An underwater atomic explosion at Eniwetok Atoll (Marshall Islands) in the Pacific Ocean on May 16, 1958. Code name of the test is Wahoo, the charge is a Mark 7 tactical atomic bomb of 9 kilotons at a depth of 150 meters.
An unidentified object appears in the frame just before the explosion and falls into its epicenter. There is no history of this test, codenamed “Wahoo,” of the use of aircraft or drones launched over the explosion’s epicenter.
Test Description:
May 16, 1958. A second after the explosion a dome was formed, which in seven seconds reached a height of 260 m. The overall shape of the dome resembled a cone with sides angled at a 45 degree angle. Six seconds later, plumes could be seen bursting through the dome in all directions. The vertical plume continued to rise until 12 seconds after the explosion, and the lateral plumes moved for 20 seconds before collapsing.
The diameter of the dome was approximately 3,800 feet (1,200 m) at the 20-second mark. The base surge reached a radius of 8,000 feet (2,400 m) downwind in 1.7 seconds. The windward surge reached 21 knots (24 mph; 39 km/h) in 15 knots (17 mph; 28 km/h) winds.
When the dome and the main surge dissipated, a foam slick could be seen spreading from the water surface to over 6,000 feet (1,800 m).
The nuclear explosion was designed for 9 kilotons of TNT (38 TJ). All of the fallout remained within the predicted fallout zone at a maximum rate of 0.030 R/hr.
The target ship at 5,900 yards (3.4 miles; 5.4 km) was directly struck by the shockwave, which caused the entire ship to vibrate and shake violently. The seagoing merchant vessel Moran, moored at 2,346 feet (715 m), was immobilized due to shockwave damage to primary and auxiliary equipment and sustained minor hull damage. One hour and ten minutes after the detonation, a five-gallon water sample was taken immediately above the explosion site, which showed 5 R/hour. One hour and thirty-five minutes later, the search team came up with 3.8 R/hour.
UFO