OPERATION CROSSROADS —
The Official Pictorial Record aoe

sROSSROADS
fficial PICTORIAL Record
t Foreword by

Vice Adm. W. H. P. Blandy

-
j Prepared and Edited
in the Office of the Historian

7 ‘he entire world watches with bated
sreath each new development of the
“ iracle of Modern Miracles”—Atomic
‘ig ergy. Whole peoples stand aghast at
he spectre of this mighty Colossus of
Power that has such great bearing on the
ery lives and future of you and your
nildren—that can be the most horrible
and devastating weapon of destruction or
he greatest tool of modern industry—that
san either destroy or revolutionize all

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sivilization.
_ Now, in this only pictorial record of its
kind, our Government’s official Historian
‘ f OPERATION CROSSROADS, personally select-
ed by Admiral Blandy, Chief of Joint
TASK FORCE ONE, gives you the latest per-
tir ent details of the incredible Atomic
xperiments. Shows you, in 228 pictures
scores reclassified from secret files), the
nost important chapters in the fascinating
Bikini Atom Bomb tests. Tells you, in
he most startling, pithy word reports
over published, the true behind-the-scenes
S 0 ry of OPERATION CROSSROADS. Reveals the
tr e purposes and aims of our United
States in developing Atomic Energy.
‘i No one really interested in the future
san help but profit by this revealing offh-
‘cial report on the greatest man-made ex-
plosions in all history.

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OFFICE OF THE
RESEARCH LIBRARIAN

OPERATION CROSSROADS

The Official Pictorial Record

INSTITUTION ARCHIVES
W.H.O.1. DATA LIBRARY
WOODS HOLE. MA. 02543

The Office of the Historian
Joint Task Force One

1946
Wm. H. Wise & Co.:, Inc.
; New York

Copyright, 1946
Wm. H. Wise & Co., Inc.

Credits: All photographs are Joint Task Force One pho-
tographs except as follows:

Acme: Pages 16, 40, 93, 95, 103, 122
Press Association: Pages 22, 137, 173, 214

International News: Pages 25, 31, 38, 39, 41, 51, 66, 140,
157, 158 (lower), 161, 169, 206

Life Magazine: Pages 67, 80-81, 86, 87, 94, 123, 174

Fritz Goro of Life Magazine: Pages 34, 35, 53, 59, 88, 90,
Olt Shey. eee tS. £58, T1599, GOK shear
(lower), 201

Printed in the U.S.A.

A Message from the Commander

Joint Task Force One

HIS pictorial record of Operation CROSSROADS must be dedicated to the 42,000
men—civilians and servicemen, who made the gigantic experiment possible. It is the
record of a job well done. It is a record which makes impressively clear the extent of
the preparations made over a period of months. The variety of activities constituting
Joint Task Force ONE is also evident. The Operation called for a multitude of skills
and talents. And from every man it demanded hard work. All this is apparent from

the record.

From the standpoint of the general public, Operation CROSSROADS constitutes
a further example of the type of cooperation between the services—the Navy, Army
Air Forces, Army Ground Forces, and civilian scientists and technicians, to which the
people of the United States became accustomed during the recent war.

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page 6 ee

For obvious reasons these photographs no more than hint,.at fhe rccine a
amount of data obtained concerning the effect of the bombs upon ships and material.
They necessarily slight the technical and scientific lessons learned at Bikini. They do,
however, evidence an incontestable truth. The Atomic Age is here. It is no myth.
Nor is the atomic bomb "just another weapon." It is the most lethal destructive
agent yet devised by man. Its energy release is staggering; its radioactivity is slow-

killing poison.

The purpose of these tests was to determine the effect of the atom bomb against
various types of naval vessels. With the information secured, we can improve our ship
design, tactics, and strategy, to minimize our losses in the unfortunate event of war
waged with atomic weapons. A reliable and continuously effective plan to avoid com-
petition in atomic armaments is the best possible defense against surprise attacks. With
such a plan, atomic energy can in time become the controlled slave of man's peacetime
pursuits. In the face of this new knowledge, these recently discovered truths concerning
the atom, so suddenly thrust upon an already chaotic world, not only warfare but civi-
lization itself literally stands at the Crossroads. Hence the name of this operation.

Foreword

N° MAN really saw what happened at Bikini.
Approximately 42,000 persons, drawn from
the four corners of the globe, travelled thousands
of miles to stage and witness the tests. But an
atomic bomb defies scrutiny. It shuns publicity.
It shields its intense life-soan in a flash of light
many times the brilliance of the sun. It dazzles
human eyes. It limits its life to a matter of mil-
lionths of a second. It enshrouds itself in a cloud.
And then it dies, mushrooming grotesquely to
high altitudes as if for a better view of the havoc
it has produced.

Even if pent up beneath the surface of a la-
goon it resists observation. Where before it
blinded the eye here it succeeds in blinding the
mind. In a matter of seconds it tosses up a column
of tons of water higher than the Empire State
Building. It sinks ships in a moment and crushes
others into the deformed, stepped-on shape of a
child's bath-tub toy. Itself the result of man’s in-
tellect, the bomb defies examination by its creator.

And yet the Bikini tests were thoroughly ob-
served. Supplementing human onlookers were
10,000 instruments, and among them cameras,
constructed to record what the human eye could
never see. Cameras are inquisitive instruments
with long memories. In the field of atomic re-
search they are indeed star witnesses. Their story
may appear differently to the scientist and the
layman. But all may grasp its general significance.

For those who attended the tests these photo-
graphs may serve as the lasting momento of a
unique experience. For those who did not they
should serve to provide perspective concerning
the atomic bomb, and give better knowledge of
one of the largest scale ventures in experiment
ever attempted by man. This foreword has been
written with that end in view, and to place Opera-
tion CROSSROADS properly in the history of
the bomb.

Previous Bombs
RIOR to July 1946 three atomic bombs had

been detonated—one above the New Mexico
desert, two more above the Japanese cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For an already weaken-
ing Japan these bombs spelled defeat. The bomb-
ing of Hiroshima, on August 5, 1945 (Greenwich
Mean Time) constituted the first military use of
the bomb. Nagasaki was hit on August 9 (G.M.T.).
On August 14, only nine days after Hiroshima,
Japan surrendered unconditionally.

Now it could be told ... the "best-kept secret
of the war," the story of secret research in the
field of nuclear physics, the successful tapping of
the tremendous energy of the atom, the mass
production of materials to make use of this energy
in the form of a bomb. The perplexing language
of science dominated the columns of the daily
press. Laymen throughout the United States
scratched their heads and attempted to under-
stand.

One thing was clear. The bomb constituted a
revolution in pre-existing concepts of tactics and
strategy. The tremendous striking power of the
single, unaccompanied bomber over Japan, taken
to be a reconnaissance weather plane by those on
the ground, was retold with each succeeding bul-
letin describing the doomed cities. But just how
much of a revolution did the bomb represent? No
one knew the answer to that question.

Trinity Test

It was true that Bomb Number One, the first
atomic bomb ever detonated by man, had been
exploded "under laboratory conditions." This was
the so-called Trinity Test, conducted in the great,
roofless laboratory of the New Mexico desert near
Alamogordo on July 16, 1945. The Trinity Test
had been observed by scientists, military observers
and by hastily-set up instruments. But the instru-

page 8

mentation was meagre. The test was carried out
during wartime with emphasis on secrecy and the
rapid development of a bomb for use in bringing
to an end a war that had already cost the lives
of millions. Alamogordo represented a proving
ground, not an elaborately instrumented experi-
ment. As a source of scientific data concerning
the bomb it left much to be desired.

The subsequent uses of the bomb at Hiroshima
and Nagasaki were carried out under combat con-
ditions. They, too, were of little significance from
a technical point of view. They did provide data
concerning the effect of the bomb on a city of
the Japanese type; but this data was entirely in
the form of rough estimates proving little.

Bomb vs Ships

1 many this question arose: What eftect would

an atomic bomb have on a fleet of naval ves-
sels? Much thought had been given to this ques-
tion during the development phases of the bomb.
As early as 1944 the Manhattan Engineer District,
charged with development of the bomb, had given
serious consideration to the possibility of "testing"
one of its atomic bombs against the Japanese
Navy at Truk Island. And just after the surrender
of Japan Senator Brien McMahon of Connecticut
made a speech in the Senate in which he advo-
cated the use of the atomic bomb against the
captured Japanese fleet.

Speculation on this subject followed diverse
lines. What amount and type of damage would
the bombs produce in the first instance? To what
extent should accepted principles of ship design
be altered in future construction? What defensive
measures could be taken by a ship attacked with
atomic missiles? Were traditional tactical prac-
tices outmoded?

Joint Task Force ONE

Fe answer questions like these the Joint Chiefs
of Staff, with Presidential approval obtained
on January 10, 1946, created Joint Task Force
ONE; its mission: to carry out the atomic bomb-
ing of a target array of naval ships. Vice Admiral
W. H. P. Blandy was designated Commander. This
Task Force comprised a total of more than 200
ships, 42,000 men, and 150 aircraft. It included
members of the Navy, Army Air and Ground
Forces, and civilian scientists. Its directive ordered
one test of the bomb in air above the target fleet,

and a second detonation in the water, slightly be-
low the surface.

Two tests were necessary. The air and subsur-
face bursts constituted quite different test situa-
tions. This difference can be quickly told. When
exploded in air at low altitude, as in Test ''Able,”’
an atomic bomb subjects everything in its vicinity
to violent air-blast and intense radioactivity. Much
of the radioactivity is dissipated into the upper
atmosphere in the so-called ''mushroom cloud.”
Ships subjected to the bomb were expected to re-
ceive, and did receive a severe air blast or con-
cussion. Crews on the test ships, had there been
any, would undoubtedly have suffered many cas-
ualties from the lethal radioactivity.

Test ''Baker,'’ the underwater shot, utilized the
bomb's tremendous energy release in a different
way. The huge pressure built up by the bomb
under the water was transmitted to the under-
water portions of the neighboring ships. Ship
hulls were by this pressure forced inward on all
sides at once. Furthermore, since the bomb was
submerged in the lagoon, its radioactivity was
prevented from passing instantly into the upper
atmosphere. Intense and lasting radioactivity was
produced in the water of the lagoon. The ships,
drenched by tons of water thrown up by the ex-
plosion, became similariy contaminated. The ex-
tent of such contamination proved a matter of
great interest.

Bikini

d Paes Bikini Atoll, a typical Pacific Ocean island

group in the Marshalls, was chosen as the site
of the test. It is 2000 miles southwest of Hawaii,
and 4150 miles from San Francisco. Several fac-
tors made Bikini an excellent choice. Its size was
ideal—an atoll of several small islands surrounding
a lagoon 20 miles long and 10 miles wide. Aver-
age depth of water inside the lagoon was approxi-
mately 200 feet, a good anchorage for the target
ships. The Atoll is remote from fishing areas,
steamer lanes. It is located 250 miles north of
Kwajalein, a suitable base from which the bombing

plane could operate. Its weather conditions were
excellent.

Preparations

pes for the Operation went forward during
the Spring and early summer of 1946. Surveys
of the Bikini lagoon were made, its waters combed
for truant Japanese mines, its natives evacuated

to another island. The islands were sprayed with
DDT to insure healthful conditions for Task Force
personnel. Towers to house cameras and television
apparatus were built. At Kwajalein the available
airfield installations were readied for the arrival
of the Air Group. Laboratories for chemical analy-
sis and photograph processing were constructed.
Little by little the ships of the target array as-
sembled and were brought to Bikini, most of them
~ through Pearl Harbor, which hummed with activity.
Installations of special equipment had to be made
on many vessels. Salvageable ship materiel was
removed. Army equipment scheduled to be se-
cured to the decks of the target ships and exposed
to the bomb's destructive force was placed
aboard. The German cruiser ‘Prinz Eugen" moved
from European waters to Philadelphia and on to
the Pacific. From Japan steamed the captured
Japanese battleship ''Nagato"' and the light cruiser
"Sakawa.'" Also to their rendezvous with destiny
came the valiant old battleship “Pennsylvania,”
commissioned in 1916 and once flagship of the
United States Fleet, the 30-year-old veteran ''Ne-
vada," first of the Navy's oil-burning super-dread-
naughts, the rugged carriers ''Saratoga’’ and ''In-
dependence."

Several plans for the arrangement of the target
fleet were considered and revised. The directive
creating the Operation specified a disposition of
ships to give a graduation of damage from maxi-
mum to minimum. Major damage to ships close to
the explosion point, minor damage to ships at the
outskirts of the target circle, would provide valua-
ble means of analyzing the bomb's elusive fury.
The final disposition appears schematically at a
later place in this book. The concentration of ships,
from a Navy point of view, was obviously artificial.
More than 20 ships were compressed within 1000
yards of the bulls-eye ship. Ordinarily such an
area would be used to contain but a single capital
ship in a carrier force at sea, or three capital ships
in a normal anchorage. The principle of using an
arrangement that would provide graduated dam-
age, instead of one representing a tactical forma-
tion or anchorage, was followed in both tests.

Instrumentation
Gay instrumentation program at Bikini consti-
tuted the heart of the Operation. More than
10,000 instruments were placed about on target
ships, in shore and observer ship and aircraft in-

page 9

stallations. Simple and complex, the instruments
included many that were familiar long before Bi-
kini, many developed specifically for these tests.
Various staff divisions under the Technical Direc-
tor concentrated on apparatus. Their names hint
at the breadth of scientific observation planned:
bomb operation; pressure and shock; wave motion
and oceanography; electromagnetic propagation
and electronics; radiological safety; radiation; ra-
diometry; technical photography.

The ships themselves were in a real sense instru-
ments, their recorded behaviour in the face of
the explosions revealing much of the nature and
development of the gigantic forces produced. In-
genious instruments on the ships measured roll
and pitch, recorded strain experienced by plates
and ribs, wrote down the temperature of ship
interiors, tested surrounding air for contaminating
radioactivity, radioed their findings to the ob-
server fleet miles outside the lagoon. Drone, or
unmanned, radio-controlled boats and _ planes
played an important part. The boats collected
samples of the radioactive lagoon water when it
was still too "hot" to handle. Drone planes pene-
trated where no man could have ventured, flew
through the mushroom cloud on photographic
missions, sampled its poisonous content, televised
to remote onlookers their instrument panel read-
ings for flight analysis.

Cameras at Bikini took more than 50,000 stills
and 1,500,000 feet of movie film. One camera,
presumably the world’s largest aerial camera, used
a 48-inch focal length telephoto lens capable of
taking a legible photograph of the dial of a wrist
watch a quarter of a mile away. One high-speed
movie camera operated at the rate of 1000 pic-
tures per second.

Pre-test Training

| tests required special training of the 42,000
men who serviced the Operation. Procedures
were set up for placing the thousands of instru-
ments, for their care and activation, the collection
of their data. Underwater photography techniques
were developed as an aid in recording the data
from sunken ships. The drone plane and boat pro-
grams, Army and Navy, greatly advanced the art
of radiocontrol apparatus and its manipulation.
The fact that Test Able was but the third atomic
bomb ever dropped from a bomber provided the
Army Air Forces with an incentive for considerable

page 10

valuable and much-needed training in a practically
untried field. AAF training for Bikini began in
January 1946 at Roswell Field, New Mexico. It
concerned drone operation and the bombing mis-
sion, the crew for which was selected after rigor-
ous competition.

At Pearl Harbor the Navy trained fire-fighting
and damage control teams for the exacting work
of first reboarding the target ships after each test.
This work was important in saving instruments from
destruction from secondary causes following the
explosions, and in advancing the time for sate
general inspection of the ships. To safeguard per-
sonnel from radioactivity, radiological monitors
were schooled in the use of Geiger counters, which
detect contaminated areas.

As July |, 1946 (Bikini time), the date set
for Test Able, drew near—weather permitting—
weather forecasters frowned deeper over the in-
exorable data on their charts, and in the end
made a perfect prediction of clear weather suit-
able for the tests. Much depended upon their
accuracy. Drone planes tried their wings over
Bikini; and the varied photographic, reconnais-
sance, and press planes of the Operation plan
rehearsed once more the detailed courses they

Washington D. C.
| November 1946

were to follow. On "Queen Day" the dress re-
hearsal of Test Able was held. Everything went
smoothly. Months of training and planning had
borne fruit.

The Tests

Oe July |, 1946 it was the real thing. The con-
spiracy of men and instruments against the
bomb came into the open. Soon after the first
test the collection of data began—the reading of
the apparatus, the amassment of facts which would
take months to appraise. On July 25 Bikini time
(July 24 G.M.T.) came Test Baker, with the bomb
slightly below the surface of the water in the la-
goon. This time the work of reentry was retarded
by the contamination of the water. Ships were
washed down and made ''Geiger sweet,” that is,
free from harmful radioactivity. Concerning the
atomic bomb, time for bombast had ceased, the
time for analysis of results had begun. The photo-
graphs that follow make no pretense at providing
results and conclusions that are even now being
prepared. It is however hoped that they will aid
a greater understanding of Operation CROSS-
ROADS and, more important, further the intelli-
gent discussion of the momentous issues it so
urgently represents.

Office of the Historian,
Operation CROSSROADS.

