Declassified U.S. Nuclear Test Film #07

0800003 - Operation Sandstone
0800004 - Operation Sandstone, EG& G, Project 19-18 Film
0800005 - Operation Sandstone, U.S. Air Force Participation
0800006 - Operation Sandstone, U.S. Army Engineers
0800007 - Operation Sandstone, Blast Measurements Group
0800008 - Operation Sandstone, U.S. Navy

In 1948, the U.S. nuclear stockpile consisted of approximately 50 atomic bombs. Since the industrial complex to produce more nuclear weapons was not fully complete and there were limited amounts of plutonium, researchers wanted to develop more efficient implosion bombs. Operation Sandstone was a series of atmospheric nuclear "proof tests" conducted in the Pacific Proving Grounds Marshall Islands area April and May 1948. The goal of this test series was to prove the workability of changes to implosion warhead design that used less plutonium. The first shot, X-ray, conducted on April 14, 1948, had a yield of 37 kilotons. The second shot, Yoke, detonated on April 30, had a yield of 49 kilotons, while the last shot, Zebra, occurred on May 14 with a yield of 18 kilotons.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Nukes
• Nuclear
• weapons
• WMD
• radiation
• radioactive
• testing
• warhead
• downwinders
• atomic
• cancer

[yastunt]

rare footage - thanks for posting this.

[Edd731]

Cheers for posting this up. I have been interested in these atomic bomb vids since I was a kid. It also reminds me of the game Fallout too.

[vitiland]

excellent, thanks

[mrslothguy]

@Edd731

yeah it dose. the reason behind that is that fallout world never moved past the 50s really it stayed that way till the end thats why computers are so big.

[jjohn2k]

In the eyes of God, we are no more than children playing with matches.

[mrspivvy]

It's really quite jolly. they use the same writing font at the start that might also say " Buy your new Plymouth from Joe Bloggs auto sales!"

[erjohnson227]

@archaedemos cool effect huh, back in the days when everything had to be done manually.

[hefflewis]

All so we could watch 'Leave It to Beaver'!!!

[westkan]

Nuke Santa? What a PR nightmare.

[pmgodfrey]

- @ hmasmelbourne -

Of course the "Burt the Turtle" song is now stuck in my head. It was a song (and video) for school children showing them what to do during an attack. "Duck and Cover"! Because hiding under your school desk will prevent certain death...the government said so, it must be true...... :D

[archaedemos]

To think : it was some ones job to make these films. And they chose to "shatter" the beginning plates on purpose =0 For Effect no doubt .

[mpwelk]

Before the advent of sound effects and foley, music was the only way to add suspense in the sound department!