Operation Mike and the First Thermonuclear Bomb Test | Britannica

History on Instagram: "In 1958, the United States carried out Operation Hardtack I, a series of 67 nuclear tests in the Pacific, with Bikini Atoll as a primary detonation site. These experiments included atmospheric explosions and underwater detonations aimed at advancing thermonuclear weapons during the Cold War. The most powerful blast, codenamed “Oak,” released an explosion equivalent to 8.9 million tons of TNT—hundreds of times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. Underwater tests like “Wa