In 1962, there was a top secret operation to test nuclear weapons called Shot Swordfish. It was part of Operation DOMINIC which had four primary objectives... to test nuclear weapons designs developed by the labs during the test ban, to further study the effects of high altitude nuclear detonations, to test the Polaris weapon system, and to test the Navy's ASROC nuclear antisubmarine rocket. My father participated in the Shot Swordfish part of Operation DOMINIC which was an underwater detonation of a stock nuclear anti-submarine rocket (ASROC) weapon approximately 370 nautical miles west-southwest of San Diego.
Speaking on Operation DOMINIC...
"I was on an aircraft that participated in a test of an antisubmarine atomic weapon device. This test was conducted a few miles off the California coast during the DOMINIC operation. I was the navigator on the lead a/c, an A3D-2P, attached to VAP-62 out of Jacksonville.
Our job was to be directly above the target at 20,000 ft when it exploded. We had several dry runs but the ships involved couldn't get us on target using their radar. We persuaded them to let us do the countdown and fire on our command. It worked out perfectly. We had eleven cameras on board and we were directly above when the device detonated. (My father took the one arial shot above) The pictures showed the burst developing below water and increasing in size until it reached the surface. It was perfectly round and we were told it was the best pictures ever of an under water detonation." Joe E Linn Lt USN Ret., my father.
Though he did not participate in Operation DOMINIC, there was a rather famous member of the VAP62 in Jacksonville, Florida at the same time as my dad, Roger B. Chaffee. If you do not recognize the name, he was one of the astronauts who, along with Ed White and Virgil Grissom, tragically lost his life when the Apollo 1 caught fire on launchpad 34 on January 27, 1967.
Jo Eugenia Linn
daughter of
Joe Eugene Linn
