Atomic Shot (2024)

[bunniefuu]

Does this sound familiar to you?

Someone close to you passes away,

and they leave behind some

possessions, often a suitcase.

Sometimes that suitcase

remains unopened, but preserved,

and it passes on to someone else.

Eventually, someone opens the suitcase,

and, inside, they find the

relics of a remarkable story.

That's what I found

when I opened the suitcases

of my first wife's father.

He was a film editor

at Hollywood's RKO Studios in the 1930s.

With the United States

entry into World w*r II,

he enlisted and joined the Army Air Forces.

As an officer,

he was stationed at

Wright-Patterson Field in Ohio,

and he made training films.

With the w*r's conclusion in 1945,

he remained in service

for a special project.

This special project was

Operation Crossroads,

the detonation of atomic devices

in the Bikini Atoll in 1946.

My former father-in-law, Col.

Richard Joseph Cunningham,

led the Air Photo Unit

that recorded these detonations on film

using both still and motion cameras.

He was proud of his service,

and he kept many relics of his experience.

He preserved them in a couple of suitcases.

Following his death

in 1968, his only child,

his daughter Jo, took possession of them.

She cared for them until her

death at the beginning of 2023.

At that time, I took

possession of the suitcases.

I opened them and uncovered these relics.

I discovered a unique story of the people

who served on this historic mission.

It is a story that Col.

Cunningham treasured.

It is a story that I

want to share with you.

(b*mb exploding)

(sounds of shattering)

(gentle music)

This documentary, "Atomic Shot,"

tells the story of the United

States Army Air Forces' role

in the nuclear tests at

Bikini Atoll during July, 1946.

The tests involved the detonation

or shots of two atomic

devices, Able and Baker,

the fourth and fifth

atomic detonations ever.

(gentle music)

The Army Air Forces

were in a joint task

force with the U.S. Navy.

The role of the Army Air Forces,

soon to become the United States Air Force,

was to record on film the

dropping of a shot from the air

and of a radio-controlled

shot submerged in the water.

(gentle music)

Tasked for this,

the greatest photographic

project in history,

was the Army Air Forces' Air

Photo Unit, Task Group 1.52.

This documentary, drawn from

the group's original materials,

tells the story of the people

who served in this historic project

in their words and their images.

(gentle music)

In February of 1946,

members of the Army Air Forces

and selected civilians alike

had employed practically every means

of transportation in making

the trip to Roswell, New Mexico,

to start preparing for

Operation Crossroads,

also known as Joint Task Force One,

and for the Army Air Forces'

involvement, Task Group 1.5.

This would be the detonation

of atomic devices for scientific purposes

in the South Pacific's Bikini Lagoon.

These detonations or shots

would be in the center of

an array of naval vessels.

These men were beginning

to gather from across the

country at Roswell Army Air Field,

the point chosen for preliminary training

for it would be the Army Air Forces

that would drop one of these shots.

(bell tolls)

Roswell was a small,

typical Southwestern town

sitting in the center of a

seemingly endless dusty plain.

Because of its unique appearance,

the town created the illusion

of an old-time settlement,

even though it was quite modern.

Locals who dressed in their native costumes

added further color to the scene.

(locals chattering)

(aircraft engines sounding)

As part of Task Group 1.5,

an Air Photo Unit was developed

to record these atomic shots on film.

As the months progressed,

so did other units.

Probably the most difficult of all

was the formation of a B-17 drone unit.

This unit was to operate

pilotless four-motor planes

that would fly through the atomic cloud,

collecting radioactive specimens,

which would be analyzed by scientists.

(aircraft engines sounding)

By March, rehearsal missions

were being scheduled frequently,

mostly over the Los Lunas

Bombing Range near Albuquerque,

a further rehearsal mission

duplicating all conditions

expected to be found over Bikini,

was staged 200 miles

off the San Diego coast.

Results of Zebra Mission

were highly satisfactory,

as movie cameras and

the oblique aerial cameras

not only picked up the

falling b*mb and the blast,

but also showed a complete

record of the dissipating smoke.

(aircraft engines sounding)

While the organization was

being perfected at Roswell,

vast preparations for the

arrival of Task Group 1.5

and its units were being made on Kwajalein,

an island 225 miles southeast of Bikini.

