe radioactive fallout.

All labels observed (4)

Label Occurrences
Castle Bravo canonical 8
Castle Bravo nuclear test 1
Castle Bravo test 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (51)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States nuclear test
hydrogen bomb test
nuclear weapons test
thermonuclear weapon test
actualYield 15 megatons of TNT
approximately 15 Mt
affectedArea Ailinginae Atoll
Marshall Islands region
Rongelap Atoll
Rongerik Atoll
Utirik Atoll
affectedVessel Daigo Fukuryu Maru
casualties one fatality on Daigo Fukuryu Maru from radiation sickness
codename Castle Bravo
consequence contributed to the movement toward a nuclear test ban
led to compensation claims by Marshall Islands residents
controversy triggered international concern over radioactive fallout
country United States
craterDepth about 75 meters
craterDiameter about 1.9 kilometers
date 1954-03-01
deliveryMethod surface detonation on a barge
design Teller–Ulam design
deviceName Shrimp
distanceFromBikiniIsland approximately 4.5 miles west of Bikini Island
errorCause underestimation of lithium-7 contribution to fusion reactions
fallout caused extensive radioactive contamination
produced widespread radioactive fallout over inhabited atolls
fuelType dry lithium deuteride
healthEffects caused acute radiation sickness among Marshallese inhabitants
caused long-term health problems including cancers in exposed populations
location Bikini Atoll
Marshall Islands
mushroomCloudHeight about 40 kilometers
mushroomCloudWidth about 100 kilometers
operator United States Atomic Energy Commission
United States Department of Defense
partOf Operation Castle
partOfSeries Pacific Proving Grounds tests
predictedYield 5 megatons of TNT
approximately 5 Mt
significance first U.S. test of a deliverable dry-fuel thermonuclear device
most powerful nuclear device ever tested by the United States
stageCount two-stage
testSeriesNumber first test in Operation Castle series
testSite Bikini Atoll nuclear test site
linked to: Bikini Atoll
time 06:45 local time
weaponType dry-fuel thermonuclear bomb
hydrogen bomb
year 1954
yieldErrorFactor about three times predicted yield

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (11)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Bikini Atoll notableTest Castle Bravo
Rongelap Atoll affectedBy Castle Bravo nuclear test
linked to: Castle Bravo
United States nuclear weapons testing notableEvent Castle Bravo test
linked to: Castle Bravo
Godzilla inspiredBy Lucky Dragon No. 5 incident
linked to: Castle Bravo
Monarch hasHeadquarters Castle Bravo
Operation Castle notableTest Castle Bravo
Operation Castle testName Castle Bravo
Castle Bravo codename Castle Bravo
Ivy Mike followedBy Castle Bravo
Pacific Proving Grounds notableTest Castle Bravo