Operation Ranger

Operation Ranger was the fourth American nuclear test series. It was conducted in 1951 and was the first series to be carried out at the Nevada Test Site. All the bombs were dropped by B-50D bombers and exploded in the open air over Frenchman Flat (Area 5).

These tests centered on the practicality of developing a second generation of nuclear weapons using smaller amounts of valuable nuclear materials. They were planned under the name Operation Faust.

The exact locations of the tests are unknown, as they were all air drops. However, the planned ground zero was set at 36.82556°N, -115.965°W for all except the Fox shot, which was "500 feet [500 ft] west and 300 feet [300 ft] south" in order to minimize damage to the control point.

Footage of the Buster-Jangle Baker test is often mislabeled as belonging to the Ranger Able test. Both shots can be told apart because the Buster Baker test was conducted at Yucca Flat in the daytime, meanwhile Ranger Able was conducted at Frenchman Flat in the nighttime. No motion picture of Operation Ranger has ever been declassified.

History
The primary purpose of Operation Ranger was to perform experiments in preparation for Operation Greenhouse. As the device to be tested in Greenhouse was in the stockpiling stage with respect to its high explosive system, it was felt that the entire test series could be performed using air dropped weapons.

The test led to the establishment of the Nevada Proving Ground (later Nevada Test Site, now Nevada National Security Site or NNSS). Following this test series it was believed appropriate to conduct tests up to approximately 60 ktTNT at Nevada instead of at the Pacific Proving Ground.