THIS IS BIKINI. The picturesque village street of
Bikini, with coarse particles of coral underfoot and
coconut palms overhead, is typical of the Marshall
Islands. Tranquil beside the clear water of the
lagoon it borders, Bikini is nowhere more than ten
feet above the level of the sea. Its temperature

is high and uniform the year round, averaging 80
degrees Fahrenheit, with night temperatures but
12 degrees lower. Humidity is high, with a heavy
precipitation of rainfall, about 80 inches per year,
or double what it is in Washington D. C. The
tropical heat is mitigated by strong sea breezes.

page 12

Broome

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STRALIA

MAP OF THE PACIFIC. The Bikini Atoll, one of
34 atolls making up the Marshall Island group, is
but a dot on the navigator's chart of the vast
reaches of the Pacific. Even in the modern age
of flight it may accurately be described as one
of the remote places of the earth, Its very re-

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moteness favored its selection as the site of the
atomic bomb tests. Discovered in 1526 by a
Spanish sea captain, the islands were rediscovered
and named by the English captains Gilbert and
Marshall in 1788. The islands became a Japanese
mandate after World War I.

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BIKINI ATOLL

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4.0. Misc. 11.90)

NATIVE GRAVEYARD. ABOVE.
In this native cemetery lie the
ancestors of the modern Bikin-
ians who, in February 1946,
agreed to give up their homes
and memorials sto permit the
staging of the atomic bomb
tests. Gravestones at Bikini are
often shaped in the outline of
a man's head and shoulders, as
shown in the center of the above
group. During the war Japanese
saki bottles and colored glass
floats, salvaged from Jap fish-
nets, became popular as grave
decorations. RIGHT. Private
property among the young is
hampered by the lack of pock-
ets. OPPOSITE. ABOVE. With
ample supplies of pandan avail-
able for thatch, no housing
shortage exists anywhere in the
Marshall Islands. The mild cli-
mate permits light construction
with open sides and matted
floors. BELOW. Map of Bikini
Atoll. The target array was lo-
cated in the northeast part of
the Lagoon, about 2 miles
southwest of Bikini Island,

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ATOMIC BOMB BRAIN TRUST. On March 20,
1946 Major General Leslie R. Groves, Command-
ing General of the Manhattan Engineer District,
presented the Medal for Merit and citations from
President Truman to five University of Chicago
scientists known throughout the world for their
pioneer researches in nuclear physics. Left to
right: Gen. Groves; Enrico Fermi, self-exiled Italian
physicist and Nobel Prize winner, who built the
first slow-neutron chain-reaction pile (fall of 1942);
Robert S. Stone, visiting professor of roentgenol-
ogy; Harold C. Urey, Nobel Prize winner, dis-
coverer of heavy water; Samuel K. Allison, Director
of the M.E.D. Metallurgical Laboratory at Chi-
cago; and Cyril Smith, an associate division head
at Los Alamos in charge of preparation of fission-
able materials for bomb construction.

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AT HOME ABROAD. OPPOSITE. King Juda, sit-
ting on bench, relaxes with some of his subjects
and listens to the regular noonday broadcast from
Station WXLG on Kwajalein, 250 miles south of
Bikini. This photograph was taken on Rongerik
Island, 130 miles east of Bikini, to which the Bi-
kinians were evacuated after their island had been
selected as the site of the atomic bomb tests.
Buildings of the new village on Rongerik appear
in the background. The Kwajalein station makes
regular broadcasts to the natives within listening
distance. Bikini folk take pride in their one radio
receiver, powered by a small generator presented
to them by the Navy. No need to use Winston
Churchill's admonition "More tooth!" when photo-
graphing these natives. Their excellent sense of
humor is evident.

page |8

THE STAFF MEETS. Smooth functioning of the
vast Crossroads organization was assured by
weekly staff meetings. A thousand-page Opera-
tion Plan’ was drawn up and printed specitying
the plans and responsibilities of all participating
roups. ABOVE. Seated, le# to right: Major Gen-
ral W. i aLvas Deputy Task Force Commander
A ; Vice Admiral Blandy, Commander;
se MSS: Deputy / Task Force
r for Technical Direction; Major Gen-
Ground Forces Adviser.
Brigadier General T. S. Power, Assistant
Deputy Task Force Commander for Aviation; a4

adier General K. P. Mc cNaughton, Captain C.

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Lyman, Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations;
Colonel T. J. Betts, Assistant Chief of Staff for
Intelligence; Colonel D. H. Blakelock, Assistant
Chief of Staff for Logistics; Dr. Raloh A. Sawyer,
Technical Director; Captain Robert Brodie Jr.,
Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel, and Captain
G. M.. Lyon, Safety Adviser.

OPPOSITE. LST 1108 moves outrigger canoes
from Bikini to Rongerik, while the native owner
watches anxiously, wondering whether Uncle Sam's
sailors will handle his primitive craft as well-as they
do their own. These sailing canoes are used for
hundred-mile trips in the open sea from atoll to
atoll.

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page 20

MOVING DAY, BIKINI TO RONGERIK. On
March 7, 1946, the population of Bikini was moved
to Rongerik in LST 1108, a total of 161 persons
making the trip. Rongerik had been the first choice
of nine of the eleven family heads, called alaps,
as the new home for the evacuees. The island is
roughly triangular in shape with good topsoil and
relatively heavy growth of coconuts, pandanus,

page 2]

breadfruit, and arrowroot. Beaching facilities were
good. The Bikini church and community house
were dismantled and transported to Rongerik.
Pandanus thatching for the new village on Ron-
gerik was prefabricated. OPPOSITE. Seabees and
Marshallese at work installing temporary canvas
roofs on the new houses, Later, thatch replaced
the canvas,

page 22

Re ae aoe

CORAL HEADS ARE DYNAMITED. Important in
the preparations of the site itself for the atomic
bomb tests was the blasting of coral heads from
the lagoon floor. Over !00 tons of dynamite had
to be used for this work. Coral heads constitute
the skeletal remains of the minute animal organ-

isms also called corals, which once inhabited them.
At a distance coral heads roughly resemble cubical

boulders 30 feet on a-side. Distinct obstructions
to navigation, they were charted in initial surveys
of the lagoon, which were made using fairly re-
liable Japanese maps as an aid, and then removed.

page 23

CURTAIN RAISER. These clouds of spray thrown
up by the dynamite charges used to remove coral
heads from the lagoon floor are but a microscopic
suggestion of the titanic blast plumes heaved aloft
by the second of the two atomic bomb explosions.
The tempest in a teacup shown here was necessary

to aid navigation in the lagoon, to facilitate uni-
form mooring of target vessels, and to permit ac-
curate study of the spread of underwater shock
waves produced by the bombs. Some were re-
moved to permit the larger landing craft access
to the island beaches,

AREA IIT ELLIE OE GEIS BIER TI LEO EILIEEES

OPEN HOUSE AT RONGERIK. Completed
houses built on Rongerik for the evacuated Bi-
kinians resemble the one shown here. In addition
to trim structures like this, nine 8 by 8 by 5-foot
concrete cisterns for catching rainwater were
built. A total of 23,000 gallons of fresh water was

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put ashore at Rongerik to tide the village over
until the beginning of the rainy season. Rongerik
rainfall being slightly heavier than at Bikini, ade-
quate fresh water was assured. Rongerik affairs
are watched over by military government officials
under the Kwajalein Island Commander.

EPR
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SURPRISE POSTPONEMENT. The Bikini tests,
originally cheduled for May 15, 1946, were post-
poned six weeks by President Truman, to July I,
in order that members of Congress, knee-deep in
legislative problems, might better be spared from
Washington to serve as official observers at Bikini.

ABOVE. Brigadier General Roger M. Ramey,
Commander of Task Group 1.5, the Army A\jr
Forces group in Joint Task Force One, reads a
San Francisco headline announcing the surprise
shift in dates. The delay gave more time in which
to perfect the set-up at Bikini.

“

SCALE MODEL "ATOMIC BOMB" TESTS. In
preparation for the Bikini tests a number of scale
model experiments were conducted at the Taylor
Model Basin near Washington D. C. to aid in
estimating the size’and character of waves that
would be produced by the actual atomic bomb
explosions. Scale model Victory ships were con-
structed of thin sheets of brass and floated in the
lagoon" shown above. Scaled amounts of TNT
were used to simulate the atomic bombs. These
tests were made in a specially-construeted tank
known as "'Little Bikini." Other studies were made
on a larger scale, using 500-pound amounts of
explosive, in tests conducted at the Naval Mine
Warfare Test Station at Patuxent, Maryland. In
both types of scaled experiments effects noted
were the size of the water crater, height, persis-
tency and diffusion of plumes. OPPOSITE. Scale
charge is detonated.

page 27

— en

INSTRUMENT GRANDSTANDS GO UP. Instru-
ments, the eyes of the Operation, were installed
on top of steel towers erected on various islands
surrounding the Bikini lagoon. Television cameras
mounted in these lofty grandstand seats were fo-
cussed on the target array and, when the tests
occurred, permitted scientists miles from Bikini to
witness what was going on at the test site. Still
and motion picture cameras were also berthed on
top of towers to make a permanent photographic
record of what occurred. Towers were assembled
on the ground and hoisted into place.

page 29

TOWER GROUP, ENYU ISLAND. A further view
of the types of tower installations made to house
delicate apparatus used to record the characteris-
tics of the blasts. Many of the photographs in this
volume and many of the best newsreel views of
the explosions were taken from towers such as
these. Cameras were installed inside lead-walled
vaults, the doors of which were arranged to close
automatically after the filming had been accom-
plished, thus protecting film from the harmful ef-
fects of gamma radiation. Each tower amounted
to an extensively equipped observation station..

364 ee ee Rear Admiral W. S. Parsons,
orce Commander for Technical Di-

a press conference query at a

on in Washington. At the

t: Colonel T. J. Betts, Assistant

telli ; Commodore J. A.

Rear Admiral T. A.

R. A.

Solberg, Director of Ship Material; and Dr.
Sawyer, civilian scientist and: Technical Director.
Extreme right: rear row, Commander Roger Re-
velle, in charge of oceanographic and wave motion

studies. Standing: Colonel Stafford E. Warren,
Radiological Safety Adviser, and Lt. Colonel J. A.
Derry of the Manhattan Engineer District.

page 31

— ated eanealtanbaetacartindiamaeienab teaianieinaetaeanaen nam ieeeiaae smaeeimemanaineeendammemmmnetaaumetemabeneemuatnakaieennantaneate

AU REVOIR TO MANHATTAN. The veteran bat- ‘!New York'’ saw action in both World War | and
tleship "New York," built in 1914,-is nudged down Il. During the recent war the "New York"’ was
river in New York Harbor as she starts the long placed on convoy duty, participated in North
trip ‘to Bikini to join the group of target vessels African landings, saw action off lwo Jima and Oki-
destined to feel the might of atomic bombing. nawa. Attacked by Jap torpedoes, bombs, artillery
Slow and overweight by modern standards, the and planes, she was hit only once, at Okinawa.

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SHIPS OF THE SUPPORTING FLEET. OPPOSITc.
Glittering with planes like a tiara~ed grande dame
headed for an opening night at the theatre, the
aircraft carrier Shangri-La’ passes through the
Panama Canal en route to Bikini, where she was
to join the supporting fleet. As shown in the
upper photograph, the canal locks were so narrow
that the ship's barbettes, or side gun platforms,
had to be removed to permit passage. Even at
that it was a tight squeeze.. At Bikini the ''Shangri-
La" controlled the operation of Navy drone planes.
The name of the 'Shangri-La'' commemorates the
historic raid of Tokyo in April 1942 by Lt. Colonel
Jimmy Doolittle's AAF B-25 bombers launched
from the carrier ‘'Hornet."' The take-off place of this
daring strike was referred to cryptically for a year
afterwards merely as Shangri-La." ABOVE. Brain
center of the supporting fleet off Bikini was Ad-
miral Blandy's flagship "Mount McKinley.” This
ship is classified as an amphibious warfare flagship.

CORAL HEADS. Systematic surveys made prior to
the tests uncovered valuable information on ma-
rine life and reef structure. At 26 localities around
the atoll detailed traverses were made, showing
reef profile, with its channels, pools, and caverns,
and the relative abundance of various organisms
and sediments. Shown above are two typical coral
heads, some six feet in diameter, on the lagoon
reef off Oruk Island. The central portion of these
heads is a brilliant pink coral, with a different va-
riety, yellow-greén in color, forming the platelike
exterior.

HERE'S A PRETTY KETTLE OF FISH! This remark-
able photograph of small tropical fish caught at
Bikini gives an excellent suggestion of their bril-
liant coloring and varied patterns. To determine
the effect of the explosions on fish ‘and other ma-
rine life censuses were taken before and after the
tests. Fish were caught by many traditional meth-
ods such as nets, spears, and tackle: but newly
developed techniques for poisoning fish were also
used in carefully limited areas. ~Rotenone was
placed in the current along the outer reefs, and
the tish gathered in as they came to the surface.

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ASSEMBLY LINE, PEARL HAR-
BOR. Ships of the Task Force
assemble at Pearl Harbor en
route to Bikini. Ship prepara-
tions for the Operation were
made at various Navy Yards,
including Philadelphia, Terminal
Island, San Francisco, Mare ls-
land, Bremerton, and Pearl.. As
means for measuring various
overall effects of the ‘atomic
bomb the target vessels were
themselves instruments on a
grand scale, and of crucial im-
portance. It was therefore ne-
cessary to place ship equipment
and machinery in good working
order, so that injury produced
by the explosions could be accu-
rately determined. Power plants,
machinery, guns, turrets and
other equipment were placed in
the best condition possible, and
the watertightness of compart-
ments tested and improved.
Army trucks and~ tanks were
hoisted aboard and made fast.
Sturdy brackets and pedestals
were installed to support the
thousands of instruments to be
mounted when the ships reached
Bikini. For some installations
special electric wiring was ne-
cessary.

PRINZ EUGEN EN ROUTE TO BIKINI. The Ger-
man cruiser '’Prinz Eugen"' was one of three foreign
ships used in the target array, the others being
the Japanese cruiser ''Sakawa"’ and the Jap battle-
ship "'Nagato.'' The ‘Prinz Eugen" was the second
of the "Admiral Hipper" class heavy cruisers built
by the Germans for use in World War II. She fought
several important actions in the Atlantic, Baltic
Sea, and English Channel, including the engage-
ment in 1941 which resulted in the sinking of the

"Bismarck.'' She accompanied the German battle-
ships ''Scharnhorst'' and ''Gneisenau"’ in their dra-
matic flight through the English Channel to Norway
in 1942. Later beleaguered by Allied attacks of va-
ried types, the ''Eugen'’ was fee to Brest for re-
pairs resulting from mines, and received a heavy
bomb hit while still in drydock. Subsequently she
had her stern blown off by a British torpedo.
ABOVE. American sailors take over in Boston
Harbor.

PUT THAT PISTOL DOWN. The "Prinz Eugen’ is
stripped of her armament at the Philadelphia Navy
Yard prior to continuing to Bikini for a place in
the target array. Bottled up in Gdynia during the
closing years of the war, the "Eugen" was handed
over intact to British Naval authorities when Ger-
many surrendered. She made the trip to America

page 39

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with a German crew, Americans replacing the
Germans at Boston and Philadelphia. She was of

all-welded construction. In view of her elaborate
compartmentation she was generally comparable
in damage resistance to a modern U. S. heavy
cruiser. Former pride of Hitler's navy, she repre-
sented his “guns instead of butter’ policy.

page 40

SS ET OE Se Bag

GENTLEMEN OF THE PRESS. Ace photographers
from Acme, International News Service, Associ-
ated Press, and Life Magazine, some of whose
work appears in this book, were assigned to cover
the atomic tests. Photographs were handled under
a pool agreement, all pictures in the pool being
freely usable by pool members. The problem: of
security in releasing photographs was handled by
a photographic panel representative of the varied
responsibilities of the Task Force. ABOVE. About
to embark on the “Shangri-La,” left to ens Clar-
ence L. Hamm, A. P., Sonnee Gotlieb, |. N. S.,
and Bob Landry, ne Magazine. OPPOSITE.
ABOVE. Foredeck of the Jap battleship "Nagato,'’
showing U. S. seamen at work freeing the wildcat
on the starboard anchor chain. "'Nagato'' was a
35,000 ton mainstay of Japan's navy and one of
her two heaviest pre-war battleships. Commis-
sioned in 1919, she was modernized in 1936. In
October 1944, when the Japs attempted to choke
oft American landings in Leyte Gulf, 'Nagato" was
part of the southern Jap naval force which tried
to force the San Bernardino Straits. In July 1945
she -was heavily damaged by Navy carrier planes
at the Yokosuka Naval Base. BELOW. American
sailors try out a communitv bathtub on the ''Na-
gato,"

page 41

EVALUATION BOARD CONFERS. The Joint
Chiefs of Staff Evaluation Board, shown here in
conference with Admiral Blandy, kept in close
touch with the Operation even in the early plan-
ning phase, and subsequently travelled to Bikini
to witness the tests. In the above view, members
of the Board examine a model of Bikini Atoll with
model target ships in place in the lagoon. Shown
left to right are: Vice Admiral Blandy; Lt. General
Lewis H. Brereton, Commanding General, First
Air Force; Dr. Karl T. Compton, President, Massa-
chusetts Institute of Technology; Rear Admiral
Raloh A. Ofstie, Senior Naval Member, Bombing
Survey, Naval Analysis Division; Vice Admiral John -
H. Hoover, Assistant Chief of Naval Operations
for Materiel; Maj. General Thomas F. Farrell, USA
(Ret.), former Deputy Commander, Manhattan En-
gineer District; and the late General Joseph W.
Stilwell, until his death Commanding General,
Sixth Army.

