Nuke test: title edited by the mods because I'm crap at the internet

[Sevdah]

l0l I got you there didn't I?

I was looking for military stuff and found this picture on Wikipedia.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/21/Crossroads_baker_explosion.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/21/Crossroads_baker_explosion.jpg


A 21 kiloton underwater nuclear weapons effects test, known as Operation Crossroads (Event Baker), conducted at Bikini Atoll (1946).

Are those ships or what? Can they be that close or what?

[Jani.R]

l0l I got you there didn't I?

I was looking for military stuff and found this picture on Wikipedia.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/21/Crossroads_baker_explosion.jpg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/21/Crossroads_baker_explosion.jpg



Are those ships or what? Can they be that close or what?

They tested the effects on ww2-era ships.

[TwistedPretzel]

I dont think they sank more then a dozen either.

[chassem]

The ships were 70+ warships used as targets to see what effects an atomic bomb would have against them.

This was done in 1946 so the ships were captured German and Japanese destroyers, battleships, submarines, aircraft carriers, etc. There was also the odd American warship that was at the end of its useful life.

[2Sheds_Jackson]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_nuclear_tests

Operation Crossroads

[Dervish]

Makes you wonder... if you blow up a nuclear bomb in the ocean you are destroying the enviroment. Where does all the radiation go??

Never mind all the tests that have taken place on Islands, overground, underground. Just imagine :-(.

[TriggerHappy]

And the title Bosnia War Pictures! goes for what???

[Durandal]

Makes you wonder... if you blow up a nuclear bomb in the ocean you are destroying the enviroment. Where does all the radiation go??

Never mind all the tests that have taken place on Islands, overground, underground. Just imagine :-(.

There was fallout then, some islanders had thyroid reactions because of the dose of radiation they received.

As far as ecological issues. I imagine radiation is the least worry. I mean, imagine a 23 kiloton blast going off at surface level or in the water. The over pressure alone would destroy.

That being said, Bikini is now teaming with life, inhabited, and is a tourist destination for the diving it has to offer.

[little fatso]

they used lambs to test radiation and heat effects on living tissue. the animals were put on various parts of the ships.

[Durandal]

they used lambs to test radiation and heat effects on living tissue. the animals were put on various parts of the ships.

Well, that and the U.S.N. guys they had swab the decks down after everything "cooled". No lie. Watched a video that showed them doing it on the escort carrier that did not sink.

Oh well.

Learned a lot since then.

[jango]

They tested the effects on ww2-era ships.It is really amazing to see this photo when you know that the ships in it were a milisecond away from turning to vapour!!!!

[daily666]

What does it have to do with Bosnia War Pictures?

[Durandal]

It is really amazing to see this photo when you know that the ships in it were a milisecond away from turning to vapour!!!!

Actually, none of them were vaporized. Some sunk after taking a massive amount of damage and others were gutted, but none of them "disappeared" into atoms.

[digrar]

9. Don't post topics with thread titles that don't describe what's in the thread.

I'm making a new title, get back to me if you want it changed. I wouldn't expect a favourable response though. :slap:

[Atlantic Friend]

l0l I got you there didn't I?

I was looking for military stuff and found this picture on Wikipedia.

Are those ships or what? Can they be that close or what?

They ARE ships - abandoned ships, veterans of WW2. The idea was to test the efficiency of nuclear weapons as anti-fleet weapons, and to test the survivability of said fleet in a nuclear environment.

[Resurrection]

I remember watching a documentary on this (either Discovery Channel or National Geographic). It was about the origins of the word bikini I think.

[Buckeye67]

My father was aboard the USS Turner and was present at both the Able and Baker tests during Operation Crossroads.

One thing that's not commonly mentioned about the tests at was that in order to test the effects on living organisms - live animals were placed onboard many of the ships in the target area, goats and chickens and so on.

And yes, after the mushroom cloud subsided - they sailed into the target area (complete with radioactive water and fog/mist) to take various readings and so on. Luckily he's not suffered any ill effects from that, as many of the "atomic veterans" have.

[Sevdah]

Moderators these days have no sense of humor.

[Durandal]

Moderators these days have no sense of humor.


Actually, I think the new title of the thread shows quite a bit of humor.

[Sgt. VeNom]

Operation CROSSROADS

In late October 1945, members of the United States Navy's emerging Atomic Bomb Group (William Parsons, Frederick Ashworth, and Horatio Rivero) discussed the possibility of conducting nuclear tests to determine the effects of atomic detonations on naval ships. Four types of tests were put forward in what became known as Operation Crossroads: detonation of a device suspended by a blimp, a deep-water detonation, a shallow-water burst, and a high-altitude delivery by a B-29 bomber. The blimp test was quickly eliminated, while planning proceeded on the remaining three proposals. President Truman authorized the Crossroads Tests on January 10, 1946.
The Navy selected the remote atoll of Bikini in the Marshall Islands as the test site. Bikini had enough land area to support the operation as well as a large lagoon. The lagoon was of critical importance, since the Navy planned to assemble a vast array of captured German, Japanese, and obsolete American warships as targets for the weapons tests. The Bikini Islanders agreed to vacate the atoll for an unspecified period of time (they have yet to return) and allow the United States Government unrestricted use of the islands and lagoon.

The first test, codenamed Able, was a high altitude drop of a Fat Man device on June 30, 1946. The bomb missed the aiming point by about a half mile and, as a result, sunk only five ships. Shot Baker, the second test, was a dramatic shallow-water burst sinking eight ships. More significantly, the sea water irradiated by Baker washed over the target fleet, rendering all ships uninhabitable. Because of the extensive damage and contamination caused by shot Baker and the very small stockpile of nuclear weapons, the planned deep-water test was cancelled.
As effects tests, Able and Baker demonstrated that atomic bombs could be used as tactical weapons and used against small targets.

More information here (http://www.dtra.mil/press_resources/fact_sheets/display.cfm?fs=ntpr_crossroads)

A video of shot BAKER is here (http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/library/media-gallery/video/testing/bakershot.wmv) (3MB)

For more info on nuclear testing, I suggest you watch the documentary Trinity and Beyond (http://www.vce.com/trinity.html).