For decades, the United States government has kept secret footage of nuclear tests conducted in the 1950s and 1960s, footage that is only now being released to the public. This rare footage has long been thought of as eerie, and even today, decades later, it retains its mysterious power.
The U.S. began testing nuclear weapons in 1945 with the detonation of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan. In subsequent years, the U.S. conducted hundreds of atmospheric and underground nuclear tests, creating dangerous radiation clouds and leaving long-lasting radioactive contamination. This full scale nuclear testing was stopped in the late 1960s due to the danger it posed to the environment and public health.
The secret footage shows the devastating power of nuclear weapons. Much of the footage is from the Operation Castle series, which was conducted in 1954 at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The Castle Bravo nuclear test, the largest ever detonated by the U.S., created a 15-mile-wide radioactive fallout cloud. Other footage shows the giant mushroom clouds created by other nuclear blasts of the era, some dwarfing the width and height of even the largest skyscrapers.
The power of the footage is still potent decades later. For many, the footage brings up harsh reminders of the destruction nuclear weapons can create. Indeed, the U.S. government went to great lengths to keep this footage secret. It was only in 2014, upon the discretionary release of these files by the government, that the public was granted access to the footage.
Those who watch the footage today can’t help but feel a sense of awe, amazement, and, at the same time, horror. Within the footage, one can see firsthand how nuclear weapons were tested then and the impact they had on the environment. This secret footage captures a moment in history that will never be forgotten. Even today, it serves as a reminder to all of us of the danger posed by nuclear weapons, far beyond the power of the footage itself.
