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Blast measurement footage during Operation Sandstone at Eniwetok Atoll
archives.gov
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Blast measurement footage during Operation Sandstone at Eniwetok Atoll

archives.govUnited States1947public
#desecretazione e archivi#guerra e crimini di guerra#filmato d'archivio#los alamos scientific laboratory#aberdeen proving ground#usa

The historical footage documents blast measurement preparations and atomic explosion tests conducted at Eniwetok Atoll by Joint Task Force 7 civilian scientists and military engineers.

Beginning in the autumn of 1947, the footage documents the preparations for testing three new atomic weapons at Eniwetok Atoll in the Central Pacific. The film follows the activities of the Blast Measurement Group, directed by Dr. Hartman of the Naval Ordnance Laboratory and assisted by Dr. Lampson of Aberdeen Proving Ground, with technical personnel from the David Taylor Model Basin and military support from the Sandia base. Sequences show lattice cranes clearing dense tropical vegetation under harsh weather conditions, military police checking identification credentials, army engineers stabilizing sandy soil on zero islands using cement and asphalt, the assembly of coastal telemetering towers, and specialized instrumentation, concluding with aerial footage of a massive atomic detonation displaying a mushroom cloud and a surface shockwave.

This nineteen-minute historical record, titled Nuclear Test Film - Operation Sandstone - Blast Measurement, was produced by the United States Department of Energy. It is made available through Wikimedia Commons under a CC0 public domain dedication.

Official documentation and audiovisual holdings from federal projects are cataloged within the National Archives system, established in 1934, which introduced the formal Record Group classification in 1944. Comprehensive archival guides and records from the Still Picture Branch detail the custodial management of historical visual records generated across federal departments and scientific testing programs.

The footage provides direct technical evidence of the logistical scale supporting Joint Task Force 7, which gathered ten thousand civilian and military personnel, detailing the experimental setup created to record blast velocity and the duration of positive and negative shockwave pressures from nuclear explosions.

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Source

archives.gov

Nation

USA

Year

1947

Classification

public

Categories

declassified, History

Format

Direct Stream HD

Link Status

Validated source

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What this piece rests on

Source act

The text was checked against the facts listed below, extracted from the act above. It does not yet carry corroboration from independent sources.

