Nuclear Explosion Effects on HF Communications
Thread Starter
Nuclear Explosion Effects on HF Communications
As a VHF/DF operator I was based at RAF Gan in the Maldives from January to November 1958. Gan had two HF/WT circuits for connection to the outside world: an “Admin” circuit to RAF Katunayake (Negombo) Sri Lanka (Ceylon) for routine matters and an “Ops” circuit for communication with aircraft / ships etc.
Most times HF/WT comms worked well except for the occasion in late-August and early-September 1958 when contact with Ceylon was lost for several days. This resulted from Operation Argus, the secret detonation by the Americans between 27 August 1958 and 6 September 1958, of three low yield (1.7 kt W-25 nuclear warheads) 300-miles high in the upper atmosphere over the South Atlantic in order to assess how very high-altitude nuclear detonations could interfere with the magnetosphere and the Van Allen radiation belts and how it such blasts would affect long-range H/F communications - in the event as far as Gan was concerned the detonatons did and badly!
The absence of comms at RAF Gan for a couple of days caused a major upset as we didn’t know what was going on and with no communication to the outside world had no way of knowing! Things returned to normal a couple of days later. As far as I can recall there was never an “official” explanation as to what had caused the comms blackout.
At the time I was one of the operators who operated the RAF Gan amateur radio station VS9MA and communications on the amateur radio bands was disrupted too. When things returned to normal there was much speculation on the HAM bands as to the cause of the disruption, most theories centring on solar activity having disrupted the ionosphere.
Anyway I’ve been trying to find at the National Archives at Kew any files relevant to this event. The RAF Katunayake and RAF Gan station files are singularly uninformative, but I feel sure that there must have been some official British recording of this event, if only because Katunayake was host to a Signals Relay Unit for communications between the UK and Singapore, and I assume the SU main circuits to the Far East would have been affected in addition to the Katunayake – Gan circuit.
The Argus explosions created artificial electron belts which lasted for several weeks. Do a Google search for “Operation Argus” for more info.
Anyway the reason for this post is to ask whether anyone has any idea where the appropriate UK official papers regarding this event can be found. If not in the National Archives, where?
Most times HF/WT comms worked well except for the occasion in late-August and early-September 1958 when contact with Ceylon was lost for several days. This resulted from Operation Argus, the secret detonation by the Americans between 27 August 1958 and 6 September 1958, of three low yield (1.7 kt W-25 nuclear warheads) 300-miles high in the upper atmosphere over the South Atlantic in order to assess how very high-altitude nuclear detonations could interfere with the magnetosphere and the Van Allen radiation belts and how it such blasts would affect long-range H/F communications - in the event as far as Gan was concerned the detonatons did and badly!
The absence of comms at RAF Gan for a couple of days caused a major upset as we didn’t know what was going on and with no communication to the outside world had no way of knowing! Things returned to normal a couple of days later. As far as I can recall there was never an “official” explanation as to what had caused the comms blackout.
At the time I was one of the operators who operated the RAF Gan amateur radio station VS9MA and communications on the amateur radio bands was disrupted too. When things returned to normal there was much speculation on the HAM bands as to the cause of the disruption, most theories centring on solar activity having disrupted the ionosphere.
Anyway I’ve been trying to find at the National Archives at Kew any files relevant to this event. The RAF Katunayake and RAF Gan station files are singularly uninformative, but I feel sure that there must have been some official British recording of this event, if only because Katunayake was host to a Signals Relay Unit for communications between the UK and Singapore, and I assume the SU main circuits to the Far East would have been affected in addition to the Katunayake – Gan circuit.
The Argus explosions created artificial electron belts which lasted for several weeks. Do a Google search for “Operation Argus” for more info.
Anyway the reason for this post is to ask whether anyone has any idea where the appropriate UK official papers regarding this event can be found. If not in the National Archives, where?
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I assume you have found :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Argus
http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Argus.html
And a 44min film about the operation here
http://www.archive.org/details/OperationARGUS1958
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Argus
http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Argus.html
And a 44min film about the operation here
http://www.archive.org/details/OperationARGUS1958
Ahhh HF.
In the SA I couldnt get a setup to work with a ship 30 miles away, unless I used all concoctions of homemade inverted V dipoles, yet could hear truckers in Illinois.
At the risk of attracting more flack regarding my working practices, I'm also reminded of the time before CB legalisation. Up around 27Mhz the CB lounge lizards tried to attract a new 'seat cover' (woman). The RAF had kindly equipped us with a 1Kw HF TX in case the balloon went up. One man on the Rx id'd the CBers, shouting the frequency through into the TX hall. Entering the numbers into the synth, we'd hit them with a 1Kw burst with a 1Khz audio tone. They we're frequency hopping like mad, whilst we disrupted thier evenings entertainment. What fun.
There have been some studies carried out into remediating the upper atmosphere using LF in the event of such HF blackouts - caused by the upper atmosphere becoming non reflective due to particle charging.
In the SA I couldnt get a setup to work with a ship 30 miles away, unless I used all concoctions of homemade inverted V dipoles, yet could hear truckers in Illinois.
At the risk of attracting more flack regarding my working practices, I'm also reminded of the time before CB legalisation. Up around 27Mhz the CB lounge lizards tried to attract a new 'seat cover' (woman). The RAF had kindly equipped us with a 1Kw HF TX in case the balloon went up. One man on the Rx id'd the CBers, shouting the frequency through into the TX hall. Entering the numbers into the synth, we'd hit them with a 1Kw burst with a 1Khz audio tone. They we're frequency hopping like mad, whilst we disrupted thier evenings entertainment. What fun.
