Video: Five volunteers stand under an atom bomb as it detonates

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This is some pretty amazing history.
5 guys volunteer to stand under a nuclear blast and record the experience.

We now know what an atomic bomb really sounds like. So what does it feel and look like? In June of 1957, five Air Force officers found out, volunteering to stand directly under an exploding two-kiloton nuclear warhead. They narrate the whole thing, live.

The test was carried out by the U.S. Air Force, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It was meant to demonstrate the "relative" safety of low-grade nuclear exchanges to an increasingly anxious Cold War public.

The absolutely neat but terrifying thing about the video is you can actually see the results of a nuclear blast.
The flash and the later blast the guys felt is crazy.
Something I never would of thought to have witnessed up close even if second handed.
Truly a historic video.

I'm confused as to why its was so awesome and beautiful. They seem completely elated afterwards. Weird reaction.

reply to post by Digital_Reality


You ever watch an episode of MythBusters where they blow stuff up?
It's kind of like that.

Originally posted by Digital_Reality
I'm confused as to why its was so awesome and beautiful. They seem completely elated afterwards. Weird reaction.

It was meant to demonstrate the "relative" safety of low-grade nuclear exchanges to an increasingly anxious Cold War public.

I think that would probably explain their praise and elations.

the U.S. government cares so much for its people.

Originally posted by Digital_Reality
I'm confused as to why its was so awesome and beautiful. They seem completely elated afterwards. Weird reaction.

They SURVIVED! I'm sure they had doubts going in. They were just thrilled to be alive.

I'm confused what the use of a 2KT Nuclear air to air missile was designed for? We don't need nuclear weapons to take down aircraft, they come down pretty easy. Air to ground makes sense, but why air to air?

I'm also curious why the sky turned black? Was that just the reaction of the camera from the bright flash?

Also, there doesn't seem to be a lot of lagtime from the launch of the missile to the explosion. How was the firing aircraft at a safe distance that quickly? The shockwave through the air had to be damaging to the aircraft?

reply to post by lonewolf10


Well, the rocket was designed to intercept swarms of Soviet bombers before they got close enough to drop their own heavier atomic weapons on the United States. That was one of the few guaranteed ways of accomplishing that at the time.
It seems a bit "caring" to me, but what do I know?

Originally posted by getreadyalready

Originally posted by Digital_Reality
I'm confused as to why its was so awesome and beautiful. They seem completely elated afterwards. Weird reaction.

They SURVIVED! I'm sure they had doubts going in. They were just thrilled to be alive.

I'm confused what the use of a 2KT Nuclear air to air missile was designed for? We don't need nuclear weapons to take down aircraft, they come down pretty easy. Air to ground makes sense, but why air to air?

Probably because at the time they were not confident about the quality of the seeker & guidance, or the kill probability of a single conventional missile against large multi-engined bombers. Later technology was sufficiently accurate and therefore nuclear air-to-air weaponry was abandoned.

I'm also curious why the sky turned black? Was that just the reaction of the camera from the bright flash?

Probably yes, it was a result of the exposure compensation.

Actually the guys on the ground are probably not "fine". All that 'dust' coming down after the explosion? That's fallout. It's chock full of fission products which would be intensely radioactive immediately after the detonation, and it's shooting tons of gammas at them right on screen, and is getting closer and more prevalent as it falls down. If they ingest any within a few minutes they could be hurting.

They probably didn't film them getting in a car and flooring it immediately after it ended.

Also, there doesn't seem to be a lot of lagtime from the launch of the missile to the explosion. How was the firing aircraft at a safe distance that quickly? The shockwave through the air had to be damaging to the aircraft?

Safe distance can be accomplished fairly quickly with a 2kt nuke in air, they turned away immediately.
A plane can cover a mile in a few seconds, and so 20 seconds is probably enough.

Operation Plumbbob...

John "shot" July 19, 1957, the United State's 95th nuclear test.

The List

Operation Plumbbob

More Plumbbob

Pigs didn't fare well during Plumbbob.

How unbelievably spooky...

It's really fascinating, but disturbing. The speaker sounds incredibly excited to be standing under something that is meant to be feared, and disturbing.. and he is wailing about how incredible it is. Different times....