The 132 facts verified in the text
  1. [atto] The National Archives began acquiring still pictures from Federal agencies shortly after its establishment in 1934.
  2. [atto] When the National Archives record group system was developed in 1944, record groups 1 through 190 were established and numbered consecutively in the order in which the first records in each group were accessioned.
  3. [atto] This guide should also be used in conjunction with the Guide to the National Archives of the United States (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1974).
  4. [atto] The National Archives Guide provides descriptions of all the holdings that were in NARA's custody on June 30, 1970, as well as a detailed explanation of the record group concept, and general regulations for the use of NARA records.
  5. [atto] These publications include Select Audiovisual Records leaflets: Pictures of Indians in the United States, Photographs of the American West. 1861-1912, Pictures of the Civil War, Pictures of the Revolutionary War, United States Navy Ships. 1775-1941, Pictures from the Harmon Foundation: Artworks and Art Activities, Contemporary African Art from the Harmon Foundation, and Pictures of the American City.
  6. [atto] Also relevant are Broadsides and Posters from the National Archives (NARA 1986), The National Archives of the United States (Abrams, 1984), The American Image: Photographs from the National Archives, 1860-1960 (Pantheon Books, 1979), and War & Conflict: Selected Images from the National Archives, 1765-1970 (NARA, 1989).
  7. [atto] The first part, "Federal Records," describes the accessioned records of the Federal Government in the custody of the Still Picture Branch as of June 30, 1989, according to the record group to which the records have been allocated.
  8. [atto] An album of photographic prints of trolley car track construction, inter-urban trains and street scenes, 1918-19 (MTF).
  9. [atto] Sketches for posters advertising war workers' housing in Washington, DC, 1918 (MPW).
  10. [atto] Photographic prints of dining and sleeping facilities at a factory cooperative in France, 1918-19 (MSF).
  11. [atto] Portfolios of architectural drawings of rural dwellings in France, ca. 1919 (MFB).
  12. [atto] Glass negatives of unidentified fields and houses, ca. 1919 (MFH). 3.4 Glass negatives from the Town Planning Division of a meeting of the American Association of Landscape Architects, 1918 (TP).
  13. [atto] Records of the United States Food Administration RG 4 / 1917-20 / 5,812 items 4.1 Photographs taken or collected by the Administration and used to document its activities and programs during World War I, including wartime conservation efforts.
  14. [atto] Records of the United States Grain Corporation RG 5 / 1919 / 20 items 5.1 Photographs showing the unloading of grain and cotton from US merchant ships; the interior of warehouses in Hamburg, Germany fully stocked with food; and Corporation staff and offices in Hamburg and Berlin. 1919 (BH) Records of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine RG 7 / 1700-1954 / 13,961 items 7.1 From Leland O.
  15. [atto] Howard, chief of the Bureau from 1894 to 1927, a collection of portraits of American and foreign scientists, with particular emphasis on Department of Agriculture entomologists. 1700-1936 (H) 7.2 Photographs of cotton insects and of a variety of cotton crop dusting practices, 1904-26 (CI). 7.3 Photographs of insects, insect infested plants, efforts to control and eradicate insects, and entomological experiments.
  16. [atto] Also included are portraits of Bureau personnel. 1919-54 (EPQ) 7.4 Photographs, some of maps, graphs, and drawings, relating to pest control experiments at the Bureau's Moorestown, NJ research station, with particular emphasis on methods of controlling the Japanese beetle, 1920-54 (B). 7.5 Photographs of the cultivation and marketing of cotton, corn, blueberries, oranges and tobacco, n.d. (T).
  17. [atto] Records of the Bureau of Agricultural Engineering RG 8 / 1913-47 / 3,679 items 8.1 Photographs relating to drainage, irrigation and erosion control projects, 1913-47 (D) (N) (M).
  18. [atto] Photographs showing the terrain of El Rito, Rio Arriba County, NM, 1937, (NM).
  19. [atto] Records of the National Recovery Administration RG 9 / ca. 1933 / 1 item 9.1 A photographic negative of Charles Toucey Coximer's drawing, ca. 1933, of the National Recovery Administration Blue Eagle.
  20. [atto] Records of the Office of Education RG 12 / 1913-65 / 1,737 items 12.1 Photographs, a few by Lewis Hine, collected for use as illustrations in the Bureau of Education's publications.
  21. [filmato, parlato] Faced with an important test of three new and improved atomic weapons, the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in the autumn of 1947 obtains the services of civilian scientists and technicians for the handling of special problems.
  22. [filmato, parlato] One vital phase is measurement of blast, as an index to weapon behavior.
  23. [filmato, parlato] The Blast Measurement Group is composed of experts from the Naval Ordnance Laboratory, the Ballistics Research Laboratories of the Aberdeen Proving Ground, and the Navy's David Taylor Model Basin.
