Hell of a swimsuit
In the summer of 1946, the United States Navy assembled a fleet of 90 ships in a lagoon just off the coast of a small island in the Pacific. Some of the ships were older American vessels, others were captured Japanese and German boats. One ship, the USS Nevada, was painted bright orange. The ships were anchored and fitted with experimental monitoring equipment. Then, the entire fleet was evacuated. A nearby island and a support fleet, carrying over 130 international press correspondents, were also evacuated to a distance of ten miles.
At nine in the morning on July 1, a 121 kiloton nuclear warhead, named "ABLE" was dropped on the 90 boat fleet. Even from their positions 8 to 15 miles away, witnesses claim that the event was awesome to behold. A 100,000 degree, bright orange fireball erupted, scolding metal and wood, flashing water into steam, and generating a blast wave which shot out from the explosion at 180 miles per hour as the orange fireball began to rise.
Waves of water and steam rocked the fleet. One boat was thrown 150 yards by the shock wave. The fireball rose into the familiar mushroom cloud shape, peaking at nearly 40,000 feet above the surface of the water and disrupting winds in the upper atmosphere for 20 minutes. As the steam cleared, 5 ships had been sunk by ABLE.
A second 120 kiloton bomb, named "BAKER" was detonated under the fleet. Witnesses describe an amazing dome of water and steam rising into the air, clearly visible from fifteen miles away. The explosion of BAKER sunk an additional eight ships.
After the blasts, teams that were sent into the site for observations, reporting, and to determine the effects of radiation.
Being one of the first, and one of the most widely witnessed nuclear tests, news of the explosions, the radiation, and the participants reached around the world. Controversy has followed the tests ever since. Even as recently as March of 2004, the BBC press carried a story remembering the 50th anniversary of the tests, recalling how the explosions had "contaminated a passing Japanese fishing boat and showered nearby villagers with radioactive ash."
In the aftermath of the tests, indigenous populations of the nearby islands were evacuated. Years later, after lengthy proceedings, the US government has paid damages to small groups of fisherman, military personnel and civilians. A cleanup operation was begin and continues to this day. The islands' land based food chain is still contaminated, and the displaced islanders claim that the United States government still owes them a full clean up of the islands.
Press coverage of the testing was heavy. The news reached the ears of a Frenchman named Louis Reared. In 1946, Reared designed a bathing suit for women. The style was generating some controversy, and Reard took advantage of the controversy in his marketing. In a move which would intensify the profitable controversy around the new bathing suit style, and act to solidify the aforementioned mushroom clouds into our popular vocabulary, Reard decided to name his bathing suit design after the small island where the U.S. tests had taken place - the island of Bikini Atoll.
More Later
-Travis
copyright 2004 Travis R. English
Some Sources
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
operation crossroads: http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq76-1.htm
BBC News: "Bikini Atoll bomb test remembered" 4/1/04
At nine in the morning on July 1, a 121 kiloton nuclear warhead, named "ABLE" was dropped on the 90 boat fleet. Even from their positions 8 to 15 miles away, witnesses claim that the event was awesome to behold. A 100,000 degree, bright orange fireball erupted, scolding metal and wood, flashing water into steam, and generating a blast wave which shot out from the explosion at 180 miles per hour as the orange fireball began to rise.
Waves of water and steam rocked the fleet. One boat was thrown 150 yards by the shock wave. The fireball rose into the familiar mushroom cloud shape, peaking at nearly 40,000 feet above the surface of the water and disrupting winds in the upper atmosphere for 20 minutes. As the steam cleared, 5 ships had been sunk by ABLE.
A second 120 kiloton bomb, named "BAKER" was detonated under the fleet. Witnesses describe an amazing dome of water and steam rising into the air, clearly visible from fifteen miles away. The explosion of BAKER sunk an additional eight ships.
After the blasts, teams that were sent into the site for observations, reporting, and to determine the effects of radiation.
Being one of the first, and one of the most widely witnessed nuclear tests, news of the explosions, the radiation, and the participants reached around the world. Controversy has followed the tests ever since. Even as recently as March of 2004, the BBC press carried a story remembering the 50th anniversary of the tests, recalling how the explosions had "contaminated a passing Japanese fishing boat and showered nearby villagers with radioactive ash."
In the aftermath of the tests, indigenous populations of the nearby islands were evacuated. Years later, after lengthy proceedings, the US government has paid damages to small groups of fisherman, military personnel and civilians. A cleanup operation was begin and continues to this day. The islands' land based food chain is still contaminated, and the displaced islanders claim that the United States government still owes them a full clean up of the islands.
Press coverage of the testing was heavy. The news reached the ears of a Frenchman named Louis Reared. In 1946, Reared designed a bathing suit for women. The style was generating some controversy, and Reard took advantage of the controversy in his marketing. In a move which would intensify the profitable controversy around the new bathing suit style, and act to solidify the aforementioned mushroom clouds into our popular vocabulary, Reard decided to name his bathing suit design after the small island where the U.S. tests had taken place - the island of Bikini Atoll.
More Later
-Travis
copyright 2004 Travis R. English
Some Sources
DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY -- NAVAL HISTORICAL CENTER
operation crossroads: http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq76-1.htm
BBC News: "Bikini Atoll bomb test remembered" 4/1/04
posted by travinator @ 1:50 PM
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