A-TEST IN SAHARA
“No Military Significance” (Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON, November 30.
France’s big atomic test to the Saha’ra next year will not put her into the nuclear club, according to the “News Chronicle” today. Her atomic bomb was too big to go into a plane and at the same time economy cuts had cancelled the long-range Mirage IV B which was originally planned as France's atom-bomber, the paper said. It was becoming increasingly clear that the military significance of France's test was zero, the newspaper said. The so-called "bomb” to be set off was not in fact a bomb at all. It was a huge complex nuclear “device,” according to some reports “as big as a railway engine.” It was presumably similar to the original device Britain exploded at Monte Bello, Australia, in 1952, the newspaper added. Ahead of France lay at least three years’ work to scale this monster down to a usable bomb.
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Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29067, 2 December 1959, Page 17
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156A-TEST IN SAHARA Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29067, 2 December 1959, Page 17
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