Videos of Nuclear Tests

Note: These video clips were digitized from the best available copies of U.S. Government films. For additional information about these films, see the Historical Nuclear Test Films page at the DOE Nevada Test Site.

[Crossroads BAKER test] Crossroads BAKER Test [160x120 Quicktime MOV, 2.1 MB]
The BAKER test in 1946 was a Fatman-type weapon detonated 96 feet below the surface of the ocean.

Desert Rock IV [160x120 Quicktime MOV, 1.4 MB]. Tumbler-Snapper DOG was a 20 kiloton airdrop detonated on May 1, 1952. Army and Marine troops participated in four of the eight Tumber-Snapper shots. This video shows the blast wave crossing the desert and hitting the troop trenches.

Castle BRAVO test [160x120 Quicktime MOV, 2.7 MB]
The Castle BRAVO test on March 1, 1954, yielded 15 megatons, the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated by the United States. By accident the inhabited atolls of Rongelap, Rongerik and Utirik were contaminated with fallout, as was the Japanese fishing trawler Fukuryu Maru or Lucky Dragon. The controversy over fallout that simmered around the Nevada Test Site erupted into international alarm
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[Castle ROMEO test]

Castle ROMEO test [160x120 Quicktime MOV, 2.1 MB]
The Castle ROMEO test yielded 11 megatons. It was detonated from a barge in the BRAVO crater.

Troops Observing Dog Shot Detonation

The atomic device dropped from an airplane detonates at a height of 1,417 feet, with the power of 21,000 tons of TNT.

[The Atomic Duty of Pvt. Bill Bires]

Duck and Cover with "Bert the Turtle"


QuickTime Video [3.6Mb]		The movie Duck and Cover was produced in 1950, during the first big Civil Defense push of the Cold War. When the Soviet Union exploded its first nuclear device in 1949, the U.S. monopoly on nuclear weapons was broken. At least in theory, the United States was more vulnerable than it ever had been in its history. In the age of multi-megaton nuclear weapons, it is easy to poke fun at "Duck and Cover." This was done in the immensely popular documentary film, The Atomic Cafe, which raised Bert the Turtle to the status of cultural icon. In fact, the advise to "duck and cover" holds good in many situations, from nuclear attacks to tornados!

Atmospheric Test Photo Web Sites

Gallery of Nuclear Test Photos [Mirror--Original server has gone off-line indefinitely.]
This site has a large number of atmospheric nuclear detonation photos as GIF images.

Nevada Test Site Historical Photos and Films
This site has a large number of photos and some video clips showing atmospheric detonations. There is also information on how to order VHS videos of recently declassified DOE nuclear test films.