42,000 SHOTS IN THE ARM. Thanks in part to
the requirement that all personnel going to Bikini
be inoculated for typhus, typhoid, and tetanus,
and vaccinated for smallpox, the JTF-| Medical
Officer, Captain W. E. Walsh, succeeded in keep-
ing contagious diseases to an extremely low level.

e
|

ee

page 43

However, there was one brief outbreak of dysen-
tery on the "New York," which was temporarily
quarantined off Kwajalein. Bikini Island was sprayed
every two weeks with DDT, and other islands of
hospital ships received few patients.

the Atoll were sprayed at least once. The three

INSIDE A GREEN HORNET. Interior view of a
big Douglas C-54 plane of the so-called "Green
Hornet’ line used to transport personnel and
freight from the United States to Kwajalein, 250
miles from Bikini. The original "Green Hornets'’
were the planes of the Manhattan Engineer Dis-
trict's private airline used to shuttle key personnel
to Tinian Island in the Marianas at the time of the
atomic bombing of Japan in 1945. The new
"Green Hornet" line's 12 ships were in constant
trek between Fairfield Suisun, California, and Kwa-

jalein, with one or more trips scheduled daily.
Usually the passenger limit was 26 persons. To
the hundreds of air travellers, these specks on the
global map became trite names: Hamilton Field
and Fairfield Suisun in California; Hickam Field,
Hawaii; Johnson Island, the Pacific's famed "un-
sinkable aircraft carrier’; and Kwajalein, end of
the hop and 4,200-odd miles, or roughly 23 hours
flying time, from San Francisco. Over these great
sea distances the airline operated for months, and
without accident,

LEGISLATORS EMBARK. Ten Representatives
and four Senators journeyed to Bikini to view the
atomic bomb tests. Two of the Senators, Carl A.
Hatch (D) of New Mexico and Leverett Saltonstall
(R) of Massachusetts, were members of the Presi-
dent's Evaluation Commission set up by President
Truman to supplement the Evaluation Board cre-
ated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. BELOW. Ready

to exchange one tropical clime for another, Sena-

page 45

tors and Congressmén én route to Bikini stand in
the shade of the plane waiting to ferry them 7500
miles from the National Airport at Washington,
D. C. to the Marshall Islands. Left to right: Sena-
tor Guy Cordon of Oregon, Senator Hatch, Sena-
tor Saltonstall, Representative Dean M. Gillespie
(R) of Colorado, and W. S. Newell, civilian mem-
ber of the President's Evaluation Commission, all
wearing parachute harnesses.

ee dee ttt tt tt Ae A CE A te LT A

KWAJALEIN ATOLL. This tiny Pacific atoll
played a significant part in Operation Crossroads.
From its airstrip, one end of which appears above,
the atomic bombing plane "Dave's Dream" took
off for its mission over Bikini. Visible in the back-
jround is the support ship ‘Albemarle, ‘Able

Mabel," tied up at the old Japanese concrete
dock. For the purposes of the Operation new
asphalt plane parking areas were prepared, special
fire-fighting systems were installed along the run-
way, and special facilities were constructed for
servicing the atomic bomb.

page 48

page 49

PONTON BRIDGE INSTALLATION. On the
beach at Bikini Island, Army Ground Group en-
gineers assemble ponton bridges, temporarily
anchored off Enyu and later included in the target
vessel array. Types M-4 and M-4-A2 are shown
here, the M-4 utilizing the sausage-shaped pneu-
matic rubber floats, the M-4-A2 using a newly de-
veloped type of all-metal float (seen in shallow
water just off shore). M-4 pontons played impor-
tant parts in river crossings during the advances
across France and Germany in 1944 and 1945.
The pneumatic floats of these bridges are inflated
by means of small gasoline-powered air pumps.
The standardized roadway ''planks," consisting of
hollow aluminum beams each weighing only 175
pounds, are quickly lifted into place. Metal floats
used by Navy Construction Battalions were called
(and spelled) ''pontoons;"’ they were used at Amen
and Bikini as buoyancy members of portable

docks.

RADIO-CONTROLLED FLYING FORTRESS. At
Eniwetok Island, 190 miles west of Bikini, a B-17
Flying Fortress drone plane with its landing flaps
down eases in over the beach to a three-point
landing. Landings and take-offs of these huge
crewless planes are controlled by transmitters on

2

the ground. Here the transmitter is mounted in
the jeep shown below the plane. Once in the air
the drones are controlled by 'mother'’ planes #ly-
ing near them. Prior to Operation Crossroads,
smooth radio-control of planes the size of Flying
Fortresses had been thought virtually impossible.

PUSH BUTTON FLIGHT—CARRIER BORNE. On
the deck of the carrier ‘Shangri-La’ a Navy FéF
Hellcat drone plane, its tail mooring still in place,
is warmed up and controls given final adjustment
prior to being sent into the air. In the foreground
Lt. Commander W. G. Maurer completes tests of

page 5l

the control mechanism at his finger tips. ‘"Push
button" flight is actually a misnomer. Manipula-
tion of the electronic controls must be done by a
trained flyer. Control of aircraft by radio is diffi-
cult in that the remote pilot is deprived of the
actual "'feel'’ of the plane.

“x

page 52

OPERATION KILOWATT HOUR. At Kwajalein
Island, during an important period in the prepara-
tory phase of the atomic tests, electric power on
the island, normally supplied by two 250-kilowatt
generators, suddenly failed, with no ‘possibility of
repair until special parts had been obtained from
the United States. To bridge the gap a destroyer
equipped with special generator facilities was dis-
patched to Kwajalein, to serve as the Kwajalein
supply for as long as necessary. Shown above,
amphibious members of the 2,750 Air Corps per-
sonnel stationed in the Marshalls bring ashore from
a power boat (not shown) the end of an electrical!
cable extending under water to the destroyer in
the background.

FIRST THE FISH MUST BE CAUGHT. Dr. Leonard
P. Schultz, Curator of Fishes, U. S. National Mu-
seum, left, and Captain Earl H. Herald, AUS,
members of the fisheries group of the oceano-
graphic section, examine their catch in a floating
laboratory on the AGS-4 "Bowditch." Over 20,000
fish were caught by hook, net, and seine. Sonar
acoustical devices were used to locate schools of
fish. Some fish were caught by swimmers armed
with spears and wearing face masks.- Many hither-
to unknown varieties of fishes were found. Some
were brought back to Washington D. C. for study.
Unfortunately, a large number of the specimens
gathered were lost when the YP 636 carrying them
went aground south of San Francisco.

page 53

ORBIT POINT PREPARATION. In Washington
D. C. Vice Admiral W. H. P. Blandy, Commander
JTF-1, and Maj. General W. E. Kepner, Deputy
Task Force Commander for Aviation (both stand-
ing) and Brig. General T. S. Power (kneeling) study
a ''mock-up" of the air operation planned for Test

Able. The Air Plan, a sizable annex to the Opera-
tion Plan, specified position and course of each
plane to be airborne on Able Day. Planes were
provided for: bomb, pressure-gages, weather re-
connaissance, cameras, radiological reconnais-
sance, drone boat control, and observers,

PHOTOGRAPHIC MOSAIC. Navy pilots piece
together overlapping photographs, taken from
high altitude, to form a single mosaic of an area,
in preparation for similar projects at Bikini. Photo-
graphic mosaics were used to give accurate rendi-
tion of details of target ships and islands during
the tests. Developed during the 1930's, photo-
graphic mosaic work is now a well established art.
Definition is so good with the cameras used that
the enlargement of a photograph of a German
motor convoy, taken from an altitude of 20,000
feet, can be used to determine the license numbers
of individual vehicles.

x

PROBLEM FOR OLD SALTS. In ten seconds esti-
mate the number of ships visible in this picture.
The correct answer is 50? 100? 200? During
June, July, and August Bikini was anything’ but
quiescent. In among the target vessels and ships
of the supporting fleet innumerable puny boats
ploughed the water from dawn to dusk in their
endless ferrying of men and equipment from ship
to ship and from ship to beach. Water taxis were
in particularly great demand for ferrying VIP's
and scientists to conferences and for taking tech-
nicians to the sites of their apparatus. Many of
the delicate instruments used required repeated
adjustment and checking; conditions of starting
switches, batteries, and recording mechanisms
were constant sources of concern. In the late
afternoon the water gap between fleet and shore
“was interlaced with the wakes of boats carrying
roughly 10,000 men to the shore, then rushing
them back to their floating homes for chow and
the invariable post-chow movie. OPPOSITE. Sup-
plies come aboard. For the 42,000 men of JTF-|
daily requirements were: 70,000 candy bars, 30.-
000 cigarettes, 40,000 pounds of meat, 89,000
pounds of vegetables, 4,000 pounds of coffee, 38,-
000 pounds of fruit.

page 58

TRANSPACIFIC GAMBIT. Halfway across the
Pacific on the 14-day voyage from California to
Bikini, newspapermen aboard the press ship ''Ap-
palachian"’ indulge in a silent game of chess. Oc-
tavius Guzman, Mexican journalist, at the left,
plays A. M. Khokhlov, Russian newspaperman.
Thoughtful kibitzers of the game include Stephen

White, New York Herald Tribune, extreme left,
and in the rear center, Sam Shaffer of Newsweek
and Don Morris of the Philadelphia Record. Called

"the Apple’ by her crew, “Appalachian” was
equipped with many thousands of dollars worth
of electronic communication equipment for flash-
ing messages and radiophotographs.

WHO'S A LIAR?? ... in all probability the man
responsible for the sign at the Bikini recreation
area which stated, simply, ‘'Ice-cold beer.’ Re-
frigeration, like the cultivation of heavy beards,
has a future in the Marshall Islands. Chilled beer

quickly warmed up in the humid tropical weather.

page 59

The recreation area at Bikini was constructed by
Seabees who reached the Atoll in March of 1946.
It included a beer garden, ice cream parlor, swim-
ming beach, softball diamonds, courts for horse-
shoe pitching and volley ball, and table tennis,
called by the natives ‘ping-pong.’

x

page 60

2 te

PACIFIC ACTION OFF KWAJALEIN. ABOVE.
In waters once Jap-infested the CVE carrier "'Sai-
dor" launches an F6F Hellcat, shown here making its
turn into the wind, while on the carrier deck hand-
lers spot another plane into a take-off position.
''Saidor'' was used as the home base of Navy drone
planes. OPPOSITE ABOVE. A Navy helicopter
idly approaches "Saidor'’ before making a landing
on the forward end of the flight deck. BELOW.
Wet morning at Kwajalein. Weather statistics in-
dicated that on only a few days in the month of
July would weather be clear enough and winds
suitable to permit holding the atomic bomb fests.
The drenched B-29 planes and the cloud heavy
on the horizon are typical of rainy mornings in
this section of the Pacific. Tail-markings on these
planes show their particular function as part of
Task Group 1.5. The F-markings indicate B-29s
modified for use as photographic ships. At the
left, rear, the arrow-in-a-circle marking is that of
a plane used to drop air-pressure gages from high
altitude during the first test. At the rear, center,
B stands for bomber. During the war Kwajalein
was hardly so peaceful. In Japanese hands it was
a threat to the American-Australian life line. It
was first attacked in January, 1942.

page 6l

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page 62

LANDING PARTY. Army and Navy personnel hit
the beach from an LCI water taxi and head for
the recreation area and®a swim at Bikini. OPPO-
SITE. Something for the spear fishermen, surveying
groups, and other technicians on the outer coral
reefs at Bikini to watch out for—the giant Tri-
dacna, a marine bivalve of the oyster family. The
rugged, jaw-like shell halves are operated by

page 63

powerful muscles permitting them to fasten a
death grip on any object that gets between them,
whether it be some form of marine life or the leg
of a luckless underwater swimmer. Ranging in
color from white and pastel pink to deep orange
red, these heavy oysters are beautifully camou-
flaged by the coral background on which they live.
They attain weights of as much as 500 pounds.

x

GROUND FORCES INSTALL EQUIPMENT.
ABOVE. Bow of the battleship "Arkansas'’ with
Army Ground Force equipment in place. A contrast
in weapons is presented by the lethal gun of the
M-26 heavy tank on the port bow, the 12-inch
rifles of the ''Arkansar,'' center, and the Mark 36
90-mm gun mortar carriage on the starboard side
of the ship. The rugged supports seen on the
starboard deck and on the top of the gun turret,

center, are bases for aluminum foil gages, yet to
be installed, used to measure shock wave. Groun
Forces equipment placed on various target ships
for exposure to the explosion included heavy tanks,
delicate radar and sound devices, flashproof cloth-
ing, fresh and canned rations, fuel and lubricants,
numerous kinds of ammunition. OPPOSITE. Offi-
cers and a group of enlisted men attached to the
Army Ground Force Group.

= iis
AN ARMY TANK JOINS THE NAVY. At the
U. S. Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Washington,
a new light 26-ton tank armed with the Air Corps
75 mm cannon is hoisted aboard the ‘Pennsylvania’
for the trip to Bikini. Explicit in the directive of
the Joint Chiets of Staff creating Operation Cross-
roads was the requirement that, consistent with

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the primary object of determining the effects of
atomic bombs on vessels, all possible information
should be obtained concerning the effects of the
bombs on military equipment. A wide variety of
Army materiel, including signal, engineer, chemical
wartare, ordnance, and quartermaster, equipment
was exposed.

RATS, RADIATION, AND HISTORY. Bikini-bound
rats were transported on the APA 67 "'Burleson,’’
which left San Francisco very late (June) so that
the animals might be in the best possible condition
when the tests occurred. The animals transported
to Bikini consisted exclusively of pigs, goats, rats,

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mice, and guinea pigs. Pigs were chosen because
their skin and hair are fairly comparable to man's;
goats because their weight roughly equals man's,
and their bodily fluids are ample for analysis. Four
goats were chosen because of their psychoneurotic
tendencies.

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page 69

BRIEFING ROOM AT KWAJALEIN. Briefing in
the well-appointed Operations Room of Task
Group |.5 at Kwajalein was aided by the use ot
maps and charts painted with fluorescent pigments
and irradiated in semi-darkness by ultra-violet
light. At the left of the central chart is a simu-
lated radar screen showing what the pilot will see
in his own radar screen as his plane approaches
its goal. During brieting each B-29, F-13, or C-54
plane's crew occupied a particular row in the
center section, seating being according to rank.
OPPOSITE. Experimental wing panels installed
by Task Group |.4 personnel on the deck of a tar-
get vessel, to find the vulnerability of such panels
to atomic bomb explosions. Visible also along the
deck are a tail assembly, stablilizer, range-finder,
and rear support of a small mobile gun.

page 70

IS EVERYBODY HAPPY? Congressman W. G.
Andrews (R) from Buffalo, New York, acts as
master of ceremonies at a "Happy Hour" aboard
the AGC 3 "'Panamint,"' which transported many ot
the observers to Bikini. Featured on the Andrews
Hour was a Quiz Program in which several of the
ship's messboys, previously well coached in the
difficult lore of nuclear physics, put to shame some
of the professional scientists aboard, to the sincere
delight of the audience. OPPOSITE. ABOVE. Army
nurses stationed at Kwajalein relax with friends.
There were 37 nurses in the Task Forces. BELOW.
On the beach at Bikini men of the Task Force try
out the swimming facilities of the recreation area
at the south end of the island. Lagoon water tem:
perature averaged 82 degrees, a tepid bath.
Swimming at Bikini was banned immediately after
Test Able until the extent of radioactivity con-
tamination could be determined. Contamination
proved negligible, and the ban was lifted.

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page 72

LOOK PLEASANT PLEASE. This mass grouping

of cameras used by the Army Air Forces to photo-

graph the atomic bomb explosions gives some idea
of the extent of the aerial photographic coverage

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of these tests. Not shown here is navy camera
equipment used in planes and on ships, or in fixed
shore installations used by various technical groups.
The AAF camera roster totalled 328, including
aerial motion and still cameras, and among them

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the world's largest still camera, a giant instrument
with a 48-inch focal length telephoto lens. Other
unusual cameras included gunsight cameras and
ultra high-speed cameras capable of taking 10,000
frames per second under ideal conditions, The

multiplicity of cameras was necessary to insure a
wide variety of filter combinations, lenses, and ex-
posures, and in general to insure obtaining full
records of results, particularly damage results.

FOCUS ON PHOTOGRAPHY. Brig-
adier General Roger M. Ramey,
Commander Task Group 1.5, dis-
cusses Army Air Forces photographic
plans with Colonel Paul T. Cullen, in
charge of technical photography at
Kwajalein. In the foreground are 16
and 35mm type motion picture cam-
eras, operated at 2000 frames per
second, such as are used in the F-13
hotographic ships. The extreme hu-

ity at Bikini presented a serious
to aerial photographers: as
descended and the air pres-
the plane increased, there was

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PREFACE TO PRECISION. On
a Boeing F-13 plane altered for
use as a photographic ship two
motion picture cameras are in-
stalled in one of the plane's
gun turrets. These cameras were
controlled from the top fire
control blister shown in the
background by the same sight-
ing and firing mechanisms nor-
mally used with the plane's ma-
chine guns. Shown here at Ros-
well Field, New Mexico, are
Corporal Harold Johnson, out-
side the plane, making adjust-
ments on the cameras, while
Sergeant Henry R. Zarnoski
mans the controls in the top
fire control blister. In the back-
ground can be seen another
turret, slotted cover in. place,
housing a similar motion picture
camera installation.

