February 13, 1960 · Sahara Desert, southern Algeria Theater
February 13, 1960
France detonated its first atomic bomb, 'Gerboise Bleue,' in the Algerian Sahara on February 13, 1960. The explosion was four times more powerful than the Hiroshima bomb. France would conduct 17 nuclear tests in Algeria between 1960 and 1966 — four atmospheric and thirteen underground. The tests exposed Algerian Tuareg populations to radiation without their knowledge or consent, and radioactive contamination persists in the Sahara to this day.
Commanders