Operation Crossroads (1949)

[Music] this is the key it is here that the military and scientific personnel of Joint Task Force One will conduct the tests with the atomic bomb only by unleashing the destructive force of atomic energy against an array of ships could the Navy determine the future ship design of modern naval sea power the target orientation for testable was based on the directive of the Joint Chiefs of Staff it required at the ninety ships anchored in bikini lagoon be so disposed as to secure graded ship damage ranging from maximum to minimum the battleship USS Nevada farm aiming point has been anchored at the exact center the target array here to witness the completion of preparations is the president's evaluation Commission they will report the tests to the commander-in-chief flash to the decks of ships are samples of military supplies and equipment airplanes heaps trucks and tanks themselves targets on target ship animals were placed aboard some of the chips to substitute for military personnel a study of their future light history will provide invaluable information steel tower 75 feet high have been erected on bikini at all within these structures will be housed the remotely controlled cameras and specially designed scientific instruments that will record the data resulting from the blast many types of special motion picture and still cameras were encased in huge lead bolts these unusual enclosures build of reinforced concrete to expand the primary blast action four lined with thick sheets of lead to protect film from the effects of radioactivity which would otherwise fog the sensitive material to further protect film from the effects of radiation sliding lead panels built over the camera ports and designed to close automatically will seal the vaults making radioactive penetration impossible the immense task of transferring personnel and the vast quantities of supplies instruments and special equipment from Kwajalein to bikini was relieved by PBMs of the naval air transport service Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal comes aboard the USS Mount McKinley and is greeted by Vice Admiral Blandy commander of Task Force One the Navy secretary will be among observers witnessing the experiment preparations are now complete and crews of that in their ship shown here is captain low HP commanding officer of the venerable old battleship USS New York everything is in readiness for the test stable experiment and military and scientific personnel leave the target area on able day - one command ships proceed to an area approximately fourteen miles from the lagoon where the blasts can be safely observed dawn on Carleen July 1st 1946 this was Abel Dane Army Air Force camera observation and weather and instrument planes prepare to take off the b-29 in c-54 photographic planes bristle with cameras of every type and description but almost 500 cameras trained on the blast the test will be photographed from every possible angle poised on the loading ramp is the b-29 Dave dream bomb carrying aircraft on the engineers the Manhattan engineer district have assembled and loaded into the huge plane the bomb that will be dropped on the target fleet anchored in bikini Lagoon [Music] whether escort of photographic and weather and instrument claims Dave's dream proceeds to the bikini target on Evy Island Navy camera planes huge PBM flying boats are loaded with still and motion picture cameras accompanied by Air Force photo planes these ships will circle the target photographing the atomic explosion at enna we duck on the airforce drones are preparing to take off these part of this plane will be guided through the center of the cloud column to record scientific data as well as to provide valuable information concerning the effects of the blast upon military aircraft [Music] [Music] on board USS shangri-la at sea maybe f6f mother control planes are catapulted from the carrier's flight deck when the monitoring planes are properly located over the ship the drone aircraft are launched and temporarily guided from the carrier until control is picked up by the planes in the air everything is in readiness now and history is in the making observers at sea impatiently awaits the blast zero our rapidly approaches and cameras start to grind just before the explosion blast gauges are parachuted in at the target area from weather and instrument plane the brahmer is over the target the bomb is away and one second ago in the following view the blasts will be seen as was photographed in slow motion [Music] in this view of the blast recorded from a camera tower on bikini the suction caused by the explosion can be seen pulling the suit from the ship stacks into the center the rising column the towering cloud column rose to a height of almost 8 miles after dropping the atomic bomb the b-29 Dave's dream returns to her base at Kwajalein not far behind are the Air Force photographic planes with a film record of one of the most amazing and spectacular events in the annals of history cameras are removed from the planes and the exposed film forwarded to photographic centers for processing and distribution b-17 airforce drones landed and a we talk these planes guided through the center the cloud column gathered radioactive dust particles in large filter bags suspended from farm racks the deadly radioactive dust bags are removed and carried to laboratories for testing and analyzing maybe f6f drones flown back from bikini by mother control planes prepare to