4.9 OPERATION UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE. Conducted at the NTS from 17 March to 4 June 1953, Operation UPSHOTKNOTHOLE consisted of 11 nuclear tests, a number exceeding that of any previous nuclear test series. The following table summarizes these shots: Event Date ANNIE 17 March Tower 16 NANCY 24 March Tower 24 RUTH 31 March Tower DIXIE Type 6 April Airdrop Yield (Kilotons) 0.2 11 RAY 11 April Tower BADGER 18 April Tower 23 SIMON 25 April Tower 43 Airdrop 27 ENCORE 8 May 0.2 HARRY 19 May Tower 32 GRABLE 25 May Airburst 15 Airdrop 61 CLIMAX 4 June ANNIE, the first device tested, was an "open shot," meaning that reporters were allowed to view the detonation from News Nob, 11 kilometers south of the shot-tower. The Government wanted to show the American public that nuclear weapons could be used defensively, without destroying large urban centers and populations (11: 1,13,2,30,31). The firing of GRABLE from a 280 mm cannon, shown in figure 11, marked the first time an atomic artillery shell was fired and detonated (D). The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Army, and the Army Chief of Staff, along with 96 Congressional observers, viewed the detonation from an area 11 kilometers west of ground zero (12: 120). 98