POSTERITY VIEWS THE TESTS.
Inside a C-54 photographic
plane flying at high altitude, a
row ot cameramen aim their
lenses at the Lagoon below. On
Able Day photographers in
some planes were vigorously
buffeted by the primary and
secondary shock waves, forceful
enough to knock down one pho-
tographer caught off balance.
BELOW. At Kwajalein a huge
photographic laboratory was
built, its atmosphere cooled and
dehumiditied to prevent dam-
age to film. The bulk of the
photo-processing work was done
at the U.S. Naval Photographic
Science Laboratory at Anacos-
tia, D.C. In the entire operation
over 50,000 still films and mil-
lions of feet of movie film were
exposed.

page 76

WANTED: A LEFT JAB. Scrappy Air Forces boxers
battle it out in the humid night air at Kwajalein.
Mid-summer boxing matches in the Marshalls are

and ashore were

+

wish to

On the carrier "'Saidor" the airplane elevator,
raised to a level three feet above the main hangar
deck, served as an improvised ring. The AV-14
"Kenneth Whiting’ held inter-ship bouts on the
seaplane deck. Devotees of the Golden Gloves
tournaments were not disappointed.

page 77

SEEING EYE DRONE. This
close-up view of the plexi-
glass nose of a B-I7 drone
plane shows a television cam-
era in the position normally
occupied by the bombsight.
Shown checking equipment
is Captain Renee Dussaq,
flight technician. Television
relayed what the drone plane
“saw to television receivers
miles away; the received
images were studied by sci-
entists and recorded on mo-
tion picture film. Televised
images of the drone's instru-
ment panel helped the re-
mote-control personnel keep
the drones flying smoothly.

SPOTLIGHT ON ELEC-
TRONICS. A battery of heat
lamps serves to dry out elec-
tronic equipment used at
Bikini. High humidity, a
principal source of discom-
tort to men, plays havoc with
delicate electronic devices
such as those shown. Fungus
grows on connections and in-
sulation, attacks circuit com-
ponents, and changes their
electrical properties. The ef-
fect on instrument perform-
ance may be very harmful—
to an extent first fully real-
ized by our Armed Forces
when the ground fighting be-
gan in the Pacific theatre in
1942.

INSTRUMENTS—THE PROOF OF THE OPERA-
TION. UPPER. Technicians prepare panels-of fab-
rics for exposure to the effects of the atomic
bombs. LEFT. Rear Admiral W. S. Parsons, Deputy
Task Force Commander for Technical Direction.
He was responsible for all principal technical ac-
tivities involving bomb detonation and determina-
tion of all scientific and technical results.
OPPOSITE, ABOVE. Experts examine pyramidal
orientometers on a target ship. These devices in-
dicate the direction from which the heat and ra-
diation from the atomic bomb came, in terms ot
burns produced when radiation passes through the
tiny holes shown and strikes the base of the instru-
ment. BELOW. Dr. C. W. Lampson of Princeton
University and Captain A. E. Uehlinger, USN,

inspect an aluminum foil gage.

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page 80

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page 8]

AIR FORCES LINEUP, KWAJALEIN.
A few members of Task Group |.5 are
photographed in front of a C-54
photographic plane at Kwajalein. Spe-
cial apertures were made in the fuse-
lages of these planes to accommodate
cameras. Some of these planes carried
as many as 28 cameras, still and motion
picture. Photographic planes had to
be exactly at their prescribed positions
and altitudes, and on the prescribed
courses, at the time of the bomb drop,
to permit accurate concentration of
cameras on the designated parts of
the target area. Accuracy of timing
required cooperation of air crews and
photographers. Accuracy was achieved
through careful and detailed planning,
and through rehearsals held first at
Albuquerque, N. M., and later in the
Marshalls. To supplement the roster of
photographers an appeal was made to
ex-servicemen with experience in pho-
tography to leave their civilian jobs
temporarily and help Operation Cross-
roads. Nearly one-half of the final
photographic staff consisted of veter-
ans brought back from civilian life.

NAVY PHOTOGRAPHIC BRIEFIN

At their
er- based

in one, with one lens pointed vertically downwards
and the other two lenses pointed to right and left
to cover all the remaining field from horizon to
horizon. For this photographic work the Navy used
six Navy F6F-5P's, four TBM's, three PBM's and
four F6F drones. Cameras in planes were in some
instances accurately synchronized with cameras on
towers and on sagas ships in order to show the
test from various angles at the same instant.

RESPONSIBLE PARTY. The assembly and arming
of atomic bombs are intricate operations known
to very few. R. S. Warner Jr., shown at the left
is one of the few. He had been a central figure
in the Bomb Design Section of the Los Alamos
Laboratory since 1944 and was the logical choice
for Head of the Bomb Operation Group at Bikini.
With him are Lt. Colonel R. J. Cunningham, cen-

page 83

ter, and Colonel P. T. Cullen, right. Final prepa-
ration of the Test Able bomb was made by two
Navy officer “weaponeers'’ who flew with the
bomb in Dave's Dream. In Test Baker Mr. Warner
completed final preparation of the underwater
bomb and, with Rear Admiral W. S. Parsons, was
among the very last to leave the Zeropoint Ship
LSM-60, beneath which the bomb was suspended.

SHIPS OF THE TASK FORCE. Representative
ships of the Task Force fleet—three of them target
ships and two of them supporting ships, appear
on this and the opposite page. ABOVE. UPPER,
Panamint."’ LOWER. "'Nevada."’ OPPOSITE, from
the top down: "'Sakawa,"' "Pennsylvania," '“Appa-
lachian.'’ The AGC-13 "'Panamint” served as head-
quarters for congressional, scientific, and United
Nations observers. During the tests she made a
reputation for excellent chow, and literally teemed
with VIP's. The battleship ''Nevada,"’ bulls-eye
ship at Test Able, was painted orange-red to aid

page 85

the bombardier. The battleship "Pennsylvania,"
once flagship of the U. S. Fleet, was one ot the five
heavy ships in the target array. The ''Pennsy"’ served
the United States for 29 years and was among the

ships damaged at Pearl Harbor. The AGC-|
"Appalachian," "The Apple’ served as the press
Pes eicHer ship for 169 newspapermen, photog-
raphers, commentators, and magazine writers cov-
ering Operation Crossroads. From. her antenna-
cluttered masts flowed about 258,000 words ot
copy in 24 hours after Test Able, in five languages
including Polish and Russian,

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ATOMIC DIARISTS Fe Standing before

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ered the

ner 166 newsmen

our newsmen who Cov-
At Test

ere 10 repre-
Two writers, one
one from the wire
respondents to

write accounts of the tests as viewed from the air.
The radio commentator was chosen by lot. Shown
above, ee to right: John M. Carlisle, Detroit
News, representing independent newsmen, Lt.
Colonel a F. Moynahan, Public Information Statt
JTF-1, Bill Downes, Columbia Broadcasting System,
and Frank Bartholomew, United Press,

GENERAL J. W. STILWELL. The late Command-
ing General of the Sixth Army Area and member
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Evaluation Board, in
Mae West life preserver and parachute harness,
is ready for his observation flight on Able Day.
The seven-man Evaluation Board was available for

advising Vice Admiral Blandy during preparations
for the tests, and, shortly after each test, pre-
sented the Joint Chiefs of Staff with a preliminary
evaluation of the results. The Board's final evalua-

tion awaits completion of the full official report
by the JTF-| Historian,

x

page 88

hed .

ay sate! Ra
THE WEB AND THE ROCK. This curious web-
shaped framework is the artificial electrical ground
of an ingenious instrument called a sonobuoy, used
to measure underwater sound waves produced by
the atomic bomb explosions. Each sonobuoy con-
sists of delicate listening apparatus beneath the
barrel-shaped float which houses an automatic
radio transmitter, Sound picked up by the buoy

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is transmitted to a distant listening post. The ver-
tical rod sprouting from the float is the antenna
for the transmitter. Use of such an artificial elec-
trical ground eliminated the effect of surface wave
motion on the instrument's operation. During the
war smaller types of sonobuoys were used to de-
tect submarines. Parachuted trom a patrol plane,
they made accurate bombing possible.

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DRONE BOAT PREPARED FOR OPERATION.
Radio-controlled drone boats, like drone planes,
had an important function at the Bikini tests.
Guided by radio pulses received on the tiny an-
tenna mounted in its bow the drone boat acted
as an automatic monitor, moving throughout the
lagoon collecting water samples and radioing back
data of their radioactivity. The drones were con-

page 89

—— I LEME a

trolled by transmitters aboard the "'Begor." Spot-
ting assistance was provided by planes circling
above the lagoon. Shown above is the smoke-mak-
ing apparatus used to assist the planes in following
the drone's course. The cylinders emitted a yellow-
ish-green smoke which had good visibility from
the air. These drones became very "hot" radio-
actively, particularly after Test Baker.

“

CHIAROSCURO. The tangled branches of a

tournefortia tree make an interesting subject for

Life photographer Fritz Goro. Named for the
famous |7th Century French botanist Tournefort,
this tree is one of the half-dozen species com-
monly found on the Bikini Atoll. Trees and other

flora were studied by Dr. W. A. Taylor of the
University of Michigan as part of the general in-
vestigation of changes produced by the atomic
bomb explosions. It was thought that the atomic
bomb radiations might produce some interesting
mutations in plant life.

THE WORLD IS THEIR GARDEN. At an impro-
vised field laboratory set up in the very environ-
ment they are studying, Lt. Commander M. C.
Sargent and T. S. Austin determine concentration
of phosphate and oxygen in samples of sea water
from a reef section just north of Rongelap Island,

130 miles east of Bikini. Their study was concerned
with determining why certain animals and plants
grow where they do and what factors limit their
growth. Studies were made at islands somewhat
removed from Bikini to serve as ‘control’ studies
for comparison with data amassed at Bikini.

x

FOR HUMAN SAFETY. Aboard the APH-112
"Haven" Col. Stafford L.Warren of Rochester, New
York, radiological safety adviser to Joint Task
Force One, explains the operation of a Geiger
counter to Captain A. C. Thorington, skipper of
the "Haven." It was Col. Warren's responsibility to
see that no man of the 42,000-man Task Force re-
ceived injury from radioactivity produced by the
bombs. Specially-selected technicians were assem-
bled and trained in radiological safety monitoring.
In appraising radioactivity, they made extensive
use of Geiger counters. These consisted of gas-
filled tubes each containing two electrodes, one

of them at high electrical potential. When placed
in the vicinity of a radioactive substance, whether
it be radium in a research laboratory, samples of
radioactively-contaminated Bikini Lagoon water,
or the deck of a "hot'' ship, a Geiger counter be-
comes intermittently conducting, transmitting tiny
pulses of current. When amplified, these pulses
produce a crackling noise in headphones. They
may also be ''counted" in terms of current passing
through an ordinary ammeter. OPPOSITE. Sam-
ples of Lagoon water are taken using a Nansen
bottle. Analysis of sea water was important scien-
tifically and as a matter of safety.

x

VIP'S ORIENTED AT KWAJALEIN. In the Army
Air Forces briefing room on Kwajalein Island
VIP's (very important persons) drawn from military,
Congressional, and civilian ranks enjoy a ten-min-
ute break in a briefing session. Front row, left to
right: General George C. Kenney, Commanding
General of the Strategic Air Command; Stuart
Symington, Assistant Secretary of War for Air;
General Curtis E. LeMay, Deputy Chief of Air
Staff for Research and Development. Second row:
Colonel Kenneth B. Nichols of the Manhattan En-
gineer District. Second row, center, Senator Lev-
erett Saltonstall engages in conversation with
Postmaster General Robert E. Hannegan, Chair-
man of the Democratic National Committee.

RUSSIAN OBSERVERS BOARD THE PANAMINT.
At Oakland, California, Lt. (j.g.) G. W. Osten
checks in Russian observers as they board the
"Panamint'’ bound for Bikini. These scientists from
the Soviet Union were part of the United Nations
Observer Group, made up of official representa-
tives of the || foreign countries having member-
ship in the United Nations Atomic Energy Com-
mission. These countries are: Australia, Brazil,
Canada, China, France, Egypt, Great Britain,
Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, and the U.S.S.R. All
members of this group sailed on the ''Panamint..’
Shown above, left to right: Lt. (j.g.) Osten, S. P.
Alexandrov, of the United Nations Atomic Energy
Commission, and Dr. A. M. Mescheryakov, Head
of the Physics Department, University of Leningrad.

page 95

RECREATIONAL AREA, BIKINI. Dr. Marshall G.
Holloway and Dr. Ernest W. Titterton, well known
nuclear physicists, experiment with fast ping pong
particles on Bikini Island. In the backgreund are
tennis, horseshoe and volley-ball courts, and dress-
ing tents. Dr. Holloway headed the Los Alamos
Laboratory group at Bikini, was charged with the
eavy responsibility of preparing the two atomic
bombs used in the tests. Dr. Titterton, one of Dr.
Holloway's principal assistants, was concerned with
time signals. OPPOSITE. ABOVE. Coral head in
shallow water, showing the boulder-like shape ta-
ken by these heavy masses. Blocks of coral like
this one, found as far as 400 feet from the reet
edge, are torn from the margin of the reef by
storm waves and deposited on the reef flat. The
one shown, found |!00 feet from the reef edge
on Erik Island, was 25 feet in diameter and 12
feet high. The coral formation of the Bikini Atoll,
as shown here and in other photographs in this
collection, was of great scientific interest. Seismic
surveys made by methods used in prospecting for

oil revealed that the coral cap forming the Bikini

Atoll is thousands of feet thick. BELOW. The pause
that refreshes, Enyu Island.

page 97

FOUR AND TWENTY SAMPLES BAKED IN A
PIE. Even the humble pie plate played a useful
part in the complex instrumentation program used
at Bikini. Modified as shown above the pie plates
were "made into thermal plaques for measuring
type and intensity of optical radiation from the

bomb. Mineral samples of various kinds were
placed at the small holes shown, and the plates
then filled with Plaster of Paris. Radiation from
the bomb passed through the holes, producing
measurable changes in the physical characteristics

of the samples.

FORECASTLE FOCUS. in the hematology labora-
tory aboard the APA-67. ‘Burleson’ technicians
make blood counts. Before and after each test,
blood counts were made for all animals used in the
atomic bomb tests, and symptoms of disease pro-
duced by radiation were carefully checked. Tens

page 99

of thousands of samples were examined, from
which many lessons applicable to human beings
were learned. Biological and biophysical data ob-
tained were among the most important, although
not the most spectacular, of the bomb test con-
tributions,

page

ATOMIC PARI MUTUEL. A
Se

4: set 4] ee
rations tor the Tirs

the exacting prepa-
+ approached com-
pletion, and as the date of- the first explosion

f were organized as to

ships would be sunk, or as to the exact

how many
time when the bomb would actually be detonated.
Seen above, Rear Admiral T. A. Solberg, Director
of Ship Material, with N. J. Holter, project physi-

cist for wave measurement, watches Major Harold
H. Wood, bombardier of "Dave's Dream,” the
bomb-drop plane, keep the record on a ‘minute
of detonation" pool. Of 60 possible choices, Hol-
ter's paid off. OPPOSITE. On Kwajalein an Army
Air Forces weather balloon goes aloft. Suspended
beneath it can be seen the radiosonde instrument
for taking readings of pressure and temperature.

page |0/

TARGET ARRAY PREPARATIONS. At Pearl Har-
bor experiments were conducted to perfect the
controlled submerging of crewless submarines. On
the submarine rescue vessel ''Widgeon"' men watch
the submarine ''Apogon'' as she is test-submerged.
OPPOSITE. Men of the Navy salvage ship ''Re-
claimer’’ hoist a 14-ton anchor over the side. An-
chors of this type were used to hold submarines
in place during the second atomic bomb test.
Larger ships were secured more strongly; a 20,000
pound mooring block was placed on the lagoon
floor, and held in place by three anchors of the
type shown above. This hefty mooring system was
connected to a mooring buoy on the surface and
thence to the target vessel in question. Central
target ships were moored fore and aft.

page

103

Fi

ss

DOWN BUT NOT OUT. A diver from the "Wid-
geon'' goes down to adjust cable attachments on
the submarine ''Apogon."' In the external control
method of submerging a submarine, heavy weights
are attached to it at bow and stern by cables of
carefully chosen length.. The weights overcome the
sub's positive buoyancy and draw her down to the
desired depth. To surface the sub, air is pumped
into the ballast tanks. Submergence and surfacing
were controlled from a salvage ship.

WAS KILROY THERE? Navy diver in light face-
mask comes up to report on connections com-
pleted between pressure control apparatus on the
salvage ship and ballast tanks of the "Apogon.”
Special skills had to be developed for the sub-
merging operation, since never before had there

been occasion to submerge submarines without
crews aboard. Performance of the submarines in
the Bikini tests was of particular interest since
some of our. most modern subs were used. This
was in contrast to the other combatant-type tar-
get ships, which were for the most part outmoded.

x

page 106

4

Ph SPIRE rain,

EVEN STEPHEN. The sub "'Apogon," surfaced but
with underwater control weights in place. Subma-
rines proved to be useful "instruments'' for sub-
jection to the enormous pressures created by the
atomic bombs, since their hulls are expressly de-
signed to withstand high pressures produced by
the ocean at great depths of submergence, and

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by exploding depth charges and mines. For Test
Able eight submarines were used, all of them on
the surface, where destructive effects were ex-
pected to be greatest. In Test Baker greatest
destruction was expected to result from pressure
in the water; for that test, therefore, all subma-
rines were submerged, and at various depths.

page 107

RELUCTANT SEA DRAGON. The submarine

“Apogon’ is shown here partly submerged, con-

trolled from the 'Widgeon.'' This ana preceding
photographs illustrate the types of problems en-
countered in Operation Crossroads for which new
techniques had to be developed. The submarines
were moored at various distances from the bulls-

eye ship; some were broadside to the explosion,
others were head-on. The eight submarines used
were: ''Searaven,"' ''Skipjack,"’ "Tuna," '"'Dentuda,"’
"Skate," “Apogon," ‘'Pilotfish,"" and 'Parche."
Many of these have impressive records of attacks
on Japanese shipping, many of which took place
in regions of the Pacific near Bikini,

ANIMALS IN THE SERVICE OF MANKIND. This
deck view of a typical target ship shows -how the
test animals were placed for exposure to the
atomic bomb explosions. For Test Able 176 goats,
146 pigs, 109 mice, 57 guinea pigs, and 3,030
white rats were used. They were placed on 22
target ships, in positions normally occupied by
ship personnel. In addition to effects on fully
exposed animals, effects on animals partially
shielded from the radiations were studied. It was
desired to learn, for example, how deadly the in-
stantaneously produced gamma radiation would
be to personnel below decks and in gun turrets.
White rats were placed in various sites from the

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engine room to halyards to check all locations.

