Today I watched the film "Oppenheimer" and it piqued my curiosity about a collection of 8x10 photographs in my possession of the Operation Crossroads nuclear bomb tests that took place in July 1946 in the Bikini Atoll. These were the first nuclear bomb tests after the Trinity nuclear test, depicted in the film. The ABLE day explosion was a plutonium bomb, dropped on July 1. The BAKER day detonation was on July 25.
Vice Admiral William H.P. Blandy was the head of the operation. Blandy sent the photographs to Richard Kent Margetts, who was the commanding officer of USS Begor, a vessel that participated in the operation. From Margetts, the photographs passed into my family's hands.
Baker Day explosion from the top.
Photo from photographic tower on nearby island.
Ships of the Bikini are silhouetted in the glare an instant after the ABEL day bomb explodes.
Cauliflower head taken within several minutes of detonation of ABEL. This aerial view was one of the first to be released on July 5, 1946 and was flown to the United States for publication.
Mushroom cap photographed seconds after the ABLE day explosion.
Another patrol bomber photograph taken within several minutes of ABEL day explosion. One of the photographs released on July 5.
BAKER day explosion showing water and steam boiling out of the Bikini lagoon.
Automatic photo from photographic tower on a nearby island.
Late stage mushroom cloud shortly before its disintegration
BAKER day explosion from a plane almost directly overhead at the instant of detonation. The BAKER day explosion was the first underwater nuclear test.
The BAKER day blast as it comes down. Photo from photographic tower on a nearby island.
The Saratoga sank approximately seven and one-half hours after the BAKER day detonation. "After the war, Saratoga was considered surplus and was assigned to Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll to test the effect of the atomic bomb on naval vessels. Saratoga survived the first blast, an air blast, but was mortally damaged by a second blast, an underwater detonation." (source)
ABLE day explosion. This photograph taken from a Crossroads photo plane shows the radioactive cloud still boiling up toward its maximum height of approximately 35,000 feet. Note the shock wave circle sweeping out around the lagoon.
Rising column of water enters the first phase of characteristic mushroom.
BAKER day explosion from the air, taking the form of a derby hat.
Cloud formation at peak.
ABLE day bomb. The black band in the water is a pressure wave moving out from the explosion center. Fires can be seen aboard several ships.
Record of the atomic fireball, beginning micro-seconds after the ABEL day detonation. The pictures were taken by an electrically operated aerial camera.
ABEL day mushroom.
Another of the ABEL day photographs that was released in July 1946 for publication.
Jigger Wit 