Operation Sailor Hat

Operation Sailor Hat was a series of three tests of explosives effects, conducted by the United States Navy on the island of Kahoʻolawe, Hawaii in 1965. They were non-nuclear tests employing large quantities of conventional explosives (i.e. TNT) to simulate the effects of a nuclear weapon blast, such as the effects upon naval vessels. In addition, seismological data, underwater acoustics, radio communications, cratering, air blast effects, cloud growth, fireball generation, and electromagnetic data were gathered. The light cruiser USS Atlanta, the guided-missile destroyer leaders USS England and USS Dale, the guided-missile destroyers USS Cochrane, USS Benjamin Stoddert, and USS Towers, and the Royal Canadian Navy's escort destroyer HMCS Fraser all participated in the trial.