Operation Hurricane: Britain's First Atomic Test

On October 3, 1952 Britain detonated an atomic bomb on the MonteBello Islands, 50 miles off Western Australia's Pilbara coast. The success of the top secret test made Britain the third atomic power after the United States and Soviet Union. Author Paul Grace, has written a dramatic account of the test, 'Operation Hurricane: The Story of Britain's First Atomic Test and the Legacy that Remains' His Grandfather, Flight Lt. Ron Grace was a Royal Australian Airforce pilot who flew security patrols before the test and 'coastal monitoring' sorties in the radioactive aftermath, searching for fallout on the Australian mainland. This episode is Paul's first hand account of the test, its politics, personalities and implications for Australia.

You can listen to Operation Hurricane: Britain's First Atomic Test online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Operation Hurricane: Britain's First Atomic Test is an episode from Backyard Battlefields.

This episode is 01:06:13 long.

This episode was published on Nov 6, 2025.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Backyard Battlefields when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.