page_title: Operation Totem
section_title: Totem 1
hierarchical_section_title: Operation Totem / Totem 1
caption_attribution_description: English: Press photograph, with grey gouache highlights, of the first nuclear test on the Australian mainland, Totem 1, which was carried out at Emu Field in the Great Victoria Desert, north-western South Australia on 15 October 1953. Verso with wet stamps dated OCT 19 1953, and pastedown newspaper clipping (from an American newspaper): 'ATOMIC CLOUD: In South Australia - A cloud formed over the Woomera rocket range after a recent atomic test conducted by British scientists. - A.P. wirephoto
context_page_description: Operation Totem was a pair of British atmospheric nuclear tests which took place at Emu Field in South Australia in October 1953. They followed the Operation Hurricane test of the first British atomic bomb, which had taken place at the Montebello Islands a year previously. The main purpose of the trial was to determine the acceptable limit on the amount of plutonium-240 which could be present in a bomb.
  In addition to the two main tests, there was a series of five subcritical tests called "Kittens". These did not produce nuclear explosions, but used conventional explosives, polonium-210, beryllium and natural uranium to investigate the performance of neutron initiators.
context_section_description: The first Totem test was preceded by three Kitten tests carried out at the Emu Field site on 26 and 30 September, and 6 October. These were conducted in an area known as K Site, 6.4 kilometres (4 mi) east of the airstrip and about 13 kilometres (8 mi) north west of the main test site. These tests, which the British called "Kittens", did not produce nuclear explosions, but used conventional explosives, polonium-210, beryllium and natural uranium to investigate the performance of neutron initiators. They were performed without formal Australian government approval, and without any advice being given to the Australian government by Australian or British scientists. The tests spread toxic beryllium and highly radioactive polonium around the test sites. Care was taken not to contaminate the main test site, and the areas were secured until the polonium decayed to safe levels.
  A full-scale rehearsal was held on 1 October, and the countdown commenced on 7 October, but was immediately cancelled due to bad weather. Rain set in on 8 October. Hopes for 10 October soon faded, and the following day was a Sunday, and the Australian government had indicated that it did not want tests to take place on Sundays, so the test was re-scheduled for 12 October, then twice postponed to the next day. This time the weather held. VIPs and media representatives were flown in from Adelaide in the early hours of the morning with the aircraft windows covered in canvas screens so they could not identify the exact location of the test site.
  The device was detonated from a tower at 07:00 on 14 October local time (21:30 on 13 October UTC). The yield was predicted to be between 0.25 and 10 kilotonnes of TNT (1.0 and 41.8 TJ), most probably in the 2 and 3 kilotonnes of TNT (8.4 and 12.6 TJ) range. In the event it was higher than forecast; Penney estimated it at 10 kilotonnes of TNT (42 TJ). The cloud rose to 4,600 metres (15,000 ft). The slight wind meant that the cloud maintained its form for 24 hours, and produced a tight fallout pattern in the immediate vicinity of the test site the like of which had not been seen before.
  The five Lincolns assigned to sampling the cloud made 15 traverses in three hours. The filters were found to have radioactivity in excess of the requirements of the radiochemistry team, and were left for twelve hours to cool down. The crews were checked for contamination and, after showering, were found to be clean. The aircraft were parked away from other planes. The hazards team found contamination on the leading edges and tailplanes, although it was within acceptable limits. Ground crews were permitted to work on the aircraft, although they were instructed not to eat or smoke while working on the aircraft.
  A Centurion tank, Registration Number 169041, was positioned approximately 320 metres (350 yd) from ground zero. Two hours before the test it was left with the hatch closed, engine running and brakes off, and test dummies with film badges representing the crew. After the test, the film badges indicated that a crew would have received enough radiation to have become sick within a few hours and died within a few days. The damage to the tank was much less than expected; it had not caught fire and the engine was still running. It was later driven from the test site under its own power.  
  The tank's light damage was repaired, and it was put back into service. Subsequently nicknamed The Atomic Tank, it was later used in the Vietnam War. During a firefight in May 1969, 169041 (call sign 24C) was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) but remained battle-worthy. The Atomic Tank is now located at Robertson Barracks in Holtze, Northern Territory. Although other tanks were subjected to nuclear tests, 169041 is the only one known to have done so and then gone on to serve for another 23 years, including 15 months in a war zone.
  After the Totem 1 test, a black mist rolled across the landscape at the Wallatina and Welbourn Hill stations in the Granite Downs 175 kilometres (109 mi) from the test site, and led to unacceptably high levels of radioac
caption: Totem 1 test
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