Even though Kwajalein had

been occupied during the w*r,

certain construction was required there,

so it could serve as a base

for the B-29 b*mb carrier

and various large aircraft,

plus other necessary facilities.

(crew chattering)

(aircraft engines sounding)

Back at Roswell,

as the initial training period

was advancing to completion,

the first mass movement of men,

an advanced echelon,

proceeded to Kwajalein.

Forty-four men and two officers

from the Air Photo Unit set off.

Soon after the remainder of enlisted men,

officers, and civilians began

leaving Roswell for Kwajalein.

Some left by Green Hornet,

that is, the air transport line.

(aircraft engines sounding)

(naval vessel clinking)

Most were carried

by the transport vessel

christened USS George Clymer,

but more commonly known as "Greasy George."

The monotonous trip took

two weeks to complete.

(guitar strumming)

The men occupied themselves with music,

reading,

and sleeping.

(wind blowing)

They were quite happy when at long last,

they were able to clamber

down the landing nets

and into the LCfor the short trip from

George to the shore.

(wind blowing) (waves crashing)

(aircraft engines sounding)

On Kwajalein, the advanced personnel

had worked against odds

to get the former

combat site into condition.

(hammer thumping)

New buildings had to be erected.

Old ones repaired and remodeled.

And seven days a week

were too few to complete

all that had to be done.

(hammer thumping)

(heavy machinery operating)

(hammer thumping)

The communications at

Kwajalein were very efficient.

All these facilities were

utilized to the utmost.

(keys clanking)

The teletype played an important part,

as it does in all major operations.

Always busy was the radio section

that kept in constant touch

with task headquarters and the mainland.

(radio feedback squelches)

Even an amateur station was in operation.

(radio feedback squelches)

The Kwajalein weather station

was complete in every detail,

and the climatic information

that it furnished to the Task

Group was extremely accurate.

In addition to the men

at the ground station,

who were preparing hundreds

of weather reports and maps,

there were weather planes and their crews

that flew daily missions

searching for new meteorological data.

(aircraft engines sounding)

A total of 326 cameras were amassed

to photograph the Able and Baker Day tests,

the two atomic shots.

Through the lenses of these cameras

would pass the lasting

picture of the blasts

and their subsequent effects,

creating for scientists

and military leaders alike,

a graphic record portraying in detail

each physical characteristic

of the world's greatest force.

These cameras ranged in

size from the diminutive K-35

to the gigantic special K-18.

(repairmen chattering)

Repairmen spent long hours

working over the delicate

mechanisms of the cameras

to ensure that all photographic equipment

would be in the best possible

operating condition for the missions.

The modern shops and tools

at their disposal greatly

facilitated the work.

No camera was sidelined

due to mechanical difficulties,

thanks to the skill and

ability of these men.

(repairmen chattering)

One major task was the construction

of a laboratory, sufficiently

large to take care

of the demands that would be made upon it

when the missions were flown.

Although the movie and

color film were to be processed

at laboratories back in the United States,

there were still hundreds of rolls

from the many huge aerial cameras,

which had to be developed, printed,

and the negatives indexed and classified.

(repairmen chattering)

The B-17 drone

and drone-control aircraft

were based at Eniwetok,

190 miles west of Bikini.

The Air Photo Unit had a detachment there,

which had the responsibility

of photographing all drone activities.

(aircraft roaring)

(aircraft engines sounding)

(heavy machinery operating)

The various technical instruments,

gauges, meters, cameras, et cetera,

were mounted at strategic points on Bikini

in the target area,

and in aircraft around the target.

(small engine operating)

American ingenuity

expressed itself on the island,

as the men devised various

types of mechanical gadgets

to facilitate their work,

(small engine operating)

(objects clattering)

augment the recreation,

(small engine operating)

and improve their quarters.

(heavy machinery operating)

Religious observance

played a significant role

in the lives of many

members of Task Group 1.5.

Catholic,

Protestant,

and Jewish.

(religious ceremonial singing)

Reverence for those who gave their lives

securing Bikini during the w*r

was solemnly acknowledged.

(religious ceremonial singing)

(ukulele music)

Had it not been for the Red Cross,

life on Kwajalein would have been dreary.

The various types of

entertainment this agency furnished

helped to enliven many a dull hour.

Ooh

The girls, though few in

number, were a constant reminder

of the wives and sweethearts

who were waiting back home.

