THE Australian Government approved British missile tests in South Australia without knowing the missiles were nuclear-tipped, say secret documents.
This was after an edict in the late-1950s by the British Government that the Australian Government could not be given any details of the supersonic cruise missiles because they were mainly designed by the US.
It is the first time details have publicly emerged that nuclear missiles fired from bombers were tested in the early-1960s in SA.
Until now, the only publicly known nuclear tests were the bombs exploded at Maralinga and Emu Field during trials in the 1950s, followed by another 300 explosions during the early 1960s.
The Advertiser has learnt Australian military and scientific personnel were barred from participating in the testing of the air-to-ground missiles as information was strictly restricted to the British and US military.
A two-page letter with no details of the potential radioactivity accompanied classified maps were given to the former South Australian premier, Sir Thomas Playford.
The maps showed how British jet bombers carrying the missiles flew over SA, Victoria and New South Wales in 1963 to test their inboard systems before jettisoning their payloads.
The maps – obtained by The Advertiser – were part of limited information provided to Sir Thomas by the government of former Liberal prime minister Sir Robert Menzies, which agreed not to seek details of the missiles under an nuclear weapon information-sharing agreement signed between Britain and US in 1958.
The declassified documents show the Menzies government originally was told the warheads of the Blue Steel missiles would only contain high explosive – and public safety was not a concern.
"The weapons would carry the mechanical and electrical components of nuclear warheads and may carry some high explosive but there would be no fissile (atomic) material and therefore no new safety problems are involved," said a top-secret memo to Sir Robert by one of his advisers, M.C. Timbs, on June 4, 1959.
However, two weeks later, Sir Robert was told in a top secret cablegram from the Australian High Commission in London that the British Government did intend to use radioactive warheads after all.
"We think Prime Minister (sic) should know that United Kingdom (sic) here have now advised us that although the warheads would not contain fissile material they may at some stage contain a small amount of radioactive material," it said. "The explosions would not give rise to any significant radiation. This varies from their earlier approach when we were assured that high explosives only would be used."
A cablegram sent to the Australian High Commission on November 8, 1961, said the Blue Steel trials had been given the go-ahead after a formal agreement that no information would be provided to the Australian Government.
Nuclear tests no one knew about
