Operation Dominic was the last atmospheric test series by the United States before the Limited Test Ban Treaty (which banned atmospheric, underwater, and space testing of nuclear weapons). In 1961, Russia broke the 1958 moratorium on testing (which was essentially a voluntary moratorium) with a new test series which included the testing of a 50 Megaton prototype of a 100 Megaton thermonuclear bomb. The device used in the 50 Megaton test was not a practical weapon, as it's physical size required special modification of the delivery aircraft, and the weight of the bomb was close to the design limits of the plane. In response to Russia's resuming tests, the United States planned Operation Dominic. Operation Dominic had several test phases, airdrop tests for weapons development at Christmas Island, two tests by the U.S. Navy of operational weapon systems (the Polaris SLBM, and the ASROC antisubmarine missile), and Fishbowl, a series of high altitude tests to study ballistic warhead kill mechanisms and ionospheric/electromagnetic effects (with some weapon development airdrops added at Johnstom Island). Ironically, two of the Fishbowl tests were conducted during the Cuban Missile Crisis, with the Checkmate shot on October 20th, and the Bluegill Triple Prime test on October 26th.
Normally I wouldn't charge for public domain footage, but this is a huge file taking up space i could use for something else. This is 12 hours of raw footage of Operation Crossroads 1946, and contains footage not seen in the other documentary films. This footage is silent.
Operation Castle began with the test of the Bravo shot. Castle Bravo was a proof test of a "dry" thermonuclear device. Instead of using liquid Deuterium/Tritium as a fusion fuel, Lithium Deuteride was used as a solid fuel. The designers of this device wanted to use Lithium-6 as the source of Tritium (a neutron would split a Lithium-6 nucleus into a Tritium nucleus, and a Helium nucleus), but the processing was not completed in time, so a mixture of Lithium-6 and Lithium-7 was used instead. The scientists assumed that the Lithium-7 would be inert, and not have any effect in the fusion reaction. Instead what happened was that the Lithium-7 nuclei split into two Tritium nuclei, with two additional free neutrons. The scientists were expecting an explosive yield of 5-7 Megatons, but instead the yield was 15 Megatons. The blast effect leveled the base camp on an island 15 miles away from the test, and dropped so much fallout at the control bunker, that the scientists were trapped inside for several hours. The test also released a plume of fallout that contaminated several other inhabited atolls hundreds of miles away, as well as a japanese fishing trawler that was in the area. The scientists abandoned the use of a land based control station for the rest of the test series, and controlled the later tests from a ship.
This film details the results of communication system tests done during high altitude nuclear bursts in the Pacific. This research was primarily concerned with the changes to the critical frequency (fc) in the E and F layers of the ionosphere, which enable long range communications in the HF (3-30Mhz) radio spectrum. Changes in the critical frequency can block long range radio communication on some parts of the spectrum, while opening up communication in other parts of the spectrum. Such effects can last for several hours after a nuclear burst, and could be put to use for a significant tactical advantage. Modern military HF communication systems poll stations on the network, and if a portion of spectrum becomes unusable, while a different part of spectrum opens up, the system automatically reconfigures for this change.
Part 2 of a 4 part series of films of Operation Hardtack. Prior to Operation Hardtack, the highest nuclear test had been conducted at 36,000 feet at the Nevada Test Site. Since the development of ICBMs as a delivery method for nuclear weapons had been developed, the use of nuclear warheads to intercept and destroy incoming ICBM warheads was being considered as a defense. Since the effects of high altitude detonations and possible kill mechanisms were unknown, the high altitude tests of Operation Hardtack were planned to gather data on nuclear detonations at altitude. One interesting thing about this film, is that test data was gathered on X-ray induced mechanical shock. The fact that electromagnetic radiation striking an object imparts a mechanical pressure on that object is known, but the effect is usually so slight that it's difficult to measure, and often ignored. For X-rays to do this is somewhat counterintuitive (X-rays tend to pass through most materials), and to actually cause mechanical stresses to the breaking point of an object, the X-ray flux must be almost unimaginably powerful. Some of this kinetic energy is probably a result of the X-rays being absorbed and causing thermal ablation of the material. Another interesting thing in this film is the changes in light emission characteristics as altitude increases. The "double pulse" of light from low altitude bursts is missing at higher altitudes, and bursts in between share characteristics of both.
Operation Greenhouse tested a theory about fusion, and also tested a "boosted" fission device. The George shot tested a mixture of liquid deuterium and tritium, and measured the high energy neutrons from the fusion reaction in an effort to find out if a fusion reaction could be sustained long enough for use in a thermonuclear device. The diagnostic equipment detected a fusion reaction, but the fusion was not intended to contribute to the device yield. Another device tested in the Greenhouse series was a "boosted" fission device, where a small fusion reaction created enough excess neutrons to boost the efficiency of the fission reaction, and use the plutonium or uranium more efficiently, resulting in higher explosive yield.
Operation Dominic 1962 Air Force Participation. The Air Force's role in the 1962 Operation Dominic test series. This film covers some of the support, diagnostic, and weapon delivery duties of the Air Force during the last atmospheric nuclear tests ever conducted by the USA. Operation Dominic encompassed 36 tests including 29 airdrops, 1 Polaris test, 1 ASROC test, and 5 high altitude missile bursts. Since most of the tests were over the open ocean (off Christmas and Johnston islands), most of the diagnostic test apparatus was carried aboard aircraft. The detonation altitudes on the airdrops were all above 2,000 ft, which greatly reduced the fallout from the tests, since there was no irradiated soil or seawater present in the mushroom cloud.
Part 1 of a film describing the testing and use of the first 5 atomic bombs. There was one test (the Trinity test), then two bombs used over Japan, and the two tests at Bikini Atoll. This film documentary was most likely used to brief Congress in order to get funding for further development and testing of nuclear weapons.