Matrix Games Forums

Representatives of Lawrence Livermore Laboratories and the film industry are digitizing some of the atomic bomb test movies shot on old nitrate film in the 1950s. Several have been declassified and 60 of them are here on a YouTube playlist:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... -GlJ_OQND5

I find these fascinating and, in some cases, beautiful.

Some of the more interesting ones are:

Dominic-Housatonic 120256 and Dominic Harlem- beautiful stellate atmospheric airbursts

Plumbbob-Diablo 41549 and Teapot-Tesla-low altitude / ground burst testing

Teapot Tesla 28652-close up of ground effect from fireball and blast

Plumbob-Rainier 43771-an underground mountain "shot" which produces some visible reduction in the mountain.

Here's an old Civil Defense film of Operation Cue, wherein a Potemkin village was created (and destroyed) to measure the effects of an atomic explosion nearby. Many of you have seen snippets and pieces of this test, but I found the whole film to be interesting. Note: very curious choice of musical background and over the top school room narrative style distracting, but further cement the mid-50s approach to the nuclear arms race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU9lCKDzKSY

Interesting to see the full film, with the consequences the day after.
Destruction is not as bad as you could imagine by only watching the detonation snippet. The most reinforced houses and the basements survived. "Dr Doom" Herman Kahn would had approved

Also interesting to watch these 1950s workers willingly eating food that was exposed to a nuclear explosion... I mean, nowadays try asking a millennial worker to get his hands a bit dirty and watch their response

ORIGINAL: Jorge_Stanbury
Also interesting to watch these 1950s workers willingly eating food that was exposed to a nuclear explosion... I mean, nowadays try asking a millennial worker to get his hands a bit dirty and watch their response

The CD workers obligingly consume the food given them (particularly the open-air cut roast beef) a bit blithely, unaware of the particulate radioactive dust that they are ingesting with their choice cuts. Similarly, just as unwieldy is the common tendency of the urban(e) youth to decry anything 'gross'. I guess it's a matter of perspective and your willingness to assume risk in a life or death situation.

I too was surprised by the lack of damage to the electricity substation, propane tank and other structures.

ORIGINAL: Chickenboy

Here's an old Civil Defense film of Operation Cue, wherein a Potemkin village was created (and destroyed) to measure the effects of an atomic explosion nearby. Many of you have seen snippets and pieces of this test, but I found the whole film to be interesting. Note: very curious choice of musical background and over the top school room narrative style distracting, but further cement the mid-50s approach to the nuclear arms race.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU9lCKDzKSY

Is that the one where an archaeologist hides in a refrigerator?

Chickenboy,

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing.

a very casual view of atomic weapons indeed [;)]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing.

Turk 28112 is terrifying. I mean, they're all terrifying, but that particular one is the best footage of an airburst and shockwave I've seen.

ORIGINAL: Jorge_Stanbury

a very casual view of atomic weapons indeed [;)]

There might be a curious reason for that [;)]

I work in the nuclear industry and its not something I take a casual attitude too.
Not being on this site in a few years but good to be back.

ORIGINAL: paradigmblue

Turk 28112 is terrifying. I mean, they're all terrifying, but that particular one is the best footage of an airburst and shockwave I've seen.

Pretty amazing. The only thing it's missing is a sense of scale-particularly for that small hill in the left foreground. What's more terrifying is that Teapot-Turk 28112 was only a 43KT 'shot'. Small potatoes these days.