The year was 1962. The United States was deep in the Cold War, had initiated economic sanctions against Cuba, and its Project Mercury had placed John Glenn in orbit. Yet, in the middle of that year, on the remote Johnston Atoll, it conducted Operation Fishbowl, a series of high-altitude atmospheric nuclear tests — the last of their kind before the signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty. A significant number of images from those tests have been declassified, and today we can enjoy them without restrictions.
The Cold War Backdrop
The Cold War was at one of its hottest moments. The Bay of Pigs invasion in April 1961 only amplified the crisis. Four months later, the Soviet Union announced the end of its three-year moratorium on nuclear tests. The United States had to quickly organize a series of tests in direct response to the change in Soviet policy, leading to Operation Fishbowl, under the umbrella of Operation Dominic. The original plan was for all Fishbowl tests to be completed during the first half of 1962, but nothing happened until June of that year. The atmospheric nature of the tests demanded several adjustments, and Johnston Atoll was chosen to protect the residents of Hawaii. Things did not start well for Fishbowl. The initial test, Bluegill, launched on June 2, 1962, was aborted for safety — the radar lost the missile — just a few minutes in. Seventeen days later, it was Starfish's turn, which ended even worse: the missile began to disintegrate 59 seconds into flight, and the order to abort was given. This scattered hundreds of parts into the ocean and the atoll, some of them contaminated with plutonium.
Starfish Prime Lights Up the Sky
Finally, on July 9, 1962, Starfish Prime lit up the sky. The 1.4-megaton bomb detonated at an altitude of 400 kilometers on a descending trajectory, 13 minutes after its launch. Its electromagnetic pulse was so large that it caused damage in Hawaii despite everything, and the creation of an artificial radiation belt damaged several satellites in the following months, including Telstar I, the British Ariel 1, and the Soviet Cosmos V.
The Pause and More Failure
On July 25, Fishbowl encountered failure again with Bluegill Prime, whose missile caught fire on the platform, and its "controlled" detonation covered the area with contaminated material. At this point, Fishbowl officials decided to pause the tests and reassess their situation. The Urraca launch was canceled to avoid further damage to satellites, cleanup operations began, and a second platform was built. Almost three months later, Fishbowl was reactivated.
The Second Phase Begins with Another Failure
Its second phase opened with a new failure. Bluegill Double Prime lost control 85 seconds into flight, and its self-destruction was ordered. The rest of the tests were all successful.
Checkmate
Checkmate detonated on October 20 at an altitude of 147 kilometers, with a yield of less than 20 kilotons.
Bluegill Triple Prime
On the 26th of the same month, Bluegill Triple Prime broke its curse at 48 kilometers altitude, with a reported yield of 400 kilotons.
Kingfish
Kingfish did its part on November 1 at 96.3 kilometers and 400 kilotons.
Tightrope: The Last Atmospheric Test
The definitive close of Fishbowl was left to Tightrope. Once again, the yield did not surpass 20 kilotons, but that "small" detonation was sufficient to become the last atmospheric nuclear test conducted by the United States. Then came the Partial Test Ban Treaty and the acceleration of underground testing... but that, as they say, is another story.
