US Nuclear Weapons Tests (1946)

The face of an American admiral.

View of the deck of an aircraft carrier (top).

Target ships moving into the test zone.

US warships on a mission.

The captured German cruiser Prinz Eugen moving into the test zone as a target ship.

Views of the captured Japanese light cruiser Sakawa moving into the test zone.

Map of the test zone in the Bikini Atoll area.

Map of the atoll.

Flash and cloud from the explosion of a nuclear bomb at Bikini Atoll in July 1946. American aircraft with nuclear weapons on board in flight.

The control panel in the hands of the flight director.

Landing of the aircraft.

View of the flash of a nuclear explosion (top).

American sailors in protective goggles watch the explosion of an atomic bomb at Bikini Atoll.

Nuclear flash during tests.

One of the test directors gives the countdown into the microphone over the radio.

Nuclear explosion, cloud from the explosion.

A view of part of Bikini Atoll before the nuclear tests in July 1946 (top).

American sailors put on protective goggles.

A nuclear explosion at Bikini Atoll.

The wave raised by the explosion overwhelms one of the target ships in the test zone.

A panorama of part of the Bikini Atoll after the nuclear tests (top).

A view of the observation tower in the ocean for filming nuclear tests.

Movie cameras installed on the tower, designed to film nuclear tests.

Preparing equipment for the tests.

A landing craft with personnel leaves the danger zone.

Rotating locators on the masts of ships.

Installing a movie camera on board an airplane to film the results of nuclear tests.

A cameraman in the air gunner's position.

An airplane taking off on the runway.

Liaison officers at the control panel.