Date Description Estimated Yield Type Name Location
16 July 1945 U.S. tests first nuclear device ~20 kt plutonium implosion Trinity Alamagordo, New Mexico, USA
6 August 1945 Little Boy dropped on Hiroshima ~13 kt HEU gun-type Little Boy Hiroshima, Japan
9 August 1945 Fat Man dropped on Nagasaki ~21 kt plutonium implosion Fat Man Nagasaki, Japan
25 July 1946 U.S. conducts first underwater test ~23 kt plutonium implosion Crossroads Baker Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands
29 August 1949 U.S.S.R. tests first nuclear weapon ~21 kt plutonium Joe 1 (name given by the United States) Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan
3 October 1952 U.K. tests first nuclear weapon ~20 kt plutonium implosion Hurricane Monte Bello Islands, Australia
1 November 1952 U.S. tests first thermonuclear device ~10.4 MT thermonuclear Ivy Mike Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands
1 March 1954 U.S. tests first deliverable thermonuclear weapon ~14.8 MT thermonuclear Castle Bravo Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands
22 November 1955 U.S.S.R. tests its first thermonuclear weapon ~1.6 MT thermonuclear Joe 19 (name given by the United States) Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan
15 May 1957 U.K. tests its first thermonuclear weapon ~200-300 kt thermonuclear Grapple Christmas Island (Kiritimati), South Pacific
19 September 1957 U.S. conducts first fully contained underground nuclear test ~1.7 kt composite pit implosion Plumbbob Rainier Nevada Test Site, USA
8 November 1957 U.K. tests its first successful thermonuclear weapon ~1.8 MT thermonuclear Grapple X Christmas Island (Kiritimati), South Pacific
13 February 1960 France tests its first nuclear weapon ~60-70 kt plutonium implosion Gerboise Bleue Reganne, Algeria
30 October 1961 U.S.S.R. conducts Tsar Bomba test, the biggest nuclear explosion in history ~50-58 MT thermonuclear Tsar Bomba Novaya Zemlya, Russia
6 July 1962 U.S. conducts Sedan test as part of the Plowshare Program ~104 kt thermonuclear Storax Sedan Nevada Test Site, USA
9 July 1962 U.S. conducts Starfish Prime test in outer space 1.45 mt thermonuclear Starfish Prime Lower Outer Space
16 October 1964 China tests its first nuclear weapon ~22 kt HEU implosion 596 Lop Nur, China
17 June 1967 China tests its first thermonuclear weapon ~3.3 MT thermonuclear CHIC-6 Lop Nur, China
24 August 1968 France tests its first successful thermonuclear weapon ~2.6 MT thermonuclear Canopus Fangataufa Atoll, South Pacific
18 May 1974 India tests its first explosive nuclear device ~12-15 kt plutonium implosion Smiling Buddha Rajasthan, India
24 October 1990 Last U.S.S.R nuclear test ~1 T low-yield test (715th test) Novaya Zemlya, Russia
26 November 1991 Last U.K. nuclear test ~11 kt Low-yield option of variable-yield thermonuclear device (?) Julin Bristol (45th test) Nevada Test Site, USA
23 September 1992 Last U.S. nuclear test ~5 kT safety experiment Julin Divider (1,032nd test) Nevada Test Site, USA
27 January 1996 Last French nuclear test ~120 kt thermonuclear Xouthos (210th test) Fangataufa Atoll, South Pacific
29 July 1996 Last Chinese nuclear test ~1-5 kt low-yield test (45th test) Lop Nur, China
11 May 1998 India conducts a nuclear test (three nuclear devices) ~45 kt total thermonuclear device (?), plutonium implosion, low-yield test Shakti Pokhran Desert, India
13 May 1998 India conducts a nuclear test (two nuclear devices) <1 kt low-yield tests Shakti Pokhran Desert, India
28 May 1998 Pakistan conducts a nuclear test (five nuclear devices) ~9-12 kt total HEU fission device, boosted fission device (?), 3 low-yield tests Chagai-I Ras Koh, Pakistan
30 May 1998 Pakistan conducts a nuclear test (one nuclear device) ~4-6 kt HEU fission device Chagai-I Ras Koh, Pakistan
9 October 2006 DPRK announces that it has conducted a first nuclear test magnitude 4.1 plutonium implosion (?) Hwadae-ri, Korea
25 May 2009 DPRK announces that it has conducted a second nuclear test magnitude 4.52 plutonium implosion (?) Hwadae-ri, Korea
12 February 2013 DPRK announces that it has conducted a third nuclear test magnitude 4.9 plutonium implosion (?) Hwadae-ri, Korea