Operation Dominic Bomb Test List

Operation Dominic Bomb Test List

Ceri McDade • 2 May 2021

This post has been written in response to queries regarding the number of detonated nuclear bombs during Operation Dominic by Joint Task Force 8 at Christmas Island.

This brief post covers the nuclear bombs detonated at Christmas Island during the Operation Series between April 25th and July 11th, 1962. The task force was led by Major General Alfred "Dodd" Starbird, who had previously been seconded to Joint Task Force 7, the force formed for Operation Sandstone nuclear tests at Enewetok Atoll in 1948.

On this day 59 years ago, Joint Task Force 8 exploded Arkansas, the third bomb of the Operation Dominic/Brigadoon series. This 1.09Mt parachute bomb was dropped by a B-52 off Christmas Island, which signified the biggest yield within the first 15 Dominic tests.

Starbird was awarded the "oak leaf cluster" for leading the Operation Dominic series, and his citation read,

"The success and productivity of this most complex and urgent program transcended all previous efforts in the history of United States nuclear testing and significantly enhanced the security of the nation and the free world".

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National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph

24 June 2023

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