American Atomic Bomb Tests
Summaries of footage on tapes available in the ELC
Compiled by Juan Cardarelli, June, 2003
Volume 1: Trinity and Crossroads Tests
00:00-00:05
Video begins in White Sands, Los Alamos during the Trinity Test. There is no actual sound because the government "sanitized the document," which means they thought it shouldn't be released. So the audio is replaced with old adventure music from the silent era, and an occasional current voice over. The tape shows "Gadget" the name of the Implosion/Plutonium bomb being tested at Trinity. They are attempting to simulate an airdrop by hoisting the bomb into the air, and detonating it from 100 feet. The bomb is incased in an unfinished aluminum sphere, just the bare essentials.
00:05-00:08
The bomb is being tweaked and assembled on the actually pad, where it will be lifted into the air. The plutonium core is being manually placed inside. No one is wearing protective gear, or shirts for that matter.
00:08-00:09
July 14th, the bomb is lifted into the air, and ready for detonation at 5pm.
00:09-00:11
Explosion is at 4am, very dark outside. The blast is filmed from 100 some miles away. The huge fireball rises into the sky; the 20 Kiloton bomb is a success. "World War II was indeed over." Narrator gives other famous quotes by Groves, and the rest of the famous scientists.
End of Trinity Test
00:11-00:12
The Crossroads test starts here. Takes place in July, on the Bikini Atoll.
00:12-00:14
Narrator explains that they have set up every ship available to test the effects of the bomb. They are all placed in a dissipating order from the center of where the bomb will detonate. Ironically, the ships share the names of major US cities. The video switched from live footage, to a poster showing where the ships are placed.
00:14-00:15
Every kind of weapon, and every kind of resource is placed on the ship, in order to test what will happen after the bomb. "Everything from tanks to milk."
00:15-00:16
Animals are shaved in order to see what effects the heat, and flash had on their skin. Everything from pigs, to dogs, to mice are placed aboard the ship.
00:16-00:18
Cameras are placed everywhere. 20-30 cameras are placed on each plane. The thought process is that if one camera misses the action, another one will be there to get the shot. Cameras are also placed on the Bikini islands, they are incased in lead, and metal cases. The lead prevents the radiation from damaging the valuable footage.
00:18-00:20
The bomb is place in the bomber. Dave's Dream is the name of the plane that will carry the bomb, shots of the pilots as they smile and look happy. Joyful music plays as they pilots are shown.
00:20-00:26
The bomb explodes. Multiple angles, great footage of the shockwave hitting the palm trees. Narrator explains that B-17 drone planes with special filters, fly into the cloud in order to collect data. Cloud stops at 40,000 feet, when they thought it would go higher. Explanation is that the moisture in the Atoll, combined with the lack of other fires found in Nagasaki, prevented the cloud from reaching higher altitudes.
00:26-00:28
The narrator explains that the "cloud has spread so much, that is wasn't dangerous anymore." Although this would probably make it more dangerous because the fallout had spread over greater distances, however, the men begin to film from tugboats inspecting the damage. More angles of the explosion are shown, very good footage.
00:28-00:34
We are taken back to the poster of where the ships will be placed. The man describes the damage, as we are shown the actual footage from ground zero. Very sad music plays, as the destruction is shown. Some ships had minor damage, while other where ravaged. They go through all the ships that were in the atoll.
00:34-00:41
Some of the animals survived, but later died of the radiation poisoning. More specific damage to the ships is displayed, as the narrator leaves out nothing. He explains that all this was done in order to upgrade ships, and adapt in this new era. (incase anyone thought the spent billions of dollars to blow up 30 ships)
End of Crossroads Test 1
00:41-00:43
The Baker test from July 25th follows the July 1st test. This would be an underwater detonation as opposed to an air detonation. Submarines are submerged using cement, and cables. Ships are rearranged, from the previous test.
00:43-00:44
Cameras are set up once again in the protective lead casings. Same as on the previous test, the footage is very important.
00:44-00:46
Ironically, King Juda, the king of the Bikini Islands, is invited to watch the bomb go off. The narrator says, "King Juda, who unselfishly gave the Bikini Islands to the United States." I'm sure that's not exactly how history unfolded, however this is a military film.
