Photographs of the Disposition of Ships in Bikini Test of Atom Bomb

Published by GPO, [Washington, D.C., 1946

Collection of 23 gelatin silver images mounted on thick card. Images and mounts vary slightly in size, most images are approximately 4.5" x 3.5" on slightly larger cards. Each image is identified in the negative. Undated but certainly very nearly contemporary with the test. Near fine or better. The first image shows a map of the disposition of the ships for the Test, two show aerial views of the disposition, and the remaining 20 images are of the various ships that were used in the text; a few show more than one angle of the same ship. In July, 1946 the Navy gathered a group of obsolete American ships, as well as captured Japanese and German warships in order to test the atomic bomb against a fleet. This group of photographs was for the Able test held in July of 1946, the first of two tests. The Able Test was for an air dropped bomb; the Baker Test, launched against the remaining ships, was for an underwater based nuke. During the Test, the Japanese battleship Nagato, from which the Pearl Harbor attack had been directed was positioned near ground zero in order to guarantee being sunk, but the combination of the bomb missing the drop point and the battleship's stern-on orientation to the bomb protected her, and the symbolic sinking had to wait another three weeks until the Baker Test. The images here are exclusively of American ships that were used in the test. Nice documentation of the infamous Tests. Seller Inventory # 414936

Bibliographic Details

Title: Photographs of the Disposition of Ships in ...
Publisher: GPO, [Washington, D.C.
Publication Date: 1946
Binding: Unbound
Edition: 1st Edition