From 1945 to 1963 the U.S.A. conducted an extensive campaign of atmospheric
nuclear tests, grouped into roughly 20 test "series." After 1963
when the Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed testing for the U.S., Soviet
Union, and Great Britain moved underground. France continued atmospheric
testing until 1974 and China did so until 1980. This page 's multimedia
is mainly of U.S. testing because those movies are most readily available.
The purpose of showing these quick-time clips is so that you, the viewer,
may better familiarize yourself with he awesome power of the Nuclear Bomb.
Note: These video clips were digitized from the best available copies
of U.S. Government films. For additional information about these movies,
see the Historical Nuclear Test Films page at the DOE Nevada Test Site. |
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Crossroads BAKER Test
[160x120 Quicktime MOV,
2.1MB]
The BAKER test in 1946 was a Fatman-type weapon detonated 96 feet below
the surface of the ocean. |
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Buster-Jangle Test
[160x120 Quicktime MOV,
3.3 MB]
This video clip shows one of the test detonations from the Buster-Jangle
series in Nevada. The narrator describes the visible characteristics of
a nuclear detonation. |
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Castle BRAVO test
[160x120 Quicktime MOV,
2.7 MB]
The Castle- Bravo test on March 1, 1954, yielded 15megatons, the largest
nuclear weapon ever detonated by the United States. By accident the inhabited
atolls of Rongelap, Rongerik and Utirik were contaminated with fallout,
as was the Japanese fishing trawler Fukuryu Maru or Lucky Dragon. The controversy
over fallout that simmered around the Nevada Test Site erupted into international
alarm. |
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Tumbler-Snapper DOG
[160x120 Quicktime
MOV, 2.9 MB]
Tumbler-Snapper DOG was a 20 kiloton airdrop detonated on May 1, 1952.
Army and Marine troops participated in four of the eight Tumber-Snapper
shots, as shown in the quicktime clip below. |
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Desert Rock IV
[160x120 Quicktime
MOV, 3.1 MB]
Marine troops observed DOG shots at Tumbler-Snapper from trenches just
7,000 yards from ground zero. This video shows the blast wave crossing the
desert and hitting the troop trenches. |
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