  24. [filmato, parlato] The Armed Forces Special Weapons Project base at Sandia supplies a supporting element of military personnel.
  25. [filmato, parlato] Lampson of Aberdeen as his principal assistant.
  26. [filmato, parlato] The group is slated to join other scientists and members of the armed forces at Eniwetok Atoll, more than 4,500 miles from the West Coast.
  27. [filmato, parlato] The Atomic Energy Commission's permanent proving ground is located in the Central Pacific, established to conduct tests in the field of atomic explosions.
  28. [filmato, parlato] Here, the 38 members of the group will measure blast velocity and duration of positive and negative pressures generated by the explosions.
  29. [filmato, parlato] While Joint Task Force 7 is being organized, and scientists back in the States are making detailed plans for the operation, here on Eniwetok, army engineers prepare the test site.
  30. [filmato, parlato] The advance group matches technical skill against tough tropical vegetation, despite wind and dust, heat and humidity.
  31. [filmato, parlato] Sweat-stained hours in the broiling sun is the price of progress.
  32. [filmato, parlato] Later, the blast measurement group will work under similar conditions.
  33. [filmato, parlato] In the meantime, back on the West Coast, supplies pour into port areas.
  34. [filmato, parlato] Here is enough material for the 10,000 men of science and men in uniform who make up the Joint Task Force.
  35. [filmato, parlato] Included is a great variety of scientific equipment, among which are instruments and supplies for use by the blast group, carefully packed by them at eastern bases.
  36. [filmato, parlato] Now scientists are checked aboard, starting their long trip to the guarded atoll slated for secret tests.
  37. [filmato, parlato] At the same time, on the other side of the world, engineers stabilize the sandy soil of the zero islands by mixing in cement.
  38. [filmato, parlato] This will reduce damage to blast instruments and aid test observations.
  39. [filmato, parlato] Leveling and tamping are the final steps.
  40. [filmato, parlato] Asphalt also proves highly effective for stabilization.
  41. [filmato, parlato] Engineers do the construction of the installations needed by the blast group: the blast stations on the zero islands, and the telemetering tower on the control island.
  42. [filmato, parlato] This work is based on requirements established by Dr.
  43. [filmato, parlato] An Atomic Energy Commission representative supervises the construction.
  44. [filmato, parlato] But even as the finishing touches are being placed on the blast stations, the convoy is heading westward.
  45. [filmato, parlato] Days at sea as the ships churn through the seemingly endless miles of ocean are filled with activity for the scientists.
  46. [filmato, parlato] Below decks in the Albemarle, shop number one has been set up as a laboratory for the blast group.
  47. [filmato, parlato] These instruments, many of them standard for blast measurements, had been modified by the Hartman unit to meet special requirements of these tests.
  48. [filmato, parlato] All equipment was calibrated under shock conditions in the States.
  49. [filmato, parlato] Now en route, checking and assembly continues.
  50. [filmato, parlato] An audio limiter discriminator holds one man's attention, while another is busy with a blast pressure gauge, which he tests by placing in a pressure pot.
  51. [filmato, parlato] Work is accomplished on measuring and recording equipment, highly important to the task ahead.
  52. [filmato, parlato] A member of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project checks an oscilloscope, used to calibrate electronic instruments.
  53. [filmato, parlato] It has been a long journey, and now, the real test is to begin.
  54. [filmato, parlato] The blast group assists to offload its specialized equipment.
  55. [filmato, parlato] The blast station becomes field headquarters.
  56. [filmato, parlato] Uncrating of equipment begins immediately.
  57. [filmato, parlato] Blast group scientists hand-carry delicate apparatus to the zero island.
  58. [filmato, parlato] They, as everyone, must be passed by the security guard before they can proceed inland.
  59. [filmato, parlato] At another zero island, other group personnel are among the scientists of several units who present themselves at the security gateway.
  60. [filmato, parlato] The MPs check badges and identification cards.
  61. [filmato, parlato] The atoll has restricted areas, and the more important exclusion areas.
  62. [filmato, parlato] As the scientists get nearer to key points on the test grounds, security tightens noticeably.
  63. [filmato, parlato] Landing craft are important in inter-island transportation, but the swiftest means of travel is the L-5 liaison.
  64. [filmato, parlato] On the zero islands at spaced intervals, instrument locations have been constructed along a radius from the zero point, known as the Hartman Line.
  65. [filmato, parlato] The free-piston gauge is one of the direct-reading instruments, with the effect of atomic blast directly readable from a reaction on the gauge itself.