The National Cancer Institute supplied white
mice with predilections for or against cancer. They
were exposed in order to determine whether the
intense radiations would produce genetic changes.
The mice were returned to the Institute immedi-
ately after Test Able to be bred and studied. In
Test Baker only 200 white rats and 20 pigs were
used, on four target vessels. Since this was to be
an underwater shock, it was expected that me-
chanical injuries would be far more prevalent than
injuries from the instantaneously produced gamma
radiation. Animals used in Test Able were not
used in the second test,

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EXIT THE BACKSEAT DRIVER. This view of the
control panel of a B-!7 Flying Fortress drone plane
shows what some persons look for in postwar au-
tomobiles. Operation of these crewless, remote-
controlled planes proved a distinct success. The
eight drones used, four by Navy and four by
Army, made scores of successful flights and flaw-
less landings. Accidents were very few; one Navy
plane was lost at sea, one Navy and one Army
plane suffered minor damage. Reliable and precise

control of the drones was vital not only to flying
and landing them smoothly but also to bringing
them to their correct Able Day positions exactly
on schedule and to maintaining proper headings
for aiming automatic cameras and other instru-
ments at the desired sections of the target array.
Control was made difficult by the safety require-
ment of keeping the mother planes well away. OP-
POSITE. Recalcitrant porker finds himself caught
in the draft, on USS "Burleson."

x

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:

QUEEN DAY EVACUATION. On Queen Day,
eighth day before the first atomic bomb test, a
complete dress rehearsal was staged. The bombing
plane made its runs, dropping a flash-powder
bomb which went off near the Bullseye Ship 'Ne-
vada" at 0914. In the air, manned and unmanned
planes followed the courses prescribed in the Air
Plan prepared 3 months before. -Vital to the suc-
cess of Queen Day was the evacuation on the
previous day of the 42,000 men of the Task Force

from the target vessels, the Lagoon, and the en-
circling islands. Every man had to be accounted
for, including the technicians who had made hur-
ried, last minute adjustments on scientific instru-
ments on target ships and islands. ABOVE. Gun
turret doorway is dogged and marked secure.
OPPOSITE. ABOVE. Personnel of the ''Pennsyl-
vania" go over the side. BELOW. Men of the

“Pennsylvania are checked off as they abandon
ship.

AT 25,000 FEET, A CANDID SHOT. View inside
one of the C-54 planes converted for use as an
Army Air Forces photographic ship. At the left
can be seen the equipment used to record time
of operation of each one of the plane's 28 still
and motion picture cameras. Each tiny light in
the circular panel array represented a particular
camera installed somewhere in the plane. Each

time that camera's shutter clicked the light on the
recording panel flashed on and was recorded by
means of a motion picture camera shown just in
front of the panel itself. The clock at the center
of the circle of indicator lamps was photographed
at the same time, completing the accurate record
made. Special wiring and power supplies were ne-
cessary to make possible the indicator system.

QUARTERDECK CONFERENCE ON THE AD-
MIRAL'S BARGE. Touring the Bikini Lagoon while
in earnest conference with Admiral Blandy are
Major General W. E. Kepner (left), Deputy Task
Force Commander for Aviation, and Hon. James
Forrestal, Secretary of Navy. So large and rami-
fied was the Operation that weeks were required
to give visitors real understanding of the interplay

115

page

of technical and operational problems presented
by the tests. Admiral W. H. P. Blandy was a logi-
cal choice to command Joint Task Force One.
Long distinguished in the field of ordnance engi-
neering, and Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance
from 1941 to 1943, Admiral Blandy saw action in
the Pacific, was latterly Deputy Chief of Naval
Operations, Special Weapons.

FINAL PREPARATIONS IN THE LAGOON. Long
before July |, 1946, the date set for Test Able,
ships of the target array had been placed in their
assigned positions in the northeast part of the
Lagoon. In the view shown above several key
ships of the target array are visible. At the top,
right of center, ''Nevada,"' the bulls-eye ship, is

2
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page |17

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clearly discernible, painted bright orange-red to
aid recognition by the bombing plane. Close be-
side "Nevada," left and right respectively, are
the carrier "Independence" and the cruiser ''Pen-
sacola.'' At the extreme left of the array is the
carrier ''Saratoga,'’ identifiable by her long flight
deck and oblong "island,"

so

nee

BOMBARDIER'S VIEW OF TARGET ARRAY. This
diagram of the Test Able target array, when com-
pared with the two typical tactical arrays pictured
on the opposite page, demonstrates the abnor-
mally high concentration of target vessels in the
Bikini tests. This concentration was necessary to
meet the Joint Chiefs of Staff requirement of se-
curing graded damage on all principal types of

vessels, graded damage meaning damage ranging
from negligible, as in the case of ships at a con-
siderable distance from the explosion, to lethal,
in the case of ships close in. Subject to this re-
quirement, sinkings were kept to a minimum, to
preserve instruments and the valuable data they
had recorded, and to save the ships themselves
insofar as it might be possible,

TYPICAL HARBOR AN-
CHORAGE. This diagram,
depicting an area identical
to that of the target array
shown on the preceding
page, shows a typical harbor
anchorage of naval vessels,
and, by contrast, emphasizes
the high degree of concen-
tration of the target ships
used at Bikini. In the harbor
anchorage only four to eight
ships would normally appear
in an area of one square
mile, instead of 20, as at Bi-
kini. When the test plans
were first announced many
persons erroneously assumed
that the target array se-
lected would be a tattical
one. Actually, the array was
entirely artificial, and of no
tactical validity.

TS TTETEDEREERLRRRE TCR eat

FT

i

CARRIER FORCE AT SEA.
Shown here for further com-
parison is a diagram of a
carrier task force in cruising
formation. Only one capital
ship is included in an area of
one square mile. In studying
the target array opposite,
note that the various types
of vessels were arranged in
curved lines radiating from
the bullseye ship ''Nevada."
Each line was composed of
ships of a single type, such
as APA's, destroyers, LCl's,
LST's, or LCT's. The individ-
ual ships served as excellent
gages for determining how
damage to a given type of
ship varied with distance
from the bomb burst. For
Test Baker the arrangement
of ships was generally similar
to that used for Test Able.

FLIGHT-DECK BRIEFING ON SAIDOR. Grouped
in front of an F6F-5P photographic plane, pilots
of the ''Saidor" planes receive final briefing from
Captain J. H. McElroy, Photographic Operations
Officer, shown kneeling, center. Looking on are
Captain A. P. Storrs, skipper of "'Saidor,'’ and
Commander J. H. McCurtin, Air Officer. Mission
of these photographic pilots was to make an accu-
rate photomosaic of the target array the hour be-
fore detonation of the Test Able bomb. Careful

timing and spacing of the planes was required in
order to cover the entire target array in one
sweep. Four planes at high altitude took vertical
pictures for an “uncontrolled'’ mosaic, or mosaic
arranged by eye. Supplemental trimetrogon photo-

graphs were taken by two other planes in order
that a "controlled'' or highly accurate mosaic
could be made. Other planes made before-and-
after runs at low altitude, taking stereoscopic pic-
tures of the target ships.

page 12I

FORECAST FOR BIKINI AND VICINITY. Major
Delmar L. Crowson, left, officer in charge of the
Crossroads Weather Central, Kwajalein, and Major
Paul L. Fackler, right, of the Army Air Forces
weather group, plot reconnaissance ‘tracks’ or
courses to be followed by weather planes in their
daily flights out over the Pacific prior to Test
Able. Favorable weather conditions were abso-
lutely necessary before the day on which to con-
duct test could be decided upon. Actually Test

Able was held on July |, the first possible date
set for the test; weather conditions predicted for
that day were ideal, and they were borne out
fully. On the day preceding Able Day, as well
as on Able Day itself, three especially significant
weather reconnaissance flights were made. Daily
weather conferences were held between forecas-
ters at Kwajalein and Captain A. A. Cumberledge,
USN, and Col. B. G. Holtzman at Bikini, aboard
"Mount McKinley."

THIS IS IT! Crew members of "Dave's Dream,"

i big B-29 Super Fort atomic bombing plane, pre-

pare for the bombing mission. Major Woodrow
P. Swancutt, center, “pulls through” a blade of
one of the ship's huge four-bladed Hamilton pro-
pellers. Propellers are turned through four com-
plete revolutions in this fashion in order to deter-
mine that engine cylinder heads are free from

accumulated oil. OPPOSITE. Winners of a hotly
contested competition in which the country’s finest

very-heavy-bomber crews took part, the crew of
"Dave's Dream" pose in front of their ship. Front
row, left to right: Ist Lt. Robert M. Glenn, flight
engineer, T/Sgt. Jack Cothran, radio operator,
Cpl. Herbert Lyons, left scanner, Cpl. Roland
M. Medlin, right scanner. Back row: Capt. Wi.-
liam C. Harrison, Jr., co-pilot; Major Woodrow P.
Swancutt, pilot; Major Harold H. Wood, bom-
bardier; and Capt. Paul Chenchar, Jr., radar

operator,

DAVE'S DREAM ON THE BOMBING RUN. This
photograph of “Dave's Dream," taken from an
accompanying photographic plane on Able Day,
shows the big B-29 on the actual bombing run,
her bomb-bay doors open, shortly before the
atomic bomb was released at high altitude above
the target array. More than five miles below lie
the lagoon and the 93 target ships, void of human
life, their only occupants the test animals. Outside
the lagoon, at predetermined points of vantage,
wait the observer ships, camera men poised, in-
strument technicians on the alert, crews assembled
topside. Army and Navy Officers and enlisted
ment, Congressmen, newspaper men, scientists rub
elbows at the rails of their ships.

CREW LINEUP ON SAIDOR, TEST ABLE. Officers
and men of the carrier ''Saidor,’’ assembled on the
flight deck, rehearse the safety procedure followed
on Able Day to protect their eyes from the blind-
ing light emitted by the explosion. The most in-
tense portion of the flash, many times the brilliance
of the sun, lasts for but a few millionths of a sec-
ond. As a cause of injury to human sight the
flash makes up in intensity what it lacks in dura-
tion. Even after the fading of the flash to a state
of lesser brilliancy it is still a hazard to the eye.
To guard their eyesight persons without goggles
were ordered to stand as shown above with their
backs toward the blast and to remain in this posi-
tion until the all-clear signal was given several
seconds after the instant of explosion. The Task
Force also used a total of 6000 pairs of dark gog-
gles, developed primarily for use by scientists and
members of the technical and observer groups
during the moment of greatest brilliance.

page

125

page 126

EARLY PICTURES OF THE FLASH, TEST ABLE.
This and succeeding photographs of the Test Able
atomic bomb explosion are included here for their

technical story. In nearly every instance their in-
terpretation is a highly complex matter, involving
a knowledae of position and altitude of the cam-
era, focal length, type of film, type of filter; and,

most important, the precise time at which the
exposure was made.

AIRMAN'S VIEW, TEST ABLE. This picture taken
at high altitude, gives the impression that the Test
Able bomb was detonated in darkness. Actually
the bomb was exploded at nine o'clock in the
morning in bright sunshine; the darkness of the
photograph is due to the density of filter used.

The flash itself was sufficiently intense to appear
brilliant through even the darkest filters commer-
cially available. Typical statistics recorded were:
type of film, exposure time, filter values, lens aper-
ture, starting time, means of starting, interval be-
tween pictures, and aiming point.

x

others in this group, was sete
miles from the bomb

otographic standpoint

i sunshine and

ese pictures

were at an altitude of two or three thousand feet,
or considerably higher than the altitude of the
bomb itself at the moment of explosion. At sea
level there was brilliant sunlight. Comparison of
positions of clouds shown in these views suggests
the relative position of the cameras.

EDISON ECLIPSED. Light emitted by an atomic
bomb covers all portions of the spectrum—light
visible to man plus ultraviolet and infrared light.
During the initial flash lasting for a few millionths
of a second the total quantity of light emitted is
so great as to far exceed what would be produced

if all the electric light bulbs ever manufactured,
from Edison's time to the present, were amassed
and turned on simultaneously. The flash was so
bright that it could have been readily detected by
a man on the moon. Timing and aiming the cam-
eras required great technical skill.

2

CONDENSATION CLOUD FORMED, TEST ABLE. later. The so-called "'fireball'’ is in process of
Thi s photograph was taken instants after the bril- formation, screened from the camera by a wall of
That flash, as mist. This wall, the shape of a hollow inverted
asts for we a few mill non ais of hemisphere, is the condensation cloud resulting
res on this and is from expansion of the atmosphere immediately

| following passage of the shockwave.

CONDENSATION CLOUD, CLOSER VIEW, TEST
ABLE. This closer view of the condensation cloud
shows ships of the target array silhouetted against
the brilliant backdrop that reaches thousands of
feet into the air. The vessels visible are those at
the edge of the target array. A portion of an

island at the edge of the lagoon can also be seen,
its outline dark since the camera was set for the
bright condensation cloud as its primary subject.
The shock wave itself is visible on the water's sur-
face in the form of a bright ring that has already
enclosed most of the target ships.

x

PROGRESS OF THE SHOCK WAVE. In this re-
markable photograph the Test Able explosion is
shown in another early stage of development. Lo-
cation of the shock wave is indicated by the flat
white ring expanding across the lagoon's surface
from the center of the explosién and its enveloping

condensation cloud. This view also gives a good
impression of the general relation of the bomb
test site to the Bikini Atoll, seen here as a sprawl-
ing elliptical chain of islands linked each to each
by shallowly submerged reefs. The large island in
the foreground is Enyu.

CONDENSATION CLOUD, TOWER VIEW. This
picture, taken from one of the camera towers on
Bikini Island, records a closer impression of what
went on inside the lagoon instants after the Able
bomb exploded. Dazzling light from the condensa-
tion cloud obscures most of the target ships, al-
though the “Saratoga” is visible at the left of the
photograph, and the end of one of the radial lines
of evenly spaced smaller craft can be seen. The

page 133

striped poles and striped marking on palm trees
in the foreground were used to measure wave
heights at both tests. The long framework building
at the edge of the beach is a Marine recreation
building. Its tarpaulin root has been removed to
prevent destruction by the shock wave. When this
picture was taken the shock wave had not yet hit
the beach. Shock wave location is indicated by
the sharp bright area near the ‘'Saratoga."

x

PERATION
ROSSROADS,
BIKINI ATOLL,
0900 JULY 1, 1946.
This photograph
indicates perhaps
better than any
other, the dramatic
quality and vast
scale of the first of
the atomic bomb
tests. The tethered
ships of the target
array are dwarted
by the giant white
ring, the condensa-
tion cloud. The
huge fireball at the
center is already
beginning to make
its: swift, silent as-
cent. Reflection of
the fireball's bril-
liance is clearly
seen, interrupted
by ruffled water
whipped by the
rapidly expanding
shock wave. By the
time this picture
was taken most of
the damage shown
on the following
pages of this book
had been already
inflicted. The for-
mula was simple:
one airplane, one

bomb.

