[Militaria] Atomic bombs, Operation Crossroads, "Able" and "Baker"

Bikini Atoll, 1946. Two orig. gelatin silver prints. Each 25.4 x 20.6 cm. Vintage prints of the first open air atomic detonations on Bikini Atoll, taken by a military observer from an aircraft rather than a monitoring camera, as is typical of most known photographs from these atomic bomb tests. They are most likely from the personal collection of John T. "Chick" Hayward (1908-1999). Added: (2) How to Photograph an Atomic Bomb. VCE, 2006. (3) Hayward, John T. and C.W. Borklund. Bluejacket Admiral. Naval War College Foundation, 2000, w. dedication by Hayward's daughter, Victoria.

Hayward was a navy vice admiral who participated in the Manhattan Project, the military project which developed the atomic bomb. Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States in the summer of 1946. Its purpose was to investigate the effect of nuclear weapons on naval ships. The series consisted of two detonations. The first photo present in this lot records Test Able, which was detonated on 1 July 1946. The second photo is from Test Baker, which was detonated underwater on 25 July 1946. American, German and Japanese battleships are in the foreground, earmarked for tested destruction. The Crossroads tests were the first of many nuclear tests held on the Marshall Islands as well as the first to be publicly announced beforehand and observed observed by an invited audience, including a large press corps. Admiral Hayward was in charge of photographing the two detonations seen in these two pictures. Original file numbers, release dates and further information are printed verso: "It flies through the air with the greatest of heat - The atom bomb burst, in its test of the fleet. Looking for all the world like a giant cauliflower head suspended to an ever-stretching neck, Bikini's billowing cloud of smoke and flame was caught in its various stages of formation by a Navy patrol bomber flying just beyond range of the deadly explosion (...) ". Interestingly, J. Robert Oppenheimer, the "father of the atomic bomb", declined an invitation to attend the test and wrote to President Truman about his objections, arguing that any data obtained from the test could be obtained more accurately and cheaply in a laboratory. In order to conduct these tests, the entire native population of Bikini Atoll had to be relocated; they have not been able to return to this day due to the radioactive contamination produced by the tests. (total 4)