Little Feller (nuclear tests)

Little Feller II and Little Feller I were code names for a set of nuclear tests undertaken by the United States at the Nevada Test Site on July 7 and 17, 1962 as part of Operation Sunbeam.

In Little Feller II (July 7), the warhead was suspended only three feet above the ground and had a yield equivalent to 22 tons of TNT (92 GJ).

In Little Feller I (July 17), the warhead was launched as a Davy Crockett device from a stationary 155 millimeter launcher and set to detonate between 20–40 feet (6.1–12.2 m) above the ground around 1.7 miles (2.7 km) from the launch point, with a yield of 18 tons of TNT (75 GJ).

This test was performed in conjunction with Operation Ivy Flats, a simulated military environment, and was observed by Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and presidential adviser General Maxwell D. Taylor.

Little Feller I was the last near-ground atmospheric nuclear detonation conducted by the United States[1] (the high altitude Fishbowl tests concluded in November 1962 with a detonation at around 69,000 feet (21 km) altitude).