Nuclear weapons tests in Australia known at the time as Christmas Island (not to be confused with Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean) between 1957 and 1958. These were airbursts mostly occurring over water or suspended a few hundred metres above the ground by balloon. In Australia there were three sites. Testing was carried out between 1952 and 1957 and was mostly done at the surface. A few hundred smaller scale tests were conducted at both Emu Field and Maralinga between 1953 and 1963. Two separate atomic test projects occurred at the islands, the first being Operation Hurricane and the second being Operation Mosaic The
1211th Test Squadron accomplished effectively with manned aircraft. Analyses of samples collected from atomic clouds were considered the most accurate method of determining the efficiency and yield of a nuclear device. Air Force Special Weapons Center (AFSWC) scientists accompanied the squadron on sampling missions in order to assess effects on humans. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) recommended that the USAF establish an organization specifically for gathering cloud samples. In 1953, HQ, USAF approved a test squadron for sampling atomic clouds; the squadron was titled the 4926th Test Squadron (Sampling) and assigned to the 4925th Test Group (Atomic). The new squadron was created within