00:46-00:48
All the scientists enter the specials data recording labs. The show the master control room, where many of the scientist are setting up the equipment.
00:48-00:52
This is probably the best footage I have scene of the explosion. There is no huge flash that blinds the camera, so one sees it all. A huge spray of water and fog spews out of the center of the explosion. Narrator explains how incredible radioactive the fog and water is, that is spraying everywhere. You can see the cloud engulfing the ships as it moves at a lighting pace.
00:52-END
The damage is looked at again from the tugboats that sail out to ground zero. They show the film being recovered, and asses the damage once again.
Volume 2: Operation Sandstone
00:00-00:06
Movie starts up like a Disney movie opening, with the pages of a book turning. Begins by showing a handful of men looking through the sands of a small island. Everything on the island is destroyed. They are on Eniwetok Island. They are cutting trees, and building roads. They show the tower that holds "fissionable material." They explain why they have to use the island. It is an atomic island.
00:06-00:10
More intro and review of what is going to happen. They show all the equipment, and men moving to the Island. Talk about how security is important, because the experiment is outside the continental United States. Test instruments being built by the soldiers, and explained by the narrator. Nothing specific, just broad information with to many metaphors. All the cameras are shown, in many different varieties and sizes. "Sandstone will have the most complete photographic unit in history."
00:10-00:14
They explain more about the communication between the men. Also talk about the weather, and that there is only an hour left. Last minute preparations. Everything is being set up. "Man has begun to master nuclear fission." Planes will go into the cloud, they get into position.
00:14-00:17
Bomb goes off, but you don't see it. Fast forward to the data collection on the island.
00:17-00:20
Bombs go off, highlight reel of the previous 3 test. Then show the Sandstone explosion over and over again. The narrator is incredible enthusiastic as the bombs go off. Incredible biased, "This could be our gift to the generations after us." He says this as an insanely huge bomb is going off, over and over again.
First Section is over
00:21-00:23
The titles on the screen explain that this piece is about the air force's part of Operation Sandstone. Opens with planes dropping bombs during World War II. Show Eniwetok Atoll.
00:23-00:25
Show a large room with a meeting going on, the planning phase of Sandstone. What islands are going to be blown up, etc.
00:25-00:28
Aircraft begin arriving at the island, with all the important Generals and scientists. Planes keep landing and landing, each with different things, as the narrator points out.
00:28-00:32
Show the briefing room, as a General speaks to them men, while a man points out things on a map of the Atoll. The man talks for a while, about how bright the flash will be, "30 times the brightness of the sun." Many different men get up and speak, about different factors, like weather. A man gets up and says that the information that will be attained is crucial and cannot slip into the wrong hands.
00:32-00:37
Planes take off to do weather recon. The drones take off as well, as a plane follows the drone to control it. The pilot of the drone rides in the nose of the plane behind it. He checks the control board by the use of a camera that is in the drone plane. Photo planes fly around as well.
00:37-00:43
Final preparations for "X-day" begin. The soldiers are doing test on the weather. Dry runs for cameras. Photo equipment being checked, and set up. "Planes appear to have a hundred eyes." Take off time is in an hour. First unmanned drone flight during the night. "Tensions are high." Ominous music, as everything could go wrong…but won't.
00:43-00:45
Bomb goes off as the Drone plane is placed in position. Once again, they show the explosion for half a second, mostly soldiers hiding their eyes. The plane flying through the sky is more important apparently, as it is getting readings and collecting data.
00:45-00:47
Soldiers are on island as they are picking up valuable information. "The worlds 6th atomic explosion is successful." Men are only exposed to radiation for a limited amount, they work in shifts. "Y-Day" is being prepared now; it is more powerful than the one used on X-day.
00:47-00:48
Bomb explodes, huge explosion. Narrator gets overly excited as the bomb does off and music turns horrific.
00:48-00:50
Countdown for last bomb, "Zebra-Day." A blinking light in the horizon tells where the bomb will explode. The bomb goes off, can't really see it well, because it was night and the film is very dark. Narrator says, "Grim warning of what the next war, if it comes, will be like. Our main defenses rest on our own alert air force." Naïve.
