Nuclear Weapons: Testing
Commons · Question 115408 · Tabled 24 Feb 2026 · Ministry of Defence · Official record
Answered 3 Mar 2026
Question
Asked by Emma Lewell
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the recent declassification of the Merlin database and file reference ES 38/ZGWGV, whether service personnel took part in a mission to sample the Soviet nuclear weapon known as Tsar Bomba.
Answer
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones, 3 Mar 2026
The information in ES38/ZGWGV suggests that Service personnel were involved in at least one sampling sortie after the Tsar Bomba test in October 1961. However, the unit records from this time are now held by The National Archives, and it is not possible t...