Little Feller II andLittle Feller I were code names for a set ofnuclear tests undertaken by the United States at theNevada Test Site on July 7 and 17, 1962 as part ofOperation Sunbeam. They were both tests of stockpiledW54 warheads, the smallest nuclear warheads known to have been produced by the United States, used in both theDavy Crockett warhead and theSpecial Atomic Demolition Munition.
In Little Feller II (July 7), the warhead was suspended only three feet above the ground and had a yield equivalent to 22tons of TNT (92 GJ). In Little Feller I (July 17), the warhead was launched as a Davy Crockett device from a stationary 155 millimeter launcher and set to detonate between 20–40 feet (6.1–12.2 m) above the ground around 1.7 miles (2.7 km) from the launch point, with a yield of 18 tons of TNT (75 GJ). This test was performed in conjunction withOperation Ivy Flats, a simulated military environment, and was observed by Attorney GeneralRobert F. Kennedy and presidential adviser GeneralMaxwell D. Taylor.
Little Feller I was the last near-ground atmospheric nuclear detonation conducted by the United States[1] (the high altitudeFishbowl tests concluded in November 1962 with a detonation at around 69,000 feet (21 km) altitude).
All further tests were conducted underground, in accordance with thePartial Test Ban Treaty. An additional footnote isOperation Roller Coaster.[1] Although this later series of tests involved no true nuclear detonation, they did disperse radioactive material using conventional explosives and thus may alternatively be considered the last aboveground nuclear test.