"Oh my, the fireball is red, and the sky is black. Oh yes we can feel the heat, the sky is boiling." etc, followed by what could only be described as 'maniacal laughter'. Then an officer rushes over with a cigar in his mouth and they all shake hands excitedly.

Different times.

reply to post by getreadyalready


It was a Genie AIR-2 with a W25 warhead.

In the test it traveled just over 4.2 kilometers in 4.5 seconds. I'm sure the aircraft did a high performance turn in order to distance itself from the shock wave.

In 1957, a nuclear air to air missile was a great way to take down incoming nuclear bombers.

reply to post by grey580


During that same time period, people in Nevada used to go out and watch the nuclear tests. It was kind of an event, and people brought chairs and took pictures. The tests were promoted by the state, because they brought tourists to town.

Why did they do this?

Because no one told them just how dangerous it was, and maybe these five men also did not realize that is was not safe. I know this sounds ridiculous, that people would watch nuclear blasts, but it was very common. Sometime during the sixties, this ended, thank goodness.

Days after the first bomb was detonated on January 27, 1951, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce issued a stream of press releases excitedly describing the new testing grounds as one of the many attractions Las Vegas had to offer. As one official described, "The angle was to get people to think the explosions wouldn't be anything more than a gag."

After the April 22, 1952, televised broadcast of the bomb, atomic culture swept the nation, and Las Vegas became the epicenter of the craze. The mushroom cloud associated with the bomb became an icon for Las Vegas, adorning postcards, candy, toys, showgirls' headdresses and more. Las Vegas establishments like the Flamingo and the Sands hawked the Atomic Cocktail, the Atomic Hairdo and Miss Atomic Bomb beauty contests.

Atomic Tourism in Nevada

Younger people might not understand this, but back then people had a higher level of trust in our government, so if they were told it was safe, that is what they believed.

Man, i would not like to be in those guys pants...
Was people unaware of radiation poisoning in the 50's?
Poor lads..
(Although I have to admit that it must be quite an exhilarating experience, just not sure it's worthy)

Mental Illness manifests in many ways I guess

Originally posted by getreadyalready
I'm confused what the use of a 2KT Nuclear air to air missile was designed for? We don't need nuclear weapons to take down aircraft, they come down pretty easy. Air to ground makes sense, but why air to air?

If you had a better solution to hundreds of large bombers approaching in formation in the 50's, I would be impressed. There were no SAM's to speak of until after this time period. Guided AA missiles were new fangled and terribly unreliable (and you could only loft so many per airframe). Unguided AA rockets were essentially useless (a now entertaining, if slightly frightening in retrospect, read about how effective our interceptors were at the time: articles.latimes.com...). You could claw them down one at a time with guns given enough F-86's or such, but the range and endurance of early jet fighters dictates that battle is going to be really close to home and it's doubtful that you're not going to have stragglers get through. Hence the Genie and the SAMs.

Blue vertical light flashing up the left hand side of the screen at 2.05 ? The film clip is grainy and you can see blue grains flash randonly across the screen.But at 2.05 it is very different.It has it's own light scource and is in the film not on it.It rises up in a direct vertical ascent.

My father-in-law was a Captain in the Army and was assigned for a time to the test facility in Nevada. Many people sought to see a test personally, including lots of dignitaries. His job was make sure their credentials were in order and that they were properly treated and seated for the tests.

Perhaps it was dangerous. Perhaps the danger was exaggerated, or perhaps they took adequate precautions. He died at age 91 of causes othe rthan cancer, so it certainly did not affect him.

I wonder what the equivalent dose of X Rays would be?
did they even know about the health risk.hard to imagine doing that now
yet here we are with Fukushima an all.

reply to post by getreadyalready


EMP pulse. easiest way back then to make a massive EMP wave was to detonate a nuclear bomb. So if the soviets were flying their fleet of bombers to hit the us, our response would have been to shoot a missile loaded with a small nuke. The missile wouldn't have to hit anything. Just detonate in the middle of the cloud of soviet bombers. EMP pulse. Presto chango no longer bombers flying to nuke our shores just scrap metal fluttering towards the ocean below.

It's the real reason so many small yield nukes were made. It's applicable to a naval fleet or to a squad of tanks coming in. Especially back in the day when people weren't as good at shielding equipment from massive EMP pulses.

its funny how his recorder didnt suffer from the effects of the EMP