O
C

page 136

THE CURTAIN RISES WITHIN THE LAGOON.
This is one of the earliest views obtained of the
target array as it appeared after bombardment.
The base of the condensation cloud that previously
shielded the ships from the prying eyes of remote
and shore-based cameras has disappeared. Its
upper portion still remains, hanging over the la-
goon like a thick gray blanket. Somewhere in that -
blanket of vapor another atomic bomb phenome-
non, the familiar mushroom cloud, has started its
rapid ascent to the substratosphere. Black clouds
of soot were dislodged from the interior of funnels
by the impact of the shock wave and air-blasted
skyward by the turbulent wind currents following
it. Smoke from fires started by the bomb can also
be seen. OPPOSITE. The mushroom cloud as seen
from an observer ship standing 20 miles off Bikini.
Heat from the bomb, travelling with the speed of
light, was felt simultaneously with the first flash.

page 137

a

So Sait

od

TEST ABLE PANORAMA. This awe-inspiring view
of Bikini Lagoon was made instants after the con-
densation cloud had completely disappeared, re-
vealing the target ships and the turbulent mush-
room cloud rising above them. The shock wave
from the explosion has not yet had time to cross
the lagoon to the location of the camera, but can
be seen as a sharp black line racing towards the

beach. A moment later it reached the palmtrees
at the edge of the water. Newsreels of this pare

of the explosion showed the trees abruptly shaken
like dishmops in a giant hand as the shock wave
rushed by them. Slightly to the left of the base of
the mushroom can be seen the ‘Arkansas.'' The
"Nevada," if it were visible, would appear slightly
to the left of "Arkansas." (See page | 16)

page 139

page 140

4
i
:
)
4
4a
\

INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY MEETS ON THE
PANAMINT. High on the superstructure of the
'"Panamint” cruising about I5 miles off Bikini, for-
eign and American observers occupy a good van-
tage point from which to view the atomic tests.
Shown here are, left to right, Dr. John H. Yoe, of
the University of Virginia (in white shorts); Dr.
Michael Mescheryakov, of Russia; Lt. Colonel Juan
Loyo Gonzales, of Mexico; Professor Semyon P.
Alexandrov, of Russia; Captain G. B. Salm, Neth-
erlands Navy; Dr. Nabor Garillo, of Mexico; and
Professor Carl O, Dunbar, of Yale University. Such

crowded rails were the rule on all the ships of the
observer fleet. Once the spectacle had reached
its conclusion the question uppermost in the minds
of many was: How soon will reentry of the lagoon
be possible? Promptly-completed preliminary ra-
diological surveys proved that it was safe to enter
the lagoon on the afternoon of that same day.
At that time it was possible to approach only the
outlying ships. It was several days before the ships
could be generally visited. Residual radioactivity
after Test Baker was considerably greater than it
was after Test Able.

page |4I

INDUSTRIOUS INFERNO. As the mushroom cloud
climbs higher into the sky, a second smaller mush-
room top appears high on the "'stem.'' The stem
itself is composed of a mixture of ascending vapor,
steam, spray, smoke, and radioactive fission prod-
ucts. In the vicinity of the stem there is a power-
ful updraft which sucks inwards and upwards the
soot and smoke spouting from the target ships,
and spews forth its insidious content into higher
altitudes. When this photograph was taken the
cloud had risen to about 12,000 feet.

THE SKIES LOOK DOWN. High above Bikini la-
goon an aerial camera caught this impressive
view of the Able Test. Note that the shock wave,
the circular arc clearly visible on the surface of
the water, has just about reached the Atoll islands
nearest to the bomb detonation point. In the
same space of time the bomb cloud has risen many

thousand feet into the sky. Position of the shock
wave indicates that all this action has required no
more than about five seconds. It was essential to
the safety of the Task Force personnel that the
radioactive cloud be dissipated into the upper
atmosphere without being brought back into the
area by high altitude counter-winds.

SELF-CLEANSING SHOT. In this view the mush-
room cloud has risen considerably higher than the
altitude indicated in the preceding photograph.
The top of the mushroom is beginning to flatten
out somewhat; on the under side of the top spurs
of vapor have begun to form, extending down-

wards. The Test Able shot has been described as

a "self-cleansing' shot since the bomb was de
tonated in the air and the upward column of gase
served to remove most of the radioactive -fissio
products from the lower atmosphere. This “'cleans-
ing action" was not experienced to the same ex-
tent in Test Baker, in which the bomb was deto-
nated underwater,

ENYU ISLAND VIEW OF TEST ABLE. From Enyu
Island, approximately five miles from the center of
the target array, the Able Test mushroom appears
in an advanced stage, dramatically illuminated by
the clear morning sunshine. The cloud has already
drifted appreciably downwind, to the southwest.
Among the target ships embroiled in the mush-
room base are "Saratoga" and ''Nagato,'’ whose
outlines are discernible here. Smoke coming from

page 145

behind the Saratoga’ is from fires on the carrier
"Independence.'’ OPPOSITE. Close-up view of the
explosion cloud, which is beginning to slow up
somewhat as it approaches the top of its climb.
Manned planes had to stay miles away from this
seemingly innocent cloud, the radioactivity of
which was roughly equivalent to what would exist
in the vicinity of 100 tons of radium. Drone
planes were flown right through the center.

JOHN M. CARLISLE REPORTS. OPPOSITE.
"Those were dramatic seconds in sheer beauty.
The cloud was a pheasant brown with white patches
at first. Then it began an amazing transformation
in colors and shapes before our eyes. It seemed
to steam and boil and churn at the bottom. There
it turned laundry white. It was pinkish in the mid-
dle, salmon colored at the top. In less than two
minutes it climbed higher than the altitude of our
ship "The Voice.'' The mushroom broke out sud-
denly at the top, and the cloud changed colors.

It was a fascinating picture. For a few minutes it:
looked like a giant ice cream cone as it turned
completely white. Looking at it then through bin-.
oculars it seemed like floating layers upon layers
of whipped cream. Again it changed colors, now
to peaches and cream. It broke into two mush-
rooms, the second quarter of the way from the
crest. All this time the trade winds were driving
it hard .. ."" (From the Able Day Pool News Re-
port). ABOVE. The bomb cloud photographed
by a drone B-17 about to pass right through it.

page 147

page 148

FURTHER VIEW, ENYU ISLAND.
view of the Able Test mushroom the cloud has
risen so high that an icecap has begun to form.

Gases rising just above the mushroom top are

In this later

ded and therefore cooled: their wa-
a4

greatly expa
i | Cc 1 .
content changes trom gaseous to ice

a
=
ter vapor

n
LD
VY

crystal state. A thin layer of myriad horizontal
crystals forms slightly above the top surface of the
mushrooms proper. This layer becomes increasingly
thicker, gradually settling down over the top of
the mushroom. Even after the formation of the
icecap the mushroom continues to rise.

YOUNG MOTHER HUBBARDS VIEW ABLE PHO-
TOGRAPH. At Rongerik Island, former Bikini
residents in their traditional modest Mother Hub-
bard smocks crowd forward for a better view of
a Test Able photograph. In remotest San Fran-
cisco, 4200 miles from this scene, newspapers re-
ceived initial photographs of the mushroom cloud
a mere three hours after the bomb was detonated,
a new time record for radio photograph transmis-
sion over such a distance. Transmissions were
made from mobile units aboard ‘Mount McKin-
ley," “Appalachian, "and the Army communication
ship’ ‘Spindle Eye." During July the “Mount
McKinley’ alone transmitted 400 ed

“

Seen pm REMERON Re SURE ESE tem SRNR mn em emanate tin ag Im Mak! tty

PENDULUM TYPE INCLINOMETER. One of the
simpler pieces of apparatus used at Bikini was this
pendulum-type inclinometer used to measure pitch
and roll of target ships. Although any sea Koved

knows in a general way what constitutes pitch and
roll of a ship, scientifically these terms refer to the
angle with the vertical made by the ship's long
and short axes. Each instrument contained identi-
cal assemblies mounted at right angles as shown.
The weighted arm was designed to remain vertical
at all times, angle of pitch or roll being measured
and recorded as scratches on the shiny discs pro-

vided,

GYROSCOPE TYPE INCLINOMETER. Similar in
purpose to the pendulum-type inclinometer showr.
on the preceding page is this gyroscopic instru-
ment. In this design the standard of verticality is
achieved not by a weighted bar but by electrically
driven gyroscopes. As in the pendulum-type in-
strument two complete units are mounted at right
angles, one to measure pitch, the other to measure
roll. Both these instruments were developed for
the Bikini tests at the Material Laboratory of the
New York Naval Ship yard. They are but single
examples of the total of 10,000 instruments used
to gather important data.

page I5]

page 152

ree

page 153

BLUE-RIBBON JURY GATHERS EVI-
DENCE. Members of the Joint Chiets
of Staff's Evaluation Board and the
President's Evaluation Commission tour
the Bikini Lagoon for a first-hand view
of damage produced by the Able Day
test. Members of the Evaluation Board
witnessed the explosion from an air-
plane 20 miles distant, and later ap-
proached to within nine miles for a
brief view. The day following, as soon
as safety clearance had been received,
the Board members began examination
of ship damage. In a report made
public the Board stated various find-
ings: The only major combatant ships
within one-half mile of the bomb ex-
plosion point were the battleships
"Nevada" and "“Arkansas'’ and the
heavy cruiser “Pensacola.” Little
damage had been done to the hulls
or main turrets of these ships but
their superstructures had been badly
wrecked. There was relatively little
damage to ships at distances greater
than three-quarters of a mile. The
group includes, left to right: Captain
Horacio Rivero, Vice Admiral J. H.
Hoover, Mr. Bradley Dewey, Dr. Karl
T. Compton, the late General J. W.
Stilwell, Mr. Tred Searls Jr., Senator
Leverett Saltonstall of Massachusetts,
Lt. General L. H. Brereton, Dr. E. U.
Condon, Representative W. C. An-
drews (R) of New York, and Mr. T. F.

Farrell.

page 154

page 155

REENTRY DAY VIEW OF INDEPENDENCE. OP-
POSITE. The carrier "Independence" seen by the
vanguard of persons reentering the lagoon follow-
ing Test Able. The light carrier was badly wrecked
by the explosion, gutted by fire, and further dam-
aged by explosions of low order, including those
of torpedoes. The Joint Chiefs of Staff's Evalua-
tion Board made a terse statement which was is-
sued to the public from the White House. The

bomb, they said, had exploded with an intensity
approaching that of the best of the three previous
atomic bombs. It had exploded at a point 1500
to 2000 feet westerly of the assigned target, and
at approximately the planned altitude. The light
carrier ‘Independence’ was within one-half mile
of the explosion point. ABOVE. Blasted portside
of the carrier, her plates molded to her frame by
the explosion.

CLOSE IS NEAR ENOUGH. The light carrier “'In-
dependence” is a shambles. Visible to the inspect-
ing newspapermen are the combined results of the
tremendous pressure wave and intense heat pro-
duced by the bomb: the bulged and torn flight
deck, charred remains on flight and hangar decks.
Invisible are the lingering effects of the bomb's
radiation, which even as these pictures were made
make the grotesque wreck still too "hot'' for more
than brief visits. This gutted ship incontestably

evidences the great range of effectiveness of the
single atomic bomb which had exploded high
above the surface of the water, about one-half
mile from the doomed ship. Under these circum-
stances ''Independence's'' position was virtually a
front row seat. OPPOSITE. Heavy damage to the
carrier's stern. Despite her gaping wounds "'Inde-
pendence" remained afloat, available for careful
study and for exposure to the second explosion to
be held twenty-four days later.

page 159

raeTer gece = : 7 RAT

TIN FISH, OR RHINOCEROS? The sub-
marine ''Skate"' was one of the target ships
close to the explosion point of the bomb,
the blast and heat from which turned her
superstructure into a mass of scrap. Her
tough hull refused to succumb to the
bomb's onslaught, however. She was put
back into operation by her crew a few days
after Able Day, although the damage to
superstructure still made it unsate to sub-
merge her. UPPER. Crew of "Skate" stands
at quarters as the sub passes Admiral
Blandy's flagship. LOWER. Damage to
periscope shear. OPPOSITE, UPPER.
"Skate" in pre-Test condition. LOWER.
Portside view of damage.

DAMAGE ABOARD SKATE. A specially-trained
monitor from the Radiological Safety Group uses
a Geiger counter to measure the radioactivity on
the wrecked bow section of the submarine "Skate."
The photograph reveals the extent to which the
submarine's superstructure was stripped away, ex-

posing the pressure hull. During Admiral Blandy’'s
initial tour of inspection of the target area, the
"Skate" was too "hot'' to be boarded. When
Geiger counters were brought near her by moni-
tors in the inspecting picket boat the counters’
indicator-needles were driven off scale.

SUPERSTRUCTURE DAMAGE ON ARKANSAS.
The 34-year old battleship ‘Arkansas,’ oldest
battleship of the United States Fleet, was one of
three major combatant ships within one-half mile
of the explosion point. Although little damage
was done to her hull and turrets, her wrecked
superstructure showed the hammer-like effect of
the bomb. Amidships she was a shambles. When

page I6l
the Lagoon was first reentered after Test Able
the "Arkansas" was still sending up clouds of
smoke from smouldering fires on her decks. "Ar-
kansas'' was definitely put out of action and would
have required extensive repairs at a_ principal
naval base. In Test Baker she was near the bomb
detonation point, took brief but terrific punish-
ment, and sank almost instantly.

162

page

OUT OF PROXIMITY, DOOM. The Japanese
cruiser 'Sakawa's'’ superstructure and hull suffered
major damage from the bomb explosion. Visible
in the photograph above are the mid and stern
sections of the ship, a mass of metallic rubble. In-
visible are the breaches in her hull below the
waterline, due to which she slowly filled with water
and sank. Many observers wondered how a mere
shock wave in air could wreck such havoc on a
steel ship. The situation can be understood with
the use of simple arithmetic. According to.a well-
known law of physics a gas expands by | /273 of
its volume (at zero degrees C.) for every degree

Centigrade that it rises in temperature. If its
temperature rises 273 degrees its volume doubles.
But the high temperature instantaneously pro-
duced at the heart of the atomic bomb explosion
is measured in millions of degrees; the resulting
expansion is obviously extremely great. Out of
this expansion, so suddenly produced, the over-
powering shock wave is born. OPPOSITE. The day
following Able Day "'Sakawa" sinks slowly beneath
the water of the Lagoon. In the background is the
battleship ‘'Arkansas'’ which, like ''Sakawa,'’ re-
ceived major damage to superstructure, although
the battleship's hull received little injury.

page 163

page 164

USED CAR, ABOARD NEVADA. This ruined two
and one-half ton Army truck is on the stern of the
bullseye ship "Nevada.'" The bomb exploded 1500
to 2000 feet west of the ship, and the shockwave
struck Nevada" on her stern quarter. Even at this
range the light gage metal of which the truck is

built was quickly turned into the crumpled wreck
shown. A member of the Army Ground Group
checks damage, using forms prepared before the
tests to insure thorough reporting of data. In adai-
tion "before and "after" photographs were made
of all equipment exposed.

SHREDDED AIRPLANE, NEVADA. The crumpled
remains of a Navy seaplane on the stern of "'Ne-
vada" demonstrate further the destructive power
of the atomic bomb even at a distance of 1500 to
2000 ft. Collectively such damage data, together

page 165

with the scientific results obtained from the tests,
will prove valuable not only in naval and military
engineering but also in many important scientific
fields. The results of Operation Crossroads go much
further than military questions alone.

x

THIS MAKES A WILDCAT WILD. On the weather
deck of the APA-77 ''Crittenden'’ an~ FM-2
"Wildcat" airplane is given a thorough examina-
tion following Test Able. The plane has a broken
fuselage and baat wings as a result of its exposure
to the bomb. The effect of shock wave on equip-
ment like this was to some extent influenced by
shielding afforded by portions of the ship's struc-
ture and by other test material. Concerning per-
sonnel, the Evaluation Board stated that casualties
due to blast would undoubtedly have been high
for those in exposed positions on vessels within one-
half mile of the explosion center.

GENERAL DAMAGE ON STERN DECK, NE-
VADA. Such spectacular damage to equipment
exposed on the decks of target ships, in this case
"Nevada," was produced only in Test Able. The
Test Baker damage was primarily in the form of
ships sunk by the underwater blast wave, and ships
afloat but dangerously contaminated by the huge
amounts of radioactively noxious water that had
poured down upon them. "'Nevada's'' coat ot
bright orange-yellow paint, put on to aid the bom-
bardier's aim, was badly scorched by the heat of
the explosion.

page

167

page 168

—

tA.
; bebe,

i!

ey

—_

TEST ABLE AFTERMATH: NEVADA AND DAW-
SON. ABOVE. The scorched port quarter of the
Nevada,’ blackened from waterline to top deck,
is evidence of the consuming heat to which the ship
was subjected. Note the crazy angle assumed by
"Nevada's" airplane crane as a result of the com-
bined heat and shock wave. The big battlewagon's
superstructure has been heavily damaged, as in-
dicated by the torn smokestack and bent antenna
masts. Visible on her deck is an amphibian truck
or "'duck,"' developed during the war by the Of-
fice of Scientific Research and Development, the
same agency, which, until the formation of the
Manhattan Engineer District on August 13, 1943,

page 169

directed the meteoric progress of the atomic bomb
project. The ''Nevada"' was no stranger to attacks.
The 30-year old battleship was a target for Jap-
anese bombs and torpedoes at Pearl Harbor, sub-
sequently took part in 52 bombardment missions
in the Atlantic and Pacific. OPPOSITE. APA-79
'"Dawson"' was not very severely hurt by the Test
Able explosion, although some damage was suf-
fered, as shown. Her outer stack casing shows a
considerable dent, and her radar mast has been
pried from its support. On the top of the house,
extreme right of the ship, was placed a sup-
port for gages used for measuring shock wave
pressure,

SATURDAY NIGHT BATH FOR CONTAMI-
NATED DRONE. Use of drone boats as collectors
of water samples from Lagoon areas where con-
tamination was great rendered the boats them-
selves extremely “hot."’ Like the ships of the tar-
get array, ihey too received a thorough cleaning
before they were boarded. For the tests the Navy

perfected eight drones, used four during Test Able,
six during Test Baker. The boats were converted
LCVP's fitted with a mass of complex electrical
gear to operate the starting, steering and sample-
collecting mechanisms. Black stripes on a gaudy
yellow base aided recognition by the conning air-
craft.

attewTiONn visit oRS

NOSMOK ING
SAQSOUVENIR

REBOARDING PARTY. Newspapermen inspect
damage to one of the target ships following Test
Able. In the foreground are the charred remains
of Army Ground Forces equipment exposed to the
bomb. The Evaluation Board's initial report stated
that primary material effects of the bomb were
due to blast, with fire a secondary cause of

page |7]|

damage. Army Quartermaster stores and miscel-
laneous equipment placed on the decks of the tar-
get ships provea more vulnerapie than normal naval
deck gear. There was no evidence on any of the
ships remaining afloat that any of the considerable
amounts of explosive ordnance exposed on deck
was exploded by direct action of the atomic bomb,

x

page 172

ALL THE CLOTH THAT'S FIT TO PRINT. Wil-
liam L. Laurence, center, eminent scientific writer
of the New York Times, discusses the tests with Dr.
Ralph A. Sawyer, left, Technical Director, and
Colonel William Westlake, Deputy Public Infor-
mation Officer, aboard the press ship 'Appala-