There have been some studies carried out into remediating the upper atmosphere using LF in the event of such HF blackouts - caused by the upper atmosphere becoming non reflective due to particle charging.
Last edited by AR1; 16th Jun 2007 at 17:32.
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Sources of Information
The US National Archives and Records Administration, on the University of Maryland campus also houses the CIA Archives. If you happen to be in the Washington DC, take a day to visit the Archives (there's even a free bus from down-town DC). They will appoint a researcher to assist you and if you mention 'CIA' you will be wisked to a secure part of the building where another researcher will sit with you in searching the extensive records and seeking to declassifiy material.
As I found out, the FRUS Series (Foreign Relations of the US) contains a lot of British documentation - including material embargoed at Kew such as operational intelligence matters from the 40s and 50s. The latest material I obtained on UK involvment in SE Asia was c 1969, but I ran out of time to seach for more.
To register with NARA is free; p'copying is free and they let you take a digital camera to copy docs. The CIA archive will print reports for free, and then every sheet is then declassified by hand and given a smart stamp.
CF
As I found out, the FRUS Series (Foreign Relations of the US) contains a lot of British documentation - including material embargoed at Kew such as operational intelligence matters from the 40s and 50s. The latest material I obtained on UK involvment in SE Asia was c 1969, but I ran out of time to seach for more.
To register with NARA is free; p'copying is free and they let you take a digital camera to copy docs. The CIA archive will print reports for free, and then every sheet is then declassified by hand and given a smart stamp.
CF
Thread Starter
Thanks Green Granite. Yes I'm familiar with these sources and others, but there appears to be nothing from UK sources as far as I can acertain that refers to the disruption to communications caused at the time.
If you want to see 'siggies' and others in operation at Gan have a look at the site with my photos of Gan as it was in 1958 at:
http://groups.msn.com/TonyHawesRAFSe...s19571958.msnw
185 photos of Gan alone.
If you want to see 'siggies' and others in operation at Gan have a look at the site with my photos of Gan as it was in 1958 at:
http://groups.msn.com/TonyHawesRAFSe...s19571958.msnw
185 photos of Gan alone.
Thread Starter
Cumbrian Fell. Thanks for the tip.
I'm not likely to be visiting Washington in the very near future, but if I do I'll certainly take your advice and head out to the Archives as you suggest.
Tony
I'm not likely to be visiting Washington in the very near future, but if I do I'll certainly take your advice and head out to the Archives as you suggest.
Tony
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If I'd had a quid for every time I'd had to explain why HF couldn't be used for close in comms to IDROs/TPOs and FCs who should have know better when I was down south I'd have about er......Ł37, don't know why I bothered, they never believed me! You'd think they'd never read the 3430!
And don't get me started on KY75 (oo-er)
And don't get me started on KY75 (oo-er)
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Electro Magnetic Pulse, caused by gamma radiation from a nuclear detonation liberating electrons from the air. It causes a big spike in conductors, and so can severely affect electronic equipment, unless the equipment is adequately shielded.
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Electro Magnetic Pulse
Can be generated by nuclear explosions, either from the Sun or Man
Defence Industries have spent billions since WW2 to alleviate the effects of EMP, mainly because they had an impact on the employment of nuclear weapons:
It affects the whole frequency spectrum, but the longer wavelengths, VLF, LF and HF suffer most, usually days and weeks.
With Higher Freqs and shorter wavelengths the effects are are considered temporary and last for hours or days.
By adjusting the MUF, MUA and power output based on the height of the Ionisphere, most HF/DF comms can be re-established fairly quickly these days.
With SatComm it's all changed - however, if you were at ground zero during a 10 Megaton airburst, you might have problems sending a text on your mobile
Can be generated by nuclear explosions, either from the Sun or Man
Defence Industries have spent billions since WW2 to alleviate the effects of EMP, mainly because they had an impact on the employment of nuclear weapons:
It affects the whole frequency spectrum, but the longer wavelengths, VLF, LF and HF suffer most, usually days and weeks.
With Higher Freqs and shorter wavelengths the effects are are considered temporary and last for hours or days.
By adjusting the MUF, MUA and power output based on the height of the Ionisphere, most HF/DF comms can be re-established fairly quickly these days.
With SatComm it's all changed - however, if you were at ground zero during a 10 Megaton airburst, you might have problems sending a text on your mobile
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Bouy 15,
-. --- - / -... . .. -. --. / .- / -- --- .-. ... . / -- --- -. -.- . -.-- / -.-- --- ..- / .-.. --- ... - / -- . / - .... . .-. .
.. -. - / --.- ... .-..
-. --- - / -... . .. -. --. / .- / -- --- .-. ... . / -- --- -. -.- . -.-- / -.-- --- ..- / .-.. --- ... - / -- . / - .... . .-. .
.. -. - / --.- ... .-..
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Maple01
Perhaps they could bleep faster than thee and me all those years ago..
Going back to the thread, I was always taught that in the event that the Ionasphere went for a Ball of chalk so to speak, Morse would be good as last ditch Comms. Anyway I digress QRX.... as soon as the beer runs out and require re-supply
zofo
Perhaps they could bleep faster than thee and me all those years ago..
Going back to the thread, I was always taught that in the event that the Ionasphere went for a Ball of chalk so to speak, Morse would be good as last ditch Comms. Anyway I digress QRX.... as soon as the beer runs out and require re-supply
zofo
