"Joe-4"

Memories of testing the thermonuclear bomb

"Joe-4." So the Americans were dubbed the test on August 12, 1953 in the Kazakh steppe of the first thermonuclear bomb in the world. 4 - serial number of Soviet tests, Joe - named Stalin. As the tests passed and what the creators of the bomb felt, Andrei Sakharov told in his “Memoirs” in July 1953 all the preparation of the product was completed, it was time to go to tests for a training ground located in the Kazakhstan steppe near Semipalatinsk. I am forbidden to fly by plane, I'm going in the Yu.B. Khariton along with M.V. Keldysh, M.A. Lavrentiev

* * Yu.B. Khariton, M.V. Keldysh, M.A. Lavrentiev - Soviet scientists who worked together with A.D. Sakharov over the creation of a hydrogen bomb. and my acquaintances from the object V.A. Davidenko (he was then the head of the nuclear research department). <...>

Arriving at the training ground, we learned about the very difficult situation that suddenly arose. The test was scheduled in the ground version. The product at the time of the explosion was supposed to be on a special tower built in the center of the test field. It was known that with ground explosions, the phenomena of a radioactive “trace” (strips of falling radioactive precipitation) arise; But no one thought that with the very powerful explosion that we expected, this “trace” would go far beyond the landfill and create a danger to the health and life of many thousands of people who have nothing to do with our affairs and do not know about the threat that has overhanged them.

Those busy with the preparation and calculations of the product itself, who are organizational issues, we all missed all this out of sight - an extra example of the fact that in the most important issues there are no less often, but, perhaps, even more often than in the less significant ones! Victor Yulianovich Gavrilov, former employee Zeldovich, pointed out to the danger

* Ya.B. Zeldovich, Soviet physicist, academician. . <...> Now he worked in PSU

* The first main management is the scientific and production structure, which was engaged in the development and production of nuclear weapons. Later, the institution was renamed the Ministry of Medium Engineering. , in Moscow.

The authorities were very alarmed. Malyshev

* V.A. Malyshev in 1954-1956 held the post of deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and at the same time the head of the PSU. , in his expansive manner, he said: “We were ready for testing, everything went fine. And suddenly, like an evil genius, Gavrilov appeared, and everything was mixed. ” To clarify the situation, several groups were created. We worked in parallel (in the rooms of the hotel, where we were settled, of course, without rest, almost around the clock), and after a couple of days with the help of an American book about the action of atomic weapons - the Black Book, as we called it not only by the color of the cover - we had the necessary estimates in relation to our conditions: the power of the explosion, the meteorological situation, the nature of the soil and the height of the tower. <...>

We appreciated at what distance from the explosion point of our charge could wait for the total radioactive dose of irradiation 200 X -ray - this figure was chosen as the limit. We proceeded from the fact that (as was then believed), the radiation dose of 100 X -ray sometimes leads to serious lesions in children and weakened people, and the dose of 600 X -ray leads to death in 50 % of cases for healthy adults. We found it possible to believe that no one in the precipitation zone will receive a complete dose of radiation, since people can be evacuated from there and they will not be in the open air all the time. Nevertheless, we considered people who live in the leeward sector closer than the border of 200 X -ray, we considered it absolutely necessary to evacuate! These were tens of thousands of people!

With this conclusion, we went to the authorities - Kurchatov, Malyshev and the military head of the tests to Marshal Vasilevsky, Deputy Minister of Defense Zhukov. They were very serious, with great anxiety reacted to our conclusions. Having accepted them, one of two should have been made: either cancel the ground test, go to the air option with dumping the product from the aircraft in the form of an air bomb, or to evacuate the population in the threatened sector indicated by us. The transition to an air test meant a large delay, perhaps for six months or even for a year - but a much smaller delay was considered unacceptable. The evacuation option was accepted. <...> Each of the specialists, including Kurchatov, had to personally confirm his conviction of the need for evacuation. Malyshev called us by name; The called up and expressed his opinion. It was unanimous. Vasilevsky said that he had already given an order (he was ready to cancel it if the meeting decides differently) about the sending of 700 army trucks - the operation may begin immediately. In a narrower circle, Vasilevsky told us: “In vain you kill so, tormented. Each army maneuvers are accompanied by human victims, 20-30 people die, this is considered inevitable. Your trials are much more important for the country, for its defense power. ”

But we could not take this point of view. <...> Looking ahead, I will say that further events very clearly confirmed the need for the evacuation plan we proposed. Within the evacuation sector, there was a rather large Kara-Aul village. It so happened that a radioactive “trace” passed through it. During evacuation, residents were said that they would return in a month. But we deceived the inhabitants of Kara-Aul-they were able to return only in the spring of 1954! <...>

On August 5, a session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was opened. A very important report on it was made by the Chairman of the Council of Ministers G.M. Malenkov. <...> not yet condemning Stalin in the obvious form, we have already departed from many features of his heritage. <...>

Finishing the performance, Malenkov ... said (with the applause of the hall) that the USSR has everything for defense, has its own hydrogen bomb! This statement became a great sensation, was immediately reprinted by all newspapers in the world. It was done on August 5, exactly a week before the actual test! We listened to Malenkov’s performance in the darken lobby of a small hotel. The product has not yet been installed on the tower; On the off -road, the Kazakhstan steppe on hundreds of trucks was brought south, east and west of the family evacuated with their hastily collected belongings ...

In early August, the usual product was tested (we call the atomic “ordinary” product). At another time, it would be an event for me, but then I almost “did not notice it”, absorbed in the expectation of a thermonuclear. Finally, the test day has come - August 12. The day before, on the advice of Zeldovich, I went to bed early, taking a sleeping pill (which I usually do not do). At 4 o’clock in the morning of all living in the hotel, alarming calls woke up. I went to the window. It was still dark. I saw how trucks with the headlights turned on along the entire horizon line, transporting test participants to work. Two and a half hours later, I arrived at the observation post 35 km from the explosion point, where the young theorists of our group and the Zeldovich group had already gathered, and soon the tests of the tests, the heads of operational groups, also Igor Evgenievich <Tamm> arrived.

* Soviet physicist, Nobel Physics Prize winner. HELL. Sakharov considered himself a student of Tamm. . I had to observe the explosion with theorists. Igor Evgenievich was invited to go to the dugout of the authorities. I went up to exchange with him a few words of mutual encouragement. But not only we, but the bosses were noticeably nervous. <...>

I returned to the field. According to the instructions, we all lay on the stomach on the ground, facing the point of the explosion. A languid expectation stretched. The loudspeaker next to us gave commands.

10 minutes left.

There are 5 minutes left.

2 minutes left.

All to put on safety glasses (these black glasses were in our pockets).

60 seconds are left.

50, 40, 30, 20, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

At that moment, something flashed over the horizon, then a rapidly expanding white ball appeared-its reflection covered the entire line of the horizon. I tore off my glasses and, although I blinded me to change the darkness, managed to see an expanding huge cloud under which crimson dust spread. <...> A few minutes later the cloud became black and blue, ominous and stretched out of half a birth. It became noticeable that it gradually blows the top wind south, towards the mountains, steppes and Kazakh villages peeled from people. After half an hour, the cloud disappeared from sight.

Excerpt from the book "Memories", first published in New York, the Chekhov Publishing House in 1990