P-.5

chian."" Mr. Laurence was the only correspondent
to witness the first bomb test, in New Mexico; and
he had the unique distinction of riding in the bom-
ber that carried out the Nagasaki mission. Dr.
Sawyer was responsible for all scientific instrumen-
tation at Bikini,

TEST ABLE IS HEREBY ENACTED. Aboard the
AGC-13 "Panamint'' members of the House Naval
Affairs Committee witness Test Able, from a point
about 20 miles off Bikini. Left to right: Representa-
tives George J. Bates (R), Massachusetts, Michael
J. Bradley (D), Pennsylvania, Edouard V. M. Izac
(D), California, and Jack Z. Anderson (D), Cali-
fornia. From the "Panamint' the flash of the
bomb was spectacular although no heat or shock

173

page

waves were felt, and the explosion was only faintly
audible. On the afternoon of Able Day ships of
the observer fleet reentered the lagoon. Soon
afterwards inspection parties in small boats toured
the target area. One by one the target ships
were examined and then declared ‘Geiger sweet’
—safe for reboarding. Among the ships first re-
boarded by the observers were "Nevada, "Ar-
kansas,"" "Prinz Eugen," ‘Pensacola.’

x

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SANDLOT ACTIVITY, KWAJALEIN. In a treeless
stadium at Kwajalein members of the Army Air
Forces play a spirited Island League softball game.
In the background are C-54 transport planes of
the Green Hornet Line. Scenes like this were the
exception, not the rule, beside Kwajalein's bust-
ling airport. From its scorched airstrip planes ot
the Green Hornet Line departed for Johnson Is-
land, Pearl Harbor, and the United States. Air
Transport Command planes used Kwajalein as a
way station on their flights to Guam and Tokyo.
Unpleasant bedfellow at Kwajalein prior to Test
Able was the atomic bomb itself,

THE POSTMAN ALWAYS LANDS ONCE. A
PBM plane of the Bikini-Kwajalein shuttle service
unloads its cargo of mail into a launch from the
AVP "Orca," seaplane tender that presided over
the seadrome west of Bikini Island. Mail service
at Bikini was good. It was no uncommon thing to
get mail from the United States in five days. In-
coming mail was taken to the LST that served as
postoffice, sorted and then distributed to the 42.,-
000 addressees. To guard the seaplanes against
injury from floating debris in the landing area a
converted PT boat commanded by Ensign Felix
Jablonski policed the seadrome.

page

175

NATURAL HISTORY IN THE MAKING. Sur-
rounded by collecting bags, bottles, knapsacks,
and other paraphernalia cherished by naturalists,
Dr. Joseph P. E. Morrison, Assistant Curator of
Mollusks at the U. S. National Museum, examines
a seafaring bird caught at Bikini. Dr. Morrison be-
came a familiar figure along the reefs and beaches
of the Atoll. His unusual pistol, which had four
interchangeable barrels of different sizes, at-
tracted particular attention. Whatever the size or
range of the bird he was gunning for, the right

page 177

caliber was quickly available. Dr. Morrison was
in charge of collection and examination of birds,
land animals, mollusks, crustaceans. OPPOSITE.
Following Test Able, one of the goats which had
been exposed to the effects of the bomb is
checked for radioactivity with a Geiger counter.
For Test Able 176 goats were used. Some were
coated with protective salves, some had portions
of their hides shaved to expose parts that would
best approximate human skin, No goats were used
in Test Baker.

THE MOVING FINGER WRITES. In the radiation
measurement section of the Instrumentation Labo-
ratory on the AG-76 "Avery Island,’ Mr. A. H.
Waite, Jr., checks the timing of an automatic pen-
and-ink recording device. Recorders like this were
used on support ships, several miles off Bikini, to
make permanent records of data automatically
gathered by instruments on the "hot'’ target ships
within the lagoon. Many of the Geiger counters
on the target vessels were used in this way; they
were equipped with radio transmitters which auto-
matically broadcast the counter readings to these
remotely-located recorders. Such continuous rec-
ords were available for immediate use, or for
more detailed analysis at a later time, ;

GEIGER COUNTER LOG, BURLESON LABORA-
TORY. Aboard the APA-67 "Burleson" an officer
from the Naval Medical Research Institute ex-
amines samples for radioactivity. With far less
modern apparatus the Curies in the 1890's tested
innumerable samples in their painstaking search

for the elements responsible for the newly dis-
covered phenomenon, radioactivity. On-the-spot
laboratories such as ‘'Burleson's'’ made possible
the detection and study of even the earliest symp-
toms of any radiological diseases contracted by
the animals.

TEST BAKER CINDERELLA SHIP. In a caisson
slung at a predetermined depth below this LSM-

60 is the atomic bomb used in Test Baker, which
occurred at 0835 on the morning of vale 25 by
i

the Bikini calendar (July 24 in New York). Test
Baker was the under water shot, designed to de-
termine the effects of an underwater atomic bomb
explosion upon ships, particularly ship hulls. Use
of a surface vessel from which to suspend the
bomb made possible a detonation at exactly the
predetermined depth and at the exact center of
the target array; all errors in positioning the bomb
were avoided. Shown here is the antenna used to
receive the radio signal which detonated the
bomb. The midship hoist used for lowering the
bomb caisson is also shown. OPPOSITE. UPPER.
Scientist being checked into the well-guarded tim-
ing laboratory aboard the AV-I7 "Cumberland
Sound."" LOWER. Dr. Marshall G. Holloway,
Head of the Los Alamos Laboratéry group at
Bikini, throws the final electronic control switch
on apparatus which a few seconds later detonated
the Test Baker bomb. Signals controlled from this
panel started automatic cameras and instruments
a few seconds prior to the detonation.

page 1/82

BAKER BURST. The Baker Day explosion burst

through the calm, blue water of deserted Bikini La-

goon at 0835 on July 25, Bikini local time and
date. Wind was from the south, and of low ve-
locity; cloud cov i Evacuation

+
of the support rsonnel from the

Lagoon was well underway by dusk of the preced-
ing day; it was completed when the last remaining
technicians quitted the Lagoon nearly two hours

before the 0835 "'Mike Hour."’ During the hour
before the detonation shipboard observers selected
vantage points on the uppermost decks.

HIGH ALTITUDE VIEW, BAKER TEST. This almost
perfect birdseye view of the Baker burst was taken
from directly overhead by a drone photographic
airplane arriving exactly on schedule. To aid dis-
cussion of pictures like this, Task Force scientists
developed their own terminology. In this photo-
graph the rough central portion, or “cauliflower”,

is still in an early stage. Water which lay motion-
less a second before is now arising toward the
camera with the speed. of a bullet, spreading
slightly as it rises. The surrounding white disc-
shaped area, concentric with the cauliflower, is
called the "‘fillet."" It denotes the spread of the ex-
tremely intense pressure wave.

x

PLANNED COINCIDENCE, BAKER TEST. These
photographs of the Baker Test, subject matter
aside, are clear evidence of the accurate timing
achieved in the second bomb test. By radio control
an Army Air Forces B-!17 drone oes has been
brought to just the right position above the bomb
detonation point, exactly at the instant of detona-
tion. Other radio-controlled apparatus has acti-
vated the cameras that made these photographs.
All such controls were synchronized with the signals

detonating the bomb itself. Two stages in the de-
velopment of the cauliflower are shown. The shock
wave and fillet continue to expand, the cauliflower
grows, the condensation cloud begins to assume
its roughly spherical shape. Shadows cast by low-
lying natural clouds form blotches on the explosion
cloud below. Size of the target ships (right, above)
indicates the height at which these pictures were
taken and gives some conception of the magnitude
of the burst.

page 186

CONDENSATION CLOUD, TEST BAKER. Wheth-
er man Can ever produce rain is questionable; but
that he can produce a larae region of fog is proved
by this photograph. Dwarting the ships silhouetted
against it, the roughly spherical region contains
over one cubic mile of tog. On a gigantic scale

this cloud is reminiscent of tiny clouds produced
nearly 50 years ago by the English scientist C. T.
R. Wilson, who was experimenting to find the
causes of fog and rain. His studies of expansion,
cooling, supersaturation of air, made using expan-
dible chambers of metal and glass, won him renown.

AFTER THE PREDICTIONS, CONFIRMATION.
Oblique view of the condensation cloud and water
mass rising up at the center. The Evaluation Board

commented on Test Baker as follows: ‘The explo-
sion was of predicted violence and is estimated to
have been at least as destructive as 20,000 tons

of TNT. To a degree which the Board finds re-
markable, the visible phenomena of explosion fol-
lowed the predictions made by civilian and ser-
vice phenomenologists attached to Joint Task
Force One. The blast was followed by an opaque
cloud which enveloped half of the target array.”

TEN MILLION TONS OF WATER. !n this striking
view of the Baker Day test the condensation cloud
has disappeared near the surface of the Lagoon,
revealing the target array and the upsurging

SRM TT nt teenie,
fe ne

column of ten million tons of water. As if resentful
of its imprisonment under water the bomb hurled
this column of water, fully 2,200 feet in diameter,
6,000 feet into the air. The column is moving up-

ward with such incredible speed that its remarkable
mottled appearance is caught only on short-ex-
posure photographs such as this. The condensation
cloud now covers an area of approximately ten

page 189

square miles. The dark hole on the right of the
column marks the location of the battleship ‘‘Ar-
kansas'’ which sank within a matter of seconds after

the burst.

page 190

ONE MILE BELOW, A MUD-SLINGER. Shown
at about the top of its rise, the millions of tons
of water thrown up by the Baker bomb break
through the enveloping condensation cloud be-
fore descending upon ships of the target array
one mile below. Explosion of the bomb beneath
the surface of the Lagoon subjected the sur-
rounding water to many unprecedented effects,
including intense neutron bombardment. This
produced artificial radioactivity, particularly in
the sodium, iodine, bromine, and potassium con-
tent of the water. Therefore most of the water
in the column was dangerously radioactive. The
bomb produced an amount of radioactivity esti-
mated to have been the equivalent of many
hundred tons of radium. A few minutes ex-
posure to this intense radiation at its peak
would within a brief interval have incapacited
human beings and resulted in their death within
days or weeks. The drenching of the target ships
with this colossal amount of contaminated water
makes it understandable that they remained
radioactive ‘hot stoves’ for days after the test.
Also for this reason animal casualties from radia-
tion were much more pronounced in the Baker
test than they had been in Test Able.

192

page

OVER THE HUMP. When this photograph was
made the column of water had just abort reached
the top of its rapid climb. Its mottled surface has
been replaced by individual jets or sours each one
of which is approximately the size of a large ship.
In another moment the huge column begins its
ominous descent. The condensation cloud is still

present. In Test Baker the air blast wave was far
less intense than it had been in Test Able. There
was little optical radiation of any significance. Due
to absorption of neutrons and gamma rays by the
water of the Lagoon, the first flash of nuclear radia-
tion had very little immediate effect on the target
ships.

SEVENTH VEIL. Taken a few instants after the
picture on the preceding page, this photograph
shows the last vestiges of the condensation cloud
still encircling the water column. Invisible to the
camera's eye, the complex instrument array is re-
cording many statistics concerning this lofty col-
umn. Positive conclusions to affect ship design
were to come later. On September 7, 1946, the

page 193
significant announcement was made that construc-
tion on the 45,000-ton battleship "Kentucky," 70
per cent completed, and on the 27,000-ton battle
cruiser ‘Hawaii, 85 per cent completed, would
be curtailed until January 1947 pending design
changes based on Operation Crossroads as well as
on lessons learned during the war. And even more
radical changes may be expected in the: future.

page 194

EDUCATED CABBAGE. A drone plane flying di-
rectly overhead just as the Baker bomb water
column reached its greatest height recorded this
interesting view of the cauliflower. Appearance
of the condensation cloud suggests that this pic-
ture was made but a few instants after the view on
the preceding page. OPPOSITE. This oblique shot

a

of the Baker burst again emphasizes the height of

the cauliflower, size of which should be compared
with the single ship of the target array visible just
inside the expanding shock wave. Taking into ac-
count the amount of research development work
which this single photograph represents, Mark
Twain's definition of cauliflower as "'a cabbage with
a college education" is in point. This photograph
was made from an altitude of over 10,000 feet.

page 196

DESCENT OF THE COLUMN, BAKER TEST. mile-high vantage point, the millions of tons of

Shown here is the Baker burst water column start- water form colossal waves and an expanding cloud
ing its descent back into the Lagoon. Wed now

|
4

Pulled now of spray and water plunging outward from the base
ompared with that of the column. Within a few minutes this engulfing
y mass, called by oceanographers the ‘base surge, —

rom its has shrouded approximately half the target array.

only by gravity, a puny force c
; re

slowly. Thundered back

OBLIQUE VIEW, BAKER TEST. As is well known
to photographers, use of yellow, orange, or red
filters cuts down the amount of blue and ultraviolet
light reaching the film, thus cutting out haze and
leaving a dark background of sea and sky. Such
filters were put to especially good use at Bikini, and

are in large part responsible for the excellent con-
trast obtained, particularly in photographs taken
from the air. A few polaroid filters were used also.
Some of the high-contrast photographs shown here
actually provide greater contrast than was avail-
able to the naked eve.

x

A TREE GROWS IN BIKINI. Somewhere beneath
thiseattree-shaped watery pile lies the battleship
Arkansas,’ which was the nearest to the center
of impact when the Baker bomb was detonated.
"Arkansas" and three other smaller ships sank
almost at once. The aircraft carrier ''Saratoga,”
also close to the bomb, sank seven and one-half
hours later. The big battleship ''Nagato'’ emerged
from the Baker Test with a five degree list, re-
mained in that condition for four days, sank in the
middle of the night. Comparing the two tests, the

page 199

Evaluation Board observed that ships remaining
afloat within the damage area appeared to have
been much more seriously damaged by the aerial
explosion than by the underwater explosion.
Damage to ships in the first test might have been
far greater had the bomb exploded directly over
the target ship ''Nevada." No ship within a mile
of either burst could have escaped without some
damage to itself and serious injury to a large num-
ber of its crew. OPPOSITE. Vertical view of Baker
burst.

page 200

OUT OF FISSION, CONFUSION. These photo-
graphs re-emphasize the great scale of the Baker
burst. They convey an impression that was the
commonly-shared experience of on-the-spot ob-
servers—the difficulty mentally of taking in the
spectacle before them. Note particularly, in the
picture opposite, the row of destroyers lying in a
sunny patch of sea not yet encompassed by the
advancing cloud of water and spray. They are like
minnows about to be engulfed by Niagara. Lost
in comparison with the towering clouds of spray
spreading out from the top of the cloud, some of
these ships are shortly to be immersed in the wall
of foam coming along the Lagoon's surface from
the base of the column.

page 202

BASE SURGE: LAGOON
LEVEL. The wall of spray and
steam at the base of the column
rushes precipitantly out from
the center, drenching the target
ships with its thick poisonous
wetness. At the left all but the
bow of the battleship “New
York'' has been overrun by the
cloud. In the center and at the
right, respectively, the ‘Salt
Lake City" and "Nevada"’ have
only seconds to wait. Small won-
der that over 90 per cent of the
target vessel array was affected
by the deadly radioactivity. Al-
though the amount of damage
done to hulls was not very dif-
ferent from predicted damage,
the extent of radiological haz-
ards went. beyond what had
been expected. Lessons in radio-
logical safety formed an im-
portant result of Operation
Crossroads.

page 203

page 204

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DISINTEGRATION OF A COLOSSUS. The cauli-
flower in this stage is rapidly approaching the ap-
pearance of a mere cabbage. The height of the
base-surge is easily estimated by comparison with
the "Salt Lake City" just at the edge of it. Near
the "Salt Lake City" clumps of spray and white
marks in the water are splashes made, presumably,
by portions of the LSM-60 falling back into the
Lagoon after a spectacular flight into the air. Un-
like Test Able, the Baker bomb was not a ''self-

page 205

cleansing" shot. Radioactivity in the Lagoon per-
sisted for weeks. It produced in the salt water
lines and condensers of various returning Cross-
roads vessels a radioactive residue which was dis-
closed by a precautionary check made when the
ships arrived at the West Coast. During the entire
conduct of Operation Crossroads no casualties
from radioactivity occurred, testifying to the ex-
treme precautions taken. OPPOSITE. Second
base-surge forms inside first.

=

AUTOMOBILE SHOW.

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taken by an airplane locate
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away as wer

his photograph was _ termined zone. Zones were named for automobiles,
appreximately as far for example, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Ford, Chalmers.
vessels of the support- The majority of the scientists kept their eyes to

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ing fleet. Principal command, laboratory, and ob- their binoculars. Some stood watch over special
server ships were 10 to 12 miles from the detona- apparatus. Thin white lines, explosion-generated
tion point. Each ship circled slowly in a prede- waves breaking on the reefs, could be seen.

