Cold War, Hot Nukes: An Online Exhibit

When they showed up about six months ago, I had forgotten I'd even ordered them. The "Department of Energy" return address gave it away pretty quick, though. A newly-released batch of declassified atomic weapons test films had arrived on videotape, courtesy of the DOE. In this line of work, you understand, it can often be useful to have such material on hand.

The DOE released these films under its "Historical Nuclear Weapons Test Films" program, which was established to declassify and release some 6,500 celluloid reels of U.S. atomic weapons test footage. These films, never before seen by the American public, are currently being transferred to VHS videotape at the DOE's Albuquerque Operations Office. In addition to the videotapes, various MPEG and RealVideo clips are available on the program's web page. So far, a total of 72 of these films have been made available, with more to come "based on the public's expressed interest." (If you want to see more, be sure to drop the DOE a line and encourage the agency to continue releasing more of these films.)

We're not talking about your ordinary, run-of-the-test-range mushroom clouds here, either. Entwined into the predictable spectacle of apocalyptic fireballs is a surreal tapestry of A-bomb propaganda which sought to reassure viewers that atomic warfare was no different than any other kind of warfare, as long as you "treat it with respect and observe a few safety precautions."

Such was the naiveté of early atomic weapons tests. The tone shifted somewhat after the detonation of the first hydrogen bomb, which made all the previous tests look like pop-rocks. Shown brief clips of Marshall Islands inhabitants being evacuated to escape deadly radioactive fallout, we are expected to believe that this was all being done to protect the "security of the free world." Purity of essence, Mr. President! We cannot allow a mine shaft gap!

test dummy pic

After reviewing the declassified films, I knew I'd have to do something with them eventually. The images in this exhibit are actually sets of screen grabs taken directly from the test footage, including various animated .gif files compiled from video clips of the detonations. Just click on the thumbnails or titles below to view.

That said, I present to you "Cold War, Hot Nukes," produced at the ParaScope Special Weapons Laboratory at a classified location in the Pacific Northwest. Be sure to turn in your film badge at the end, and have a good mission.

Charles Overbeck
easterisle@parascope.com

	At the "Journey of Death" trail on the Alamagordo test range in New Mexico, the world's first atomic bomb ignites the early morning sky.

	One year after the atomic bombing of Japan, more tests of this "new elemental force" are commenced on Bikini Atoll under Operation Crossroads.

	Seeking to expand knowledge of the effects and technology of atomic warfare, Los Alamos weaponeers carry out a series of bomb tests in the Nevada desert.

	During another series of A-bomb tests in Nevada, troops are deployed near Ground Zero to gain "experience and confidence for atomic warfare operations."

	The first test of a hydrogen bomb at Enewetak Atoll takes the U.S. nuclear weapons program "into the fantastic world of megatons."

	Radioactive fallout from a new series of hydrogen bomb tests at Bikini Atoll forces the evacuation and relocation of hundreds of islanders.

	Blast waves sweep the desert floor. Various images of atomic damage and destruction from the "Dasiac D&D Roll" and other films.