[Llarry]

In May of 1962, the U.S. Navy was ready to test the new ASROC (Anti-Submarine Rocket). The chosen location was well off the California coast and the USS Agerholm (DD 825), an updated WWII era destroyer that had been fitted with an ASROC launcher, was chosen to conduct the test. The ASROC was fitted with a 10-kiloton nuclear warhead.

The attached photo shows the massive explosion. This was the only live shot of the ASROC nuclear warhead. Later an alternative payload was developed that consisted of a homing torpedo. The nuclear warhead option was withdrawn under the direction of the President at the end of the Cold War. The ASROC continues in service (with torpedo) today.