BEYOND THE HORIZON. As the base surge com-
pletes its lateral spreading, the cloud, drained by
gravity of its water content, floats off with the
wind. During the first hour her northward progress
was easily watched by observers on surface vessels;
the cloud retained a slight orange tint, and ap-

page 207

peared somewhat larger than other clouds. By the
end of the second hour she was practically indis-
tinguishable from the countless clouds dotting the
horizon; and all attention reverted to the destruc-
tion in the Lagoon. Specially-equipped planes
were able to follow the cloud some time longer.

page 208

WAVE MOTION, TEST BAKER. These waves,
shown reaching the beach at Bikini, are the
dwindled remnants of waves which at 1000 feet
from the explosion center were 80 to 100 feet in
height. Largest waves reaching Bikini beach were
about seven feet high. Although they did not pass
over the Island they flooded the Island roadway
and several other areas. No material damage oc-

curred, however. OPPOSITE. Dr. G. K. Green,
formerly a major in the Army, instrumentation ex-
pert of the Army Ground Group, studies a tele-
metered recording made on an Esterline-Angus re-
corder on the AG 76 "Avery Island." "Telemeter-
ing" is the process in which automatically-made
readings of instruments are radioed to a point
some distance away and are there recorded.

COUNTERS, TIDES, AND WINDS. Two radiologi-
cal monitors of the Task Force work their way into
a contaminated portion of the Lagoon using a Gei-
ger counter to take readings of radioactivity in the
water. Readings fluctuated considerably from day
to day, depending on tidal effects, drifts in wind,
and currents ascending from the bottom of the
Lagoon floor. Nature gave some assistance to les-
sening the radioactivity of Lagoon water; thanks
to currents produced by tides and winds the water
in the Lagoon is constantly being interchanged with
water from the open sea. But this process is slow,
approximately 48 days being required for the
water inside to be completely replaced. The Atoll
has only one large channel to the sea, but at high
tide sea water.can easily wash over the reets into
the Lagoon.

DECONTAMINATION PROCEDURE, USS NEW
YORK. A United States Navy fireboat washes
down the decks of the battleship "New York" with
sea water shortly after the Baker Test. This pro-
cedure was carried out with many of the target
ships prior to sending inspection parties aboard.
High pressure tirehose streams washed much radio-
active material from the decks, making the initial
reboardings after the test far less dangerous than
they would otherwise have been. During the Test
Baker explosion great quantities of radioactive
water were thrown upon the ships, either by the
great column tossed up or by the enormous waves.
This innocent-appearing but radioactive water was
such a hazard even after four days, that it was still
unsafe for inspection parties to spend any useful
length of time at the center of the target area.

page 212

END OF THE "SARA." As the cioud lifted follow-
ing the Baker blast, and the target array once more
became visible, there was no question but that the
gallant aircraft carrier ''Saratoga,"' oldest U. S. air-
craft carrier afloat, was seriously damaged. All
moored planes and material on her deck had been
swept into the Lagoon. Much of her superstructure
was gone or extensively damaged. The very dis-
tinctive stack (shown opposite, upper) was com-
pletely gone Wher ships of the supporting fleet

began re-entering the Lagoon after the test, and
it was certain that 'Saratoga'’ was on her way
down, Admiral Blandy ordered tugs to attempt to
secure lines to the carrier and tow her to Enyu
Island for beaching. This proved impossible since
both "Saratoga" and the water surrounding her
were too "hot'' to permit safe approach. The sink-
ing of Old "Sara" was watched with mixed emo-
tions by members of the Task Force, many of whom
had served on her during her fighting days.

page 214

THE EYES HAVE IT. The scene is aboard ''Pana-
mint'’ an instant or two before “Mike Hour," de-
tonation time of the Test Baker bomb. The bomb's
explosion in a submerged position made it possible
for observers to look directly at the explosion point
area without recourse to dark glasses or goggles.
These men are || miles from the bomb. They are
focusing on the LSM-60 beneath which it is sus-

pended. The moment for which they have waited
is here. In the group are, left to right: Represen-
tative Albert J. Engel (R), Michigan (in cap); Com-
mander S. H. K. Spurgeon, Australia; Major H.
Bruining, The Netherlands; Mr. J. K. Northrop,
president of Northrop Aircraft, Inc.; and Mr. E. S.
Stedman, Canada. The man in the foreground was
not identified.

BOMB VS METROPOLIS. This composite photo-
graph roughly compares the height of the Baker
Day cloud with the height of New York's greatest
skyscraper. An exact comparison to scale would,
if anything, be even more extreme than this; the
great cloud rose to approximately 6000 ft., and the

Empire State Building is only 1250 ft. in height.
The greatest cauliflower cloud would overshadow
a considerable portion of central Manhattan. It
requires little study to appreciate that one atomic
bomb is capable of producing catastrophic de-
struction,

INSIDE THE FISH, A "HOT" SUPPER. UPPER.
This puffy surgeon fish has gorged itself heavily
on radioactive algae, the common seaweed of the

Bikini Lagoon. The plant itself had previously ab-,

sorbed radioactive fission products deposited in
the water by the atomic bomb. Radioactivity of
the plants will last a long time, is not affected by
passing into the fish's stomach. Previous similar
dinners already digested and distributed about his
body are revealed by the radioactivity of regions

in the neighborhood of nose and eyes. The fish
was not killed by the radioactivity, it being appar-
ently true that the more elemental the form of life,

the less it is affected by radiation. LOWER.
Radioactive algae. These "radioautographs' were
made by placing the subjects on a photographic
film overnight. They suggest Becquerel's 1896 dis-
covery of radioactivity when a key left near some
uranium-bearing pitchblende ore similarly ‘'took its
own picture” on a piece of film.

FULL FATHOM FIVE. Underwater photography
was used at Bikini to record damage to hulls and
superstructures of sunken vessels. This work was
especially significant after Test Baker, in which a
particularly large fraction of the interesting me-

chanical damage occurred on ships which sank. The
diver shown is preparing to descend from the spe
cially equipped LCM used in this work. He wears
a simple face mask and a quick-release type of
lead-weighted belt.

BARRACUDA-EYE VIEW OF UNDERWATER
PHOTOGRAPHER. Underwater photography
techniques experimented with at Bikini were not
particularly hazardous, although voracious barra-
cuda, sharks, and eels occasionally turned up to see
what was going on. Fortunately these fish will avoid

a man who moves about underwater, especially it
there is a column of air bubbles escaping from hel-
met or face mask. Some sharks 12 feet long were
seen, but they kept their distance. Smaller fish, less
reticent, ventured closer, formed a colorful array
of onlookers as the photographic work proceeded.

DAVY JONES' LOCKER. Pictures like this were
made by photographers working far beneath the
surface of the Bikini Lagoon. Artificial illumination
synchronized with lightmeter readings aided ob-
taining good exposures. The extremely clear water
of the Lagoon also favored this. subsurface work.

After Test Baker the bottom of the Lagoon was
found to be covered with many feet of fine silt,
pulverized coral resulting from the bomb's explo-
sive force released beneath the water. Divers sank
into this silt up to their shoulders. Jagged coral
heads and radioactivity added to the difficulties.

x

THAT MEN MAY LIVE. Aboard the laboratory
ship “Burleson a goat suffering from radiation
sickness resulting from exposure to the atomic
bomb receives a transfusion of whole blood. Plasma
used is from a goat blood bank contributed to by
certain goats reserved for this purpose. Of the

animals used at Bikini about 35 per cent were killed
—|0 per cent by the air blast, 15 per cent by radio-
activity, and 10 per cent by research workers after
the tests, for study. No exact parallel can be
drawn between these figures and estimates of the
possible effect of the bomb upon human lite.

HOMEWARD BOUND. Off Enyu Channel sailors
on a San Francisco-bound Task Force ship take a
final look back at the scene of the two atomic bomb
tests. Many of the 42,000 members of the Task
Force left Bikini soon after Test Baker. Others re-
mained there to do necessary post-test ‘mopping
up". FoF the scientists and service personnel of

page 221

the technical groups, however, possibly the most
important part of the Operation still lay ahead—
the important work of consolidating results. Wise
was the scientist who once said that he never knew
what the results of an experiment were until he had
written them down. By mid-October most of this
work had been accomplished.

x

page 222

OPERATION'S END: THE CONTINUING PROB-
LEM. The ''Burleson,"’ arriving home from Bikini,
symbolizes a cogent truth: The problems with
which the atomic bomb confronts us do not, after
an Operation Crossroads, remain behind, impris-
oned within the coral bounds of a remote Pacific

atoll. At Bikini ships were sent to the bottom; the
problems were not. As examples ot man’s scien-
tific skill and cooperativeness the atomic bomb,
and Operation Crossroads, are unrivalled. To
those who direct man's humanitarian destiny the
challenge is clear.

Able burst, 126-148

Air plan, 54

Alamogordo, 7

"Albemarle,'' 46

Alexandrov, S. P., 95, 140

Allison, Samuel K., 16

Anderson, Rep. Jack Z., 173

Andrews, Rep. W. G., 70, 153

Animals, test, 67, 108-110, 176, 220

“Apogon, 103-107

“Appalachian, 58, 84, 149

"Arkansas, ~ 65, 138-139, 153, 161,
188-189, 199

Army Air Force, 81

Army Ground Force, 64

Austin, IT. S.,°91

"Avery Island," 178

Baker burst, 182-207

Baker burst vs. New York Skyline, 215

Bartholomew, Frank, 86

Bates, Rep. George J., 173

\

“Begor,' 89
BeniseeepinnL.J:, 18; 30
HBikii Ss) W-15;. 215, 56-57

Blakelock, Col. D. H., 18

Blandy, Vice Adm. W. H. P., 5, 8
18, 42, 54, 115

"Bowditch," 53

Bradley, Rep. Michael J., 173

Brereton, Lt. Gen. Lewis H., 42, 153

Briefing, 69, 82, 94, 120

Brodie, Capt. Robert, Jr., 18

Bruining, Maj. H., 214

"Burleson," 67, 99, 179, 222

Camera, television, 77

Camera towers, 28-29

Cameras, 9, 72-75

Carlisle, John M., 86

Carrier force array, 119

Chenchar, Capt. Paul, Jr., 122

"Cinderella" ship, 180

Compton, Dr. Karl T., 42, 153

Condon, Dr. E. U., 153

Coral, 22-23, 34, 96

Cordon, Sen. Guy, 45

Cothran, T/Sgt. Jack, 122

"Crittendon,' 166

Crowson, Maj. Delmar L., 121

Cullen, Col. Paul T., 74, 83

"Cumberland Sound," 181

Cumberledge, Capt. A. A., 121

Cunningham, Lt. Col., R. J., 83

Damage pictures, 154-169, 212-213,
219

"Dave's Dream," 122-124

"Dawson, 168
Decontamination, 211
"Dentuda,'"' 107

Dermat. Col. J, A. 30

Dewey, Bradley, 153

Diving operations, 105, 217

Downes, Bill, 86

Drones, See Radio-controlled boats,
_Radio-controlled planes

Dunbar, Carl O., 140

Engel, Rep. Albert J., 214

Eniwetok, 50 es
Enyu Island, 29, 132, 145, 148
Fackler, Maj. Paul L., 121

Farrell, Maj. Gen. Thomas F., 42, 153
Fermi, Enrico, 16

Fish, 35, 53

Forrestal, James, 115

Garillo, Dr. Nabor, 140

INDEX

Geiger counter, 93, 179, 210

Gillespie, Rep. Dean M., 45

Glenn, Lt. Robert M., 122

Gonzales, Lt. Col. Juan Loyo, 140

Gotlieb, Sonnee, 41

Green, Dr. G. K., 209

"Green Hornet" line, 44

Groves, Maj. Gen. Leslie R., 16

Guzman, Octavius, 58

Hamm, Clarence L., 41

Hannegan, Robert E., 94

“Happy Hour,’ 70

Harbor anchorage array, 119

Harrison, Capt. Wm. C., Jr., 122

Hatch, Senator Carl A., 45

"Haven, 93

"Hawaii, 193

Helicopter, 61

Herald, Capt. Earl H., 53

Hiroshima, 7

Holloway, Dr. Marshall G., 97, 181

Holter, N. J., 100

Holtzman, Col. B. G., 121

Hoover, Vice Adm. John H., 42, 153

House Naval Affairs Committee, | 73

Immunization of personnel, 43

"Independence, 9, 116-117, 155-157

Instruments, 7, 9, 78-79, 98, 150-151,
178, 209 ,

Izac, Rep. Edouard V. M., 173

Jablonski, Ens. Felix, 175

Joint Chiefs of Staff Evalution Board,
42, 87, 153

Joint Task Force One, 8

Juda, King., 16

"Kenneth Whiting,” 76

Kenney, Gen. George C., 94

"Kentucky, 193

Kepner, Maj. Gen. W. E., 18, 54, 115

Khokhlov, A. M., 58

Kwajalein, 9, 46, 61

Lampson, Dr. C. W., 79

Landry, Bob, 41

Laurence, Wm. L., 172

LeMay, Gen. Curtis E., 94

Lyman, Capt. C. H., 18

Lyon, Capt. G. M., 18

Lyons, Cpl. Herbert, 123

McAuliffe, Maj. Gen. A. C., 18

McCurtin, Com. J. H., 120

McElroy, Capt. J. H., 120

McMahon, Sen. Brien, 8

McNaughton, Brig. Gen. K. P., 18

Mail service, 175

Manhattan Engineer District, 8

Mapping, photographic, 55

Marshall Islands, ||

Materiel, test, 65, 66, 68

Maurer, Lt. Com. W. G., 51

Medical technicians, 99

Medlin, Cpl. Roland M., 122

Mescheryakov, Dr. A. M., 95, 140

Mooring ships, 102

Morris, Don, 58

Morrison, Dr. Joseph P. E., 177

"Mount McKinley,’ 33, 149

Moynahan, Lt. Col. J. F., 86

Nagasaki, 7, 9, 41, 145, 199

Natives, 15, 17, 19, 20, 24, 149

Naval Mine Warfare Test Station, 26

"Nevada," 9, 85, 116-117, 153, 164-
165, 167, 169, 202

"New York," 31, 202-203, 21

Newell, W. S., 45

Newsmen, 86

Nichols, Col. Kenneth B., 94

Northrop, J. K., 214

Ofstie, Rear Adm. Ralph A., 42

“Orea, 175

Oruk Island, 34

Osten, Lt. (j.g.) G. W., 95

Outrigger canoe, 19

Oyster, giant, 62

Pacific map, 12-13

""Panamint,'' 70, 85, 95, 140, 173, 214

"Parche,'' 107

Parsons, Rear Adm. W. S., 18, 30, 78

Pearl Harbor, 9, 37

Pennsylvania,’ 9, 66, 84, 113

Pensacola,’ 116-117, 153

Photographic plane, 114

Photography, See cameras

Photography, underwater, 218-219

“Pilotfish," 107

Ponton bridge installation, 49

Power, Brig. Gen. T. S., 18, 54

President's Evaluation Commission, 153

Prinz Eugen," 9, 38-39

"Queen Day," 113

Radio-controlled boats, 89, 170

Radio-controlled planes, 50-51, I11

Radioactive fish, 216

Radioactivity, 93, 108, 140, 143, 156,
160, 170, 179, 190, 202, 205, 210
211, 216, 220

Ramey, Brig. Gen. Roger M., 25, 74

"Reclaimer,” 103

Recreation facilities, 96-97, 174

Rehearsal for test, 112-113

Revelle, Com. Roger, 30

Rivero, Capt. Horacio, 153

Rongelap Island, GI

Rongerik, 16, 20, 21, 24

Roswell Field, 10

Safety measures, 93

"Saidor,"' 60, 76, 82, 120, 125

"Sakawa,"" 9, 84, 162-163

"Salt Lake City,"' 202-203, 205

Saltonstall, Sen. Leverett, 45, 94, 153

Salm, Capt. G. B., 140

"Saratoga, 9, I16-I117, 133, 145,
22-23

Sargent, Lt. Com. M. C.) 91

Sawyer, Ralph A., 18, 30, 172

Schultz, Dr. Leonard P., 53

"Searaven," 107

Searls, Fred, Jr., 153

Shaffer, Sam, 58

"Shangri-La," 33, 51

Skate,’ 107, 158-160

"Skipjack,'' 107

Smith, Cyril, 16

Snackenberg, Commo. J. A., 30
Solberg, Rear Adm. T. A., 30, 100
Sonobuoy, 88

"Spindle Eye," 149

Spurgeon, Com. S. H..K., 214

Staff meeting, 18

Stedman, E. S., 214

Stilwell, Gen. Joseph W., 42, 87, 153
Stone, Robert S., 16

Storrs, Capt. A. P., 120

Submarines, submerging, 103-107
Swancutt, Maj. Woodrow P., 122-123
Symington, Stuart, 94

Target array, 116-117, 118

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Task Group, |.5, 81

Taylor Model Basin, 26-27
Test Able, 8, 126-148

Test Baker, 8, 182-207

Test fleet, t16-117.
Thorington, Capt. A. C., 93
Titterton, Dr. Ernest W. 97
Towers, instrument, 28-29
Training, 9

Trinity Test, 7 Wave motion, 208

"Tuna, 107 Weather observations, 101, 121
Uehlinger, Capt. A. E., 79 Westlake, Col. Wm., 172
United Nations Observers, 95, 140 White, Stephen, 58

Urey, Harold C., 16 "Widgeon," 103, 104, 107
Waite, A. H., Jr., 178 Wilson cloud effect, '86
Warner, R. S., Jr., 83 Wood, Maj. Harold H., 100, 122
Warren, Col. Stafford E., 30, 93 Yoe, Dr. John H., 140

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ERATION
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Foreword by
VICE ADMIRAL W.H.P. BLANDY, U.S.N.

Preparer by the HISTORIAN, » JOINT TASK FORCE ON