[chrisinhouston]

One of the more interesting land tests was Operation Plumbbob conducted in 1957. A little town was erected around the blast site complete with animals such as pigs and rabbits. 710 pigs were exposed to shot Priscilla, all died from blast and radiation.


Jerry Kendrick, a surviving veteran of the tests was quoted as saying:

"The rabbit's eyes were considered similar to a human's eyes so they put rabbits at various distances from the blast with their heads aimed toward the blast, but they forgot rabbits go to sleep. They would get bored, they would be there for a day or two before the blast," Kendrick said. "The communications unit had to string a little light electrical wire and tape it to the nose of all the rabbits and it would send a little pulse across to the rabbits and wake them up."

The pig's skin was considered similar to that of human skin, so piglets were used in Operation Plumbbob, Kendrick said.

"They made little uniforms with T-shirts and everything and put them on all the pigs and little tan uniforms and they had several tests," Kendrick said. However, the nuclear explosion was delayed 42 days due to weather. The piglets grew during that time and a tailor had to be sent back out to sew the uniforms again the night before the blast, he said.

Here is a picture from the air of the BBQ cookoff!