France goes nuclear
FEB 13, 2015
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.030897
On this day in 1960 France became the world’s fourth nuclear power when it conducted a successful test -- codenamed Blue Jerboa -- in the Algerian desert. With a yield equivalent to 70 kilotons of TNT, Blue Jerboa was more powerful than the combined yield of the first tests conducted by the US, USSR and UK. After the test, French president Charles de Gaulle declared: “Hurray for France! Since this morning, she is stronger and prouder.”
Date in History: 13 February 1960
© 2015. American Institute of Physics