First Test of the H Bomb

[Music] history turns its most ominous page far out in mid-pacific where in the enemy talk at all the world's most awesome weapon is readied for detonation the pictures you are about to see have been released by the department of defense under presidential order here on illerge allergylab island the cab or housing for the first hydrogen bomb takes shape after months of preparation in this building the cataclysmic force of the h-bomb will be released working as a task force team the army navy and air force work against time to prepare the installations for m hour under the supervision of scientists who have labored for years to develop the thermonuclear weapon illusion the shot island is almost ready for the sacrifice with final preparations almost complete jeeps with workers leave the island which is connected with two others by a plywood tube filled with helium it houses the hundreds of instruments which will record the explosion data which is the prime objective of the test onboard the estes flagship of the task force officers go over final details around a chart of the affected atoll which spans a distance of 25 miles here is the very heart to nerve center of operation ivy as the thermonuclear test is known under the direction of general clarkson task force commander m r approaches with terrifying rapidity minus 15 seconds minus 10 seconds niner eight seven six five four three two the ball of fire is three miles across as it shatters both land and sea the shock wave races 35 miles and reaches the control ship with force enough to jar the solidly mounted camera in seconds the fireball erupts into a geyser that towers 25 miles into the stratosphere spreading into a hundred mile wide mushroom cloud rising with the cloud are millions of cubic feet of radioactive ash a virulent by-product of the fusion bomb that will shower down over the area in approximately one hour helicopters have a narrow margin of safety to flit across the blast zone and report back still unknown is the effect of the explosion on the atoll appears to be in good shape no visible sign of plywood too all test islands seem to be swept clean eugene lab is completely gone nothing there but water and what appears to be a deep crater with its force measured in megatons equivalent to millions of tons of tnt the power of the thermonuclear bomb is almost inconceivable except in direct comparison with the familiar here again is the firing of the first relatively small h-bomb again we are in the control room again the emotionless count tolls the seconds to time zero of the second era the thermonuclear era of the atomic age again the fireball now for dramatic effect we superimpose it on the skyline of new york the heart of the metropolis would be instantaneously transformed into an inferno while shock and heat waves devastated the rest of the city

Channel: Historycentral

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Id: v1HkyHHmrgY

Length: 4min 21sec (261 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 12 2020