Second Section is Over
00:50-00:54
Another video, starts on deck of ship. Scientists are going generic scientific things, while men are cleaning the deck. Officers are briefed on dangers, and safety. Very upbeat happy music. No sound, just music, and narrator.
00:54-00:56
Kwajalein, the American base is shown; planes land, and take off. Nothing really is happening, just getting a feeling about what goes on.
00:56-00:59
Work on Eniwetok, main task force arrives as island is being prepped. This is just a pro Navy movie, they are just trying to prove how important the navy is, the narrator actually says, "its amazing how important the navy is." A bunch of facts about the fuel delivered and the impressive work are shouted out.
00:59-1:00
The men begin to go ashore. They are setting up roads and testing equipment. Nothing we haven't seen already. The narrator says, "Everyday trials, and each completed task, a triumph!" Just as he says this, a sailor blows up a piece of the island with TNT, its actually pretty funny. It makes it look like the Navy sees triumphs as blowing stuff up.
1:00-1:04
THIS SCENE BLOCKED BY U.S. GOVERNEMNT CENSORS. Not really sure what they could have blocked, the narrator was just talking about blocking the wind, because of the massive wind gusts. They men keep making stuff on the island, more building. Once again, broad things we have seen before.
1:04-1:12
Planes fly around in order to test the weather. Planes keep flying, as the narrator talks about the precision needed to take the pictures of the explosion. The cameras will be remotely triggered. Gauges will give direct readings from the blast, as they are put in place. More tests are put into place. Crystals are placed in containers that change in color after gamma rays hit it. Experiments of this style are constructed; to test levels of gamma rays and to develop new materials that are stop the rays. Some random shots of final tweaks before the bomb goes off.
1:12-1:14
They make sure no one is around, who could be hurt during the test. Bomb getting ready to go off, Drones take off to fly into the cloud.
1:14-1:17
Bomb goes off, but it's so dark that you can't really see anything. The next day, the planes go off into the cloud to gather information.
1:17-1:19
Men put on protective gear and hurry into the island. The take helicopters, and boats onto the land. They hurry up, and pick up samples. The narrator explains they cant stay long because of the radiation. Although most of these people will probably die in a day.
1:19-1:20
Yoke-Day, the 2nd bomb goes off.
1:20-END
Zebra-Day, the 3rd bomb goes off. And the film ends. (While giving much credit to the navy)
Volume 3: Project Ivy
Volume 3 in America's Atomic Bomb Tests is entitled Project Ivy. Project Ivy was the codename for the first Hydrogen bomb ever tested. "It was the leap between Kiloton and Megaton," as one scientist puts it. The video, which was shot around 1952, tells the tail of the events before and after the test explosion. It concentrates on explaining everything it can, in the simplistic of terms. The whole testing takes place on the Anewetok Island, while the bomb and control site are on opposite corners. The only real part of this video that is worth watching is the last 15 minutes, with a couple exceptions that I will describe later.
The video starts out with Major General P.W Clarkson giving an introduction about what you are about to see. It's about a five-minute speech about who is behind the project, and most of what was explained in the previous paragraph. The actual movie starts as soon as the General finished his speech.
After 30 seconds of ocean waves, the camera begins to film a ship on the horizon. The overly dramatic 1950's music makes one wonder if this is a documentary, or a Hollywood B movie. It cuts to two sailors who are talking about the bomb, "It's gonna be a big'un." It is here when we meet the narrator. The man is dressed like a military official, but he's blatantly a hired actor, who can't act to save his life. He explains that Project Ivy "will be the largest explosion on the face of the earth."
The host finds a man by the name of Commander Stan Burns. Burns is one of the heads of the scientific task group that is in charge of the operation. The host asks who is running the project; out of nowhere, Burns then quickly pulls out a large piece of whiteboard with a graphical explanation of who is in charge. Things like this keep occurring, which makes one wonder how anyone took this seriously.
