Marine Corps Test Unit - Subordinate Training - Infantry Battalion - Exercise Desert Rock VI

Exercise Desert Rock VI

On March 22, 1955, the infantry battalion of MCTU #1 was temporary assigned to the 3rd Marine Corps Provisional Atomic Exercise Brigade, or 3rd MCPAEB, to participate in Exercise Desert Rock VI - codenamed Operation TEAPOT. Operation TEAPOT was a series of tactical nuclear weapons tests with active nuclear warheads conducted by the United States Atomic Energy Commission at the Nevada Test Site. The battalion and its detached aviation elements were involved in Shot 'Bee'.

A nuclear weapon was detonated simultaneously as the infantry battalion maneuvered within 3,500 yd (3,200 m) away from ground zero, acting as an amphibious battalion landing force in the vicinity of a nuclear fallout. Close air support was used, targeting the helicopter Landing Zones ninety seconds before the marines were set down. While the marines were advancing, the mushroom cloud was still forming above. The battalion simulated their attacks through a buildup of mock trenches and facilities made to resemble an city.

Exercise Desert Rock VI also concluded tests in the effects of the atomic blast on their equipment and marines on the ground. Equipment and mannequins were placed in different locations of varying distances from ground zero, all displayed in different degrees of protection. After the detonation and fallout cleared, the marines from the infantry battalion, Marine Corps Test Unit #1, were taken and shown the effects of their equipment and mannequins. The after-action report with the photographs that were taken before and after photographs revealed that their tanks had turrets blown off, amphibious tracked vehicles were turned upside-down, and the mannequins in the open were vaporized. However, the distance from ground zero and the additional level of protection proved noteworthy. The tactical exercise that they had successfully demonstrated gave the marine corps a survivability estimate and an appreciation for the atomic power of nuclear weapons.