Project 56. The components of four American nuclear bombs are subjected to safety tests in the Nevada desert, to certify their intrinsic safety in the event, for example, of an emergency landing of nuclear bombers, resulting in a fire on board. Only one of the bomb’s detonators is detonated in all four cases. These are plutonium Genie bombs. The first three do not produce nuclear explosions, but the fourth surprises everyone by triggering a substantial explosion (obviously not a full one). Project 56 thus highlights the serious risks involved in transporting nuclear weapons, which will be reduced very slowly and only drastically from 1985 onwards.
