Operation Hurricane

Historical eventOctober 31952

Operation Hurricane

The United Kingdom successfully conducted its first nuclear test, becoming the world's third state with nuclear weapons.

Everything on October 3Original source

In context

When
Friday, October 3 195274 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1950s
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1952.

What happened

Operation Hurricane was the first test of a British atomic device. A plutonium implosion device was detonated on 3 October 1952 in Main Bay, Trimouille Island, in the Montebello Islands in Western Australia. With the success of Operation Hurricane, the United Kingdom became the third nuclear power, after the United States and the Soviet Union.

October 3 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1952Operation Hurricane
  2. 1995Murder trial of O. J. Simpson
  3. 2003Siegfried & Roy
  4. 2008Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
  5. 2009Azerbaijan
  6. 20132013 Lampedusa migrant shipwreck
  7. 2015Kunduz hospital airstrike
  8. 20212021 Milan Pilatus PC-12 crash
  9. 2022Svante Pääbo
  10. 2023Wab Kinew
  11. 2024Bengali language

Also in 1952

  • September 12Flatwoods, West VirginiaThree boys in Flatwoods, West Virginia, U.S., reported seeing a ten-foot-tall (3 m) monster in the woods while investigating a UFO.
  • October 20Evelyn Baring, 1st Baron Howick of GlendaleThe Governor of Kenya Evelyn Baring declares a state of emergency and begins arresting hundreds of suspected leaders of the Mau Mau Upris…
  • November 51952 Severo-Kurilsk earthquakeAn earthquake struck the Kamchatka Peninsula, triggering a major tsunami that affected the Kuril Islands and other parts of the Pacific O…
  • June 17Guatemalan RevolutionGuatemalan Revolution: The Guatemalan Congress passed Decree 900, redistributing unused land greater than 224 acres (0.91 km2) in area to…
  • June 17Decree 900Guatemala passes Decree 900, ordering the redistribution of uncultivated land.
  • May 18First Indochina WarFirst Indochina War: Viet Minh forces overran a French and Laotian garrison at Muong Khoua, leaving only four survivors.
  • September 6Farnborough Airshow crashA prototype aircraft crashed at the Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire, England, killing the pilot and test observer on board, and 29 spect…
  • November 25Korean WarKorean War: After 42 days of fighting, the Battle of Triangle Hill ended as American and South Korean units abandoned their attempt to ca…

Everything we record for 1952 →

Sources

Cite this page

“Operation Hurricane”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/operation-hurricane-1952-october-3, accessed October 27, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did Operation Hurricane happen?

October 3 1952 — 74 years ago, on a Friday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.