The host then moves on to a Doctor Gray. Gray explains that they "are not sure about the Russians" when it comes to the Hydrogen bomb. He goes over that the hydrogen is inexhaustible, needs no critical mass, and obtained very cheaply. An animation then shows what hydrogen looks like from a molecular perspective. Suddenly, the video takes a flash back to a meeting room at Los Alamos. Dr. Gray is one of the men sitting and listening to a man saying "we need to have the hydrogen bomb by 1952." Another indication that makes one wonder of this whole video is fake. Since they took the time to recreate these flashbacks, it doesn't seem that unreasonable that the whole documentary had been done after the fact.
Dr. Gray then hits on the topic of cryogenics. Hydrogen needs to be made into a liquid for this particular project, so they need a factory that does this. They keep the temperature at a little over absolute zero. They show shots of this as the transport the liquid hydrogen to the island command base from the states.
The host keeps moving from official to official. People say, "Ivy is another Trinity," "Ivy is a milestone, a beginning." The host then begins to praise the work of all the regular army men, and sailors who are making this possible. A horrible montage reel follows, of sailors doing sailor things takes up about two minutes of ones time.
After this, the only two really interesting things in the whole video take place, besides the last fifteen minutes. They have set up a huge reinforced wall that spans all three islands. The wall has small holes, like peep holes, scattered through out the entire span. Inside the wall, there are numerous helium filled balloon, which combined make one long balloon. The point behind this is, that after the blast, the gamma rays will enter the wall through the peepholes. It will then travel through the helium, and will make its way through the wall/tunnel to the base of operations. There the scientist will be able to study these rays, and what effects they have. The reason they use helium instead of air, is that helium particles are much smaller, so it will be easier for the gamma rays to pass through.
This is one of many different devices used to study the effects of the explosion. There are around 60 or so, but the video only explains a few. Another interesting part that they show, are the control valves for the bomb. The scientists can't directly be next to the dials, which tell them if everything is working correctly. The scientist are seeing all these technical readouts and dials through a monitor, which is getting a transmission from a camera which is placed in front of the control panel next to the bomb. So, they can see everything that is happening without actually being there.
By this time the narrator is sweating profusely, as there are five minutes until the bomb goes off. This is where things get a little more interesting. The camera is zoomed in on the island where the bomb will explode. The countdown reaches 0, and BOOM. The explosion is gigantic. A red/orange ball of fire into the air, you can't even see the sky because everything else is black compared to the explosion. This shot might actually be in the atomic archive, because it does look familiar. The scientists tell the host that the bomb was 12 megatons. So, now they send helicopters and planes into the island to collect data. But they can only be on the island for an hour, because after that the fallout will contaminate everything. You don't actually get to see any of this; they just explain that's where the helicopters are going.
It is now 3 days later, and they are about to drop the bomb out of the air. It will be detonated above the ground this time. The first time the weather prevents them from dropping the bomb, but the second time it goes well. The bomb is dropped, as the camera follows its decent for 53 seconds. The bomb goes off in an incredible explosion. A 3 1/4 mile fireball engulfs the screen as 1950's horror music plays, a very ominous site. They show the cloud climbing into the air, as planes fly around it and gather data. Although, all the planes are doing is getting contaminated by the cloud, this is what they call gathering data.
The video ends by showing what would happen if the bomb went off in Manhattan, and Washington DC. A couple of neat examples, and then it ends.
Volume 4: Nuclear Air Tests
00:00-00:03
Opens with talking about Operation Castle. It was in the Pacific proving grounds, and was finished on May 14th, 1954. Once again, these "shots" or detonations, where based in the Bikini Islands.
00:03-00:05
A High-ranking officer is narrating what they encountered as the operation was followed through. They show that the weapons were constructed in the states, and then brought to the Islands. Pictures of the equipment, and cameras are shown. The set up is a lot more complicated. Everyone was evacuated from the Bikini Island, except those involved in the firing squad.
00:05-00:10
One of the detonations from May 1st is shown, as a plane takes the picture from 50 miles away. Width of fireball is 4 miles, after only 3 seconds since detonation. Really incredible film footage. They then talk about the serious fallout because of the 5-mile high cloud. The Bikini natives, 82 of them, were evacuated as the water and soil was tested. All of the exposed were taken to the main base.