Ooh

Ooh

Ooh

Ooh

(upbeat piano music)

(crew chattering)

To the maintenance men

goes credit for keeping

all the mechanical devices

used by the Air Task Group

in first-class operating condition.

Aircraft mechanics,

motor pool personnel,

and members of the base maintenance section

work day and night

to keep every activity

functioning properly.

(crew chattering) (machine sounding)

(ukulele music)

Each plane on Operation Crossroads,

sooner or later, acquired a nickname.

Some were comical. Others

were a little more serious-minded.

Perhaps the most nostalgic

was that of the b*mb

carrier, "Dave's Dream."

The plane was so named in

honor of Major David Semple,

its original bombardier,

who died on a training flight

before the unit left Roswell.

Ooh

Ooh

Ooh

Ooh

Ooh

Ooh

From all over the world,

newspapermen, radio

announcers, and magazine writers

came to join the task group

so that their respective readers

and listeners might

have a firsthand account

of the most gigantic

scientific experiment in history.

(crowd chattering)

At the time of the detonation,

some of these observers were

in the air over Bikini Lagoon,

while others were on the

command ship, Mount McKinley,

anchored 15 miles out to sea.

(crew chattering)

On 1 July, A-Day 1,

it looked like all the advanced forecasts

had said it might be.

The order from the admiral's flagship

went out to proceed as planned.

Briefings were held

before dawn for the crews

that would be airborne

at the time of detonation.

Each operational detail was reviewed,

so that the mission could be accomplished

with split-second precision.

(crew chattering)

The atmosphere on Kwajalein

became increasingly tense.

Latest wind and atmospheric

data were furnished.

The more than 300 cameras used

by the Air Photo Unit had

been checked and rechecked

and were installed in the aircraft.

Ultra high-speed cameras,

capable of taking motion pictures

at the rate of 4,000 frames-per-second,

replaced the machine g*ns in the turrets.

(aircraft engines sounding)

With the breaking of dawn,

heavy thunderheads bordered the horizon,

and the sun rose in a

lemon yellow sea of fire.

(airplane engines sounding)

However, to the west over the lagoon,

a brilliant rainbow

was like an arched

promise that this was it.

This was the day

for which all the men had

been working and sweating.

(aircraft engines sounding)

Back on Kwajalein, at 05:54,

hours after mounting tension,

"Dave's Dream" took off

on its awesome mission

into the morning sun with "Gilda,"

its frightening cargo

secured in the b*mb bay.

Later, camera planes and

observer planes took flight

and proceeded to the target area.

All was ready.

"Dave's Dream" was on its b*mb run.

(aircraft engines sounding)

(b*mb exploding)

A few hundred feet over the target array,

a blinding flash,

which virtually blotted

out the morning sun,

marked the detonation of

the world's fourth atomic b*mb.

The visible effect of the aerial shockwave,

which at first traveled

at supersonic speed,

was the creation of a white, sheet-like,

ever-expanding circular disc

on the surface of the water.

A large hemispherical

condensation shell formed

and grew very fast, but rapidly broke up,

transforming into a

donut-shaped ring cloud,

which followed the shockwave

as it spread over the lagoon.

As this ring cloud formed,

a brilliant fireball emerged,

supported by a flaming stem,

which reached down into the water.

As the flaming fireball subsided,

the mushroom cloud development began.

The mushroom cap and stem,

regions of violent

turbulence and terrific heat,

started to climb at the rate

of 6,000 feet-per-minute,

rapidly expanding and completely

dwarfing the entire lagoon

and large fleet.

Cameramen photographed the towering cloud

and the array from all angles.

(aircraft engines sounding)

For two hours after the burst,

camera planes and radiological planes

flew in elliptical patterns

around the target area,

following the progress

of the dissipating radioactive cloud.

(aircraft engines sounding)

(ukulele music)

On A-Day night, air couriers began leaving

with literally miles of film,

classified as "top secret."

Technicolor and Consolidated

Films of Hollywood

and the Kodak plant in Honolulu

did much of the processing

for the Air Photo Unit.

Ooh

(crew chattering)

The Able Day mission

had been successfully completed,

and weary men and aircraft

felt a deep sense of

pride in their achievement.

Chow line at the mess hall

was especially popular.

