Operation Crosstie was a series of 48 nuclear tests conducted by the United States in 1967-1968 at the Nevada Test Site. These tests followed the Operation Latchkey series and preceded the Operation Bowline series.
Gasbuggy
The blast designated Gasbuggy involved an underground detonation, intended to stimulate production of natural gas by cracking the rock in the underground formation of its deposit. The test proceeded as expected, but not only did the production not increase as much as expected, but the customers also refused to buy gas contaminated with traces of radioisotopes.
Buggy
Buggy was a Plowshare test designed to excavate a channel. It was a simultaneous detonation of 5 devices, placed apart and below the surface that resulted in a wide, 900 feet long, and deep . Or 65 feet deep and 254 feet wide, according to Declassified U.S. film. The USSR conducted a similar salvo-test to investigate the use of nuclear explosions in the construction of the Pechora–Kama Canal project. On March 23, 1971, three simultaneously detonated 15 kiloton underground nuclear charges were exploded in the Taiga test.
Faultless
The Faultless test was a calibration test conducted in a mine cavity 3,200 feet beneath the Hot Creek Valley near Tonopah, Nevada, with a yield of around 1 megaton. This test was conducted to see if the land was fit for testing a 5 megaton thermonuclear warhead for the Spartan missile. The test failed because of the large degree of faulting that resulted in the area around the test. It was decided that the land was unfit for multi-megaton nuclear tests, so a similar calibration test was conducted at Amchitka Island, Alaska, in the fall of 1969 during Operation Mandrel. The 7.4 foot diameter steel pipe that was used to place the bomb remains at the test site. The top of the pipe was originally flush with the surface, however, the ground sunk by nine feet following the explosion. A plaque is mounted on the exposed pipe to commemorate the event.
Table of detonations
The United States's Crosstie nuclear test series was a group of 48 nuclear tests conducted in 1967-1968. These tests followed the Operation Latchkey series and preceded the Operation Bowline series.
