MET

Operation Teapot

April 15, 1955 · Nevada Test Site (NTS) · Tower · 22 kt

A nuclear device mounted at the top of a steel or wooden tower and exploded in the atmosphere.

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U.S. Army Air Corps (A.C.)

Printed in 1955

Silver gelatin print

11x14 in (27.9x35.6 cm)

Serial number, Stamp, Caption

The affixed Signal Corps caption naming this the Atomic Cannon (Grable) test, 25 May 1953, is a distribution mislabel: the same frame was also issued captioned as the 15 April 1955 shot (MET), confirmed in Michael Light's 100 Suns.

© 2026 Strangelove Collection. All rights reserved.
Licensing inquiries

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U.S. Army Air Corps (A.C.)

Printed in 1955

Silver gelatin print

11x14 in (27.9x35.6 cm)

Handwriting, Stamp, Caption

The affixed Signal Corps caption naming this the Atomic Cannon (Grable) test, 25 May 1953, is a distribution mislabel: the same frame was also issued captioned as the 15 April 1955 shot (MET), confirmed in Michael Light's 100 Suns.

© 2026 Strangelove Collection. All rights reserved.
Licensing inquiries

Shot MET, Operation Teapot, 15 April 1955. 22 kt tower detonation, Frenchman Flat, NTS. Smoke rocket blast-wave photography trails visible. Strangelove Collection.
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U.S. Army

Printed in 1955

Silver gelatin print

8x10 in (20.3x25.4 cm)

Caption

© 2026 Strangelove Collection. All rights reserved.
Licensing inquiries

Operation: Teapot - Testshot: MET - Strangelove Collection
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Unknown

Printed in 1955

Silver gelatin print

8x10 in (20.3x25.4 cm)

Handwriting, Stamp

© 2026 Strangelove Collection. All rights reserved.
Licensing inquiries

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Joint Office of Test Information

Printed in 1955

Silver gelatin print

8x10 in (20.3x25.4 cm)

Serial number, Stamp

© 2026 Strangelove Collection. All rights reserved.
Licensing inquiries

Shot MET, 12th nuclear test of Operation Teapot, 122-metre tower detonation, Frenchman Flat, Nevada Test Site, 15 April 1955. LASL/AFSWP Military Effects Test, 22 kt. Joint Office of Test Information. AEC-55-5193.
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Unknown

Printed in 1955

Silver gelatin print

8x10 in (20.3x25.4 cm)

Stamp

© 2026 Strangelove Collection. All rights reserved.
Licensing inquiries

Fireball of Shot MET, 12th nuclear test of Operation Teapot, 400-foot tower detonation, Frenchman Flat, Nevada Test Site, 15 April 1955. Smoke rocket trails from Project 1.2 Shock Wave Photography visible as vertical streaks to the right. LASL/AFSWP Military Effects Test, 22 kt. Joint Office of Test Information. AEC-55-5194.
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Joint Office of Test Information

Printed in 1955

Silver gelatin print

8x10 in (20.3x25.4 cm)

Serial number, Stamp

© 2026 Strangelove Collection. All rights reserved.
Licensing inquiries

Shot MET — an abbreviation for Military Effects Test — was the 12th nuclear detonation of Operation Teapot, fired on 15 April 1955 at 1115 hours from a 122-metre tower in Frenchman Flat, Nevada Test Site. It was the only shot in the entire Teapot series not detonated in Yucca Flat. Jointly sponsored by the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory and the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, MET carried the largest number of Military Effects Group projects of the entire Teapot series — 38 in total — making it the most elaborate combined military-scientific test event of the operation. The nuclear yield was 22 kilotons; the cloud top reached approximately 12,300 metres. Some 163 Camp Desert Rock support troops observed the detonation from 9.5 kilometres southwest of the shot-tower as part of Exercise Desert Rock VI. Among the 38 projects fielded was Project 1.2, Shock Wave Photography: 16 smoke rockets were fired beyond the shot-tower immediately before detonation to make the progression of the blast wave visible to instrumentation cameras.

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