00:10-00:11
The new bomb was detonated from a barge in the water.
00:11-00:13
The explosion is very large, there is a shot from the ground, which is placed very close to the explosion. The picture doesn't last very long, but you can see some palm tress get knocked around.
00:13-00:14
More talk about the fallout. They try to use a spraying system to de-contaminate the ships. They measure fallout data from high yield weapons. They find out that the detonations from Bikini Island left a blanket of 5000 miles of heavy fallout, which could damage someone who was not wearing specials equipment.
00:14-00:15
The Officer talks about the wind not being favorable. They are forced to wait, until the 26th to test the bomb. They show this detonation from the air at 10,000 feet, its pretty incredible because you see the clouds under the mushroom cloud. A very nice shot.
00:15-00:18
They show the next explosion, also from 10,000 feet. They throw in film from one of the stationed cameras near the explosion. It has a good effect, as the blast throws dust everywhere. Unfortunately, it is very hard to see, but you get the idea.
00:18-00:19
The smallest bomb in the whole series is detonated. "It was a test in the small lightweight megaton class," ironically, a huge understatement. All this film is incredible because it gives you a feeling of how incredibly huge these clouds are. They show all three mushroom clouds back to back with the clouds billowing under them.
00:19-00:21
Shots of operations castle, as a narrator explains how important this test was for the United States. Then he wraps it up by saying this is the end of the footage.
END
00:21-00:25
Test film from 1951, entitled Operation Greenhouse. Begins with shots of a city, stating it is not an ordinary city. The city, as it runs out is Los Alamos. People mow the lawn as huge blasts are heard in the background. Operation Greenhouse will once again land on the Bikini islands.
00:25-00:28
Explains the broad topic of why we need offensive, and defensive atomic information. The show Eniwetok Island, making a comparison between a university campus, and the Islands. Once again, the narrator explains that instruments are built to take measurements.
00:28-00:31
They show a detonation, while very exhilarating orchestral music is playing. Narrator goes into the commodities on the islands like food, water, and transportation.
00:31-00:33
Tanks, and everything else you can imagine, are placed near the detonation spot. Once again, the narrator goes into the drone planes that will fly into the cloud.
00:33-00:36
Now comes some of the best footage seen so far. They show the explosion from a plane, as the fireball evaporates all the clouds around mushroom cloud. Then they show all those famous scenes that occur where the buildings and house are destroyed. I believe they are found in the atomic archive. All in all, great footage.
00:36-00:39
Video goes into protective research as mice are exposed to radiation. He explains that buildings in the US will use this research to rethink the current architecture. Makes it very clear that these test are very necessary for Joe Americans future.
00:39-00:42
Final preparations before the actually explosion. They show the blast, and then explain that we need continue to develop these weapons. The whole idea is that the country is defending itself by testing these bombs.
END of Operation Greenhouse
00:42-00:45
"You are part of nuclear warfare." It explains that after the Soviet Union detonates a bomb, everything gets complicated, so the US (we) needs to develop more nuclear weapons.
00:45-00:47
Talks about how the mechanics of the cloud work. How the updraft sucks air up, and the cloud then cools at the top. Then goes to talk about psychology of troop involvement. Then the video suddenly stops.
00:47-00:52
Operation Hardtack. These were 3 high altitude detonations. The first bomb was blown at 85,000 feet. Then they show 2 missile launches, the first of which failed. The 85,000 foot high explosion had a diameter of 10 miles. They then show the nuclear warships being fired from ships, and detonated in the air.
00:52-00:53
They show a great view of a warhead being launched from sea and detonated under water. It's an amazing sight as the water is shot everywhere.
00:53-00:57
They now show a jet plane shooting a nuclear warhead, and then escaping before the blast can destroy it. After this they move on to some more Arial detonations; same as the ones earlier.
00:57-1:00
The only reason to watch the third detonations is that is fails, and catches on fire. Luckily, the bomb just burns and doesn't go off, but the pad is scorched and destroyed. The video ends with a great shot of an underwater detonation.