(men at mess hall chattering)

After Able Day, tension relaxed a bit,

except for the laboratory,

which was working on a 24-hour shift.

(upbeat piano music)

The men found time for swimming

and other sporting events,

which up to now,

had been merely sandwiched

in among their arduous duties.

(upbeat piano music) (crew chattering)

(crew cheering)

The national pastime

on Kwajalein was softball.

And seasonal leagues were formed soon

after the various units organized teams.

(ball thumps)

(crew cheering)

Fishing was another favorite of the men,

many of whom had tremendous catches

to boast of before leaving.

Organized boxing matches

and horseshoe tournaments

had their share (horseshoe clinks)

of followers on the island.

Ooh (crew cheering)

(shotgun fires)

Ooh (crew cheering)

(shotgun fires)

(typewriter keys clanking)

The men also spent

time writing letters home,

Ooh (typewriter keys clanking)

reading popular magazines and books,

and making music.

(typewriter keys clanking) Ooh

(labored exercise breaths) Ooh

(crew chattering)

Ooh

Prior to 25 July, designated Baker Day,

the first time an atomic device

would be detonated underwater,

preparations for the second test

began to gather momentum.

Once again, photographic

equipment was thoroughly checked.

Planes were inspected

with the utmost scrutiny.

And through the camera

openings on the sides

of the photographic aircraft

were thrust the huge telescopic lenses

that would once more record on film

the phenomenon of the fifth atomic shot.

(crew chattering

(aircraft engines sounding)

B-Day morning

found Kwajalein a

scene of intense activity.

The aerial armada which would participate

in the operation winged

its way to Bikini Lagoon.

(aircraft flying overhead)

High over the target array,

the planes that took part in the first test

once again were in

their assigned positions,

awaiting the blast.

Several fathoms below

the surface of the lagoon,

suspended from an LCM anchored

amid the "guinea pig fleet,"

the atomic device awaited

radio-controlled detonation.

(machines humming)

(aircraft engines sounding)

(b*mb exploding)

At 08:35, the vast area of Bikini Lagoon

arose with terrific speed

and boiling violence.

The first sign of detonation

to aerial observers

was the emergence

of a fireball from the

surface of the water.

This fireball, which was much smaller

and far less brilliant

than that of Test Able,

was almost immediately

hidden by this spherical dome

of the water column, as it

opened up, forming the crown.

(b*mb rumbling)

Progress of the aerial shockwave,

which of course started

immediately after detonation,

manifested itself in the

formation on the water surface

of a white, circular, sharply defined disc.

(b*mb rumbling)

The donut-shaped ring

cloud expanded horizontally

and followed the path

of the aerial shockwave.

Dwarfed by the towering pillar of water,

which reached a mile into the air

and contained approximately

10 million tons of water

were the target ships standing out

in bold relief against the eerie background

of the turbulent waters.

The surface cloud, a

mixture of vapor, water,

and radioactive particles,

started to form at the

base of the water column.

(b*mb rumbling)

And for two minutes, the water

column and crown were visible,

suspended in midair over the target array

with it plunging back to

the surface of the lagoon.

(b*mb rumbling) (sounds of shattering)

Of the 100 ships in the target array,

none escaped damage by the blast.

The battleships, Nagato and Arkansas,

the aircraft carrier Saratoga,

and nine other lesser craft

now rested on the bottom of the lagoon.

Of those which remained afloat,

many had been twisted and torn

by the devastating force

unleashed by the device.

(aircraft engines sounding)

The Baker Day mission

had been brought to a

successful conclusion.

(aircraft engines continue sounding)

With this, the first two chapters

of Operation Crossroads were closed,

and men were heading

back for duty in the States.

Some would stay with the organization.

Couriers carrying the film back

to processing laboratories

in the new advanced base

at St. Louis left first,

but others soon followed.

Left behind was a sprinkling of men.

The organization would

keep the "home fires burning,"

guard the stored equipment,

and see that the area

did not fall into the state

of disrepair in which it had been found

by early arrivals in March,

because Kwajalein, as with Bikini,

was to be used again.

(uplifting music)

(uplifting music continues)

(uplifting music continues)

(gentle music begins)

(gentle music continues)

(gentle music continues)

(gentle music continues)

(gentle music continues)

(gentle music continues)

(gentle music continues)