  66. [filmato, parlato] Working on the line here are members of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project.
  67. [filmato, parlato] Silica gel is inserted to reduce moisture.
  68. [filmato, parlato] Plaster will be used to streamline the free-piston gauge.
  69. [filmato, parlato] The OCE revetment is used by the Hartman group to test shock characteristic changes that result from blast shielding.
  70. [filmato, parlato] Simple 5-gallon cans are direct-reading instruments.
  71. [filmato, parlato] And this, perhaps, should be called the Blue Ribbon gauge.
  72. [filmato, parlato] Tin foil is employed to shield the switch from thermal effects.
  73. [filmato, parlato] All instruments are used at several points on the Hartman Line to obtain pressure versus distance data.
  74. [filmato, parlato] Mechanisms in the blast station which will receive impulses from instruments on the Hartman Line are checked carefully.
  75. [filmato, parlato] Batteries which provide power for station instruments are kept fully charged.
  76. [filmato, parlato] Antennae on the control island receive radio impulses from blast-activated telemetering gauges on the Hartman Line, and feed them through a coaxial cable to the telemetering station.
  77. [filmato, parlato] Here the signal will be changed to a visible trace.
  78. [filmato, parlato] Receiving equipment is adjusted and calibrated.
  79. [filmato, parlato] The final result is obtained on a 6-channel Brush recorder.
  80. [filmato, parlato] Certain aspects of Sandstone photography are important to the Hartman group.
  81. [filmato, parlato] Requirements are determined for photographing the blast wave over both water and land.
  82. [filmato, parlato] Such data will be of value in the group's final report, and it is by means of high-speed cameras that this data will be obtained.
  83. [filmato, parlato] All work and no play is left to the instruments on the Hartman Line.
  84. [filmato, parlato] But the Hartman team gets in a bit of relaxation on the white coral beaches fringing the warm-water lagoon.
  85. [filmato, parlato] There's baseball, and other sports often more dangerous to the umpire than an atomic bomb.
  86. [filmato, parlato] From sunrise through the tropical day, Eniwetok Atoll has its scenic wonders.
  87. [filmato, parlato] Despite dust, heat, and other weather discomforts, the Hartman unit sees views that almost rival Hollywood Technicolor.
  88. [filmato, parlato] Personnel are evacuated from the islands, to remain aboard task force ships until the danger period is over.
  89. [filmato, parlato] Finally, the detonation party goes to the master control station.
  90. [filmato, parlato] Hartman and his associates return to the zero islands after each detonation.
  91. [filmato, parlato] They will inspect the footings and instruments in the blast stations, first step in evaluation of blast characteristics.
  92. [filmato, parlato] The destructive outgoing shock wave and the powerful negative phase have left a wreck.
  93. [filmato, parlato] Pummeled by blast, shot through with radiation, scorched by heat, the footings give mute evidence of the forces to which they have been subjected.
  94. [filmato, parlato] With information and instruments in hand, the group heads back to the Albemarle for analysis and computational work.
  95. [filmato, parlato] On deck, data is obtained by filling the crushed 5-gallon cans with water.
  96. [filmato, parlato] Present weight will be checked against the known weight of water in undamaged cans.
  97. [filmato, parlato] Group personnel analyze results, even as the convoy is leaving for Hawaii, where the final reports will be written.
  98. [filmato, parlato] Data is checked against a recorder tape.
  99. [filmato, parlato] During the long hours each day en route to Fort Shafter, scientists and technicians gather their facts, between moments of relaxation.
  100. [filmato, parlato] Finally arriving in Hawaii, the group is taken to Army quarters.
  101. [filmato, parlato] Here they will enjoy certain luxuries of civilization that were missing at Eniwetok.
  102. [filmato, parlato] But now as the group settles down to write final blast measurement reports at the Pineapple Pentagon, let's turn back for a moment and see the atomic detonations which are being analyzed.
  103. [filmato 18:25] Inquadratura esterna di una struttura/recinzione con un cartello non leggibile chiaramente da lontano.
  104. [filmato 18:30] Una gru a traliccio movimenta detriti e vegetazione in un'area all'aperto con alberi e palme.
  105. [filmato 18:35] Personale militare e civile si raduna all'esterno di notte o in condizioni di scarsa luce vicino a veicoli ed equipaggiamento.
  106. [filmato 18:40] Primo piano di una mano che usa una spatola o frattazzo per lisciare una superficie fresca di cemento o malta.
  107. [filmato 18:45] Ripresa panoramica a distanza di navi e imbarcazioni in navigazione o alla fonda sull'oceano.
  108. [filmato 18:50] Un poliziotto militare (MP) con elmetto controlla i tesserini di identificazione di due uomini in uniforme coloniale.
  109. [filmato 18:55] Un barattolo cilindrico (lattina di birra Blue Ribbon) fissato con fil di ferro a un palo di metallo nel terreno.
  110. [