March’s calendar features the M65 Atomic Cannon (“Atomic Annie”) which is right off I-70 outside Junction City, Kansas. This view shows Fort Riley in the distance. The calendar also features some interesting March Atomic Events as well as a complete listing of all atomic shots during March from 1955 through 1984.
This Atomic Annie is located in Freedom Park near Junction City, Kansas, at exit 301 on I-70. The trail to the top of the hill with the cannon has recently been improved and was reopened for visitors.
The M65 Atomic Cannon was built by the United States and capable of firing a nuclear device. It was developed in the 1950s during the Cold War and fielded between April 1955 to December 1962 in West Germany, South Korea, and on Okinawa.
On May 25, 1953, the Atomic Annie was tested at the Nevada Test Site as part of the Upshot-Knothole series of nuclear tests. Codenamed “Grable,” it resulted in the detonation of a 15kt shell at a range of 7 miles. This was the first and only nuclear shell to be fired from the cannon.
Of the 20 M65s produced, seven are on display. Only two have their original prime movers:
- United States Army Field Artillery Museum, Fort Sill, Oklahoma. This is the original cannon fired with the live nuclear shot. Restored in 2010, original prime movers were restored and added.
- The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History in their Heritage Park, Albuquerque, New Mexico
- United States Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center, Petersburg, Virginia
You can visit any of these Atomic Annie cannons. However, if you’d like to visit the one featured, and you’re traveling through Kansas, be sure to stop and take the hike to the top of the hill.
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