Soviet atomic bomb project

The Soviet project to develop an atomic bomb began during World War II in the Soviet Union. They tested their first nuclear weapon in 1949.

Important Soviet nuclear tests

First Lightning

The first Soviet atomic test was First Lightning on August 29, 1949, and was code-named by the Americans as Joe 1. It was a replica of the American Fat Man bomb whose design the Soviets knew from espionage.

Related Topics:
Atomic test - First Lightning - August 29 - 1949 - Americans - Joe 1 - Fat Man

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Joe Four

The first Soviet test of a hydrogen bomb was on August 12, 1953 and was nicknamed Joe 4 by the Americans; it was not a "true" fusion bomb (it was more like a "boosted" fission bomb than a staged thermonuclear device, and had a yield comparable to large fission weapons; around 90% of its yield was directly or indirectly from fission).

Related Topics:
Hydrogen bomb - August 12 - 1953 - Joe 4

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RDS-37

The first Soviet test of a "true" hydrogen bomb in the megaton range was on November 22, 1955. It was dubbed RDS-37 by the Soviets. It was of the multi-staged, radiation implosion thermonuclear design called Sakharov's "Third Idea" in the USSR and the Teller-Ulam design in the USA.

Related Topics:
November 22 - 1955 - RDS-37 - Radiation implosion - Teller-Ulam

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Joe 1, Joe 4, and RDS-37 were all tested at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in Kazakhstan.

Related Topics:
Semipalatinsk Test Site - Kazakhstan

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Tsar Bomba

The Tsar Bomba was the biggest nuclear bomb ever built by anyone, and was a fusion bomb with a yield of ~50 megatons. It was detonated on October 30, 1961, and was capable of approximately 100 megatons, but was purposely reduced shortly before the launch. It was not a realistic weapon of war, but was part of sabre-rattling between the Soviet Union and United States during the Cold War. It was hot enough to induce third degree burns at 100 km.

Related Topics:
Tsar Bomba - October 30 - 1961 - United States - Cold War - Third degree burn

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The test was conducted at Site C on Novaya Zemlya Island in the Arctic Sea.

Related Topics:
Novaya Zemlya - Arctic Sea

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Chagan

Chagan was shot in the Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy or Project 7, the Soviet equivalent of the US Operation Plowshare to investigate peaceful uses of nuclear weapons. It was an underground test (note the debris fallout in the photo), and was fired on January 15 1965. The site was a dry bed of the Chagan River at the edge of the Semipalatinsk Test Site, and was chosen such that the lip of the crater would dam the river during its high spring flow. The resultant crater had a diameter of 408 meters and was 100 meters deep. A major lake (10,000,000 m3) soon formed behind the 20-35 m high upraised lip, known as Lake Chagan or Lake Balapan.

Related Topics:
Chagan - Nuclear Explosions for the National Economy - Operation Plowshare - Peaceful uses of nuclear weapons - January 15 - 1965 - Lake Chagan

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The area is still radioactive (as of 2005). The test apparently violated the 1963 Limited Test Ban Treaty, and the United States complained to the Soviets, but the matter was dropped.

Related Topics:
1963 - Limited Test Ban Treaty

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The photo is sometimes confused with Joe 1 in the literature.

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