ACIS AED
By
Defense Nuclear Agency
Public Affairs Office
Washington, D.C. 20305
S h eet
Subject:
DOMINIC I
DOMINIC I was a series of 36 atmospheric nuclear weapon detonations held in the Pacific
Ocean area from April to November 1962.
These detonations are listed on the table on the
following page.
They,
and
the continental
DOMINIC
nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States.
II
tests,
were
the
last atmospheric
Most of the DOMINIC I test shots were detonated in the air after having been dropped from
a.B-52 bomber. Twenty-four of the airdrops took place from 25 April through 11 July over the
ocean just south of Christmas Island.
This island is a United Kingdom possession located
1,200 nmi (2,224 km) south of Honolulu. Five more airdrops were detonated in October over the
open ocean in the vicinity of Johnston Island, a United States possession 780 nmi (1,445 km)
west-southwest
development.
Island
of
Honolulu.
These
tests
were
conducted
for
the
purpose
of
weapon
Five high-altitude bursts (up to 400 km) were lofted by rockets from Johnston
and were
designated
the
FISHBOWL
events.
These
events
were
for
the
purpose
of
studying the effects of nuclear detonations as defensive weapons against ballistic missiles.
In addition, the Navy conducted two nuclear tests in the open ocean, the first on 4 May about
435 nmi (806 km) east of Christmas Island and the second on 11 May 370 nmi (686 km) southwest
of San Diego, California. The first, called FRIGATE BIRD, was a missile-launched airburst, a
proof test of the Polaris weapon system, launched from the submarine, USS Ethan Allen (SSBN608). The second, called SWORDFISH, was the test of the Navy ASROC system, a rocket-launched
antisubmarine nuclear depth charge.
As in previous test series in the Pacific, a joint military and civilian organization
conducted these tests, Joint Task Force Eight (JTF 8).
JTF 8 was made up of military
personnel from all the services and civilians from the Department of Defense (DOD), the
Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS), and contractor
organizations. Commander JTF 8 (CJIF 8) was appointed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) and
reported to the AEC as well as the JCS.
CJIF 8 was assigned overall responsibility for radiation safety.
The Radsafe Branch,
located organizationally in the Operations and Plans Office of Headquarters JIF 8, was
responsible for overall control of monitoring and decontamination, issuing radiological
safety (radsafe) supplies and equipment, maintaining radiac instruments, procuring all film
badges, developing and interpreting exposed badges, and maintaining cumulative radiation
exposure records for everyone who was badged. These records were compiled and are extant in a
document referred to as the Consolidated List of Exposures.
This branch also managed an
extensive offsite radiation surveillance network on 17 remote islands throughout the Pacific
Ocean.
Task groups, which were subordinate to JTF 8, had command responsibility for radio-
logical safety within their organizations.