land at roy island when the drones near the ground air control is switched to the ground control officer at the edge of the flight strip who lands the pilotless aircraft like the air force drones the navy fighters carried air scoops containing special filter papers for determining the concentration of radioactivity in the cloud column crews removing the dangerously radioactive materials were carefully indoctrinated in the procedure of handling such objects in order to avoid lethal burn from the fission products deadly gamma and beta rays meanwhile at bikini inspection parties make a preliminary appraisal of the damage to the target fleet burning from fires started by the low-order detonation of torpedo warheads is the aircraft carrier independent the light carrier was heavily damaged the blast struck the ship on the port quarter warped buckled and carried away light plating and pushed up the flight deck so that it looked like a rooftop the independence class carriers are built on lightly constructed Cruiser type halls what accounts in part for the heavy data [Music] [Music] the aircraft carrier Saratoga was undamaged except for a small fire in supply stores [Music] the battleship Nevada target ship of the array suffered moderate superstructure damage and the deck aft was buckled the paint on one side was scorched but did not burn [Music] the period between the tests Abel and test maker experiments was an extremely busy one the immense task of making detailed and comprehensive inspections recording data and reorienting the entire target fleet for the underwater test was completed during this time Vice Admiral blondie flew to run Zurich to see King Judah ruler of bikini during the friendly visit they had no presented King Judah with several gifts at sea aboard the aircraft carrier Sade or a naval photographic officer briefs the photographic plane pilots and lens experts who will photograph the Baker day blast also taking off from the carrier our control plane that will guide the radio control drone boat in bikini lagoon radiological reconnaissance boats directed from low-flying aircraft will be used as safety patrol vessels immediately after the blast these drone boats equipped with special instruments to record radioactivity will be guided through the target area that captures samples of water and air determining the concentration of deadly radioactive particles is of the utmost importance since invisible gamma and beta rays killed without warning aboard the firing ship USS Cumberland sound the Los Alamos crew for the manhattan engineer district enter the timing laboratory for the radio transmitters and specially constructed instruments for detonating the bomb are located the timing Laboratory scientists pass into the master control room dr. Marshall Holloway leader of the Los Alamos group unlocks and personally throws one of the master transmitter switches the timing laboratory is a complex interlocking system of radio transmitters timing recorders and scientific apparatus as h-hour approaches generators are started transmitters warmed up rath cards and time recorders changed and everything made ready for the blast h-hour - two minutes is broadcast from the ship and All Hands stand by sitting at the central console switchboard with a microphone is dr. Ernest it Urton assistant to dr. Holloway as he announces h-hour - 30 seconds dr. Holloway throws the 30-second switch dr. Chilton at the automatic firing paddle board prepares to broadcast the last 15 seconds 15 4 3 these pictures of the descending water column show the expanding crowd of spray and fog at the base of the column moving outward in covering the ships in the tonkin are a great quantities of radioactive water from the column ascended upon the decks of the nearby vessels and ship hauls a mile away were drenched by the wall of foaming water this wall of lethal spray and fog eventually covered the entire target fleet the next scene is a spectacular aerial view taken from directly over the blast here is one of the drone airplanes flying over the target fleet after the blast photographic planes returned from bikini and land on their floating vases at sea cameras are removed and the exposed film forwarded to the naval photographic Center in Washington DC for processing despite the presence of radioactivity safety patrols immediately enter the lagoon for a preliminary appraisal of the damage in an effort to reduce dangerous contamination ships were sprayed with water and special chemicals so that inspection parties could board them [Music] [Music] the destroyer used her hull ruptured by the blast action was beached on nu island in sinking condition and Roblin d general kepler and admiral parsons survey the damage in the target array shown here is the Japanese battleship Nagato which flooded in capsized five days after the blast seven and a half hours after the explosion the aircraft carrier Saratoga Randall fighting lady sank as a result of heavy underwater hull damage it must be remembered that the primary purpose of the bikini experiment was to secure precise technical information which will be used to determine necessary changes in the design and construction of all military equipment and especially Navy vessels required to maintain your Navy at maximum effectiveness we must be fully prepared to protect our national security promptly and effectively in the event that we are attacked we must defend ourselves this duel and telemental port or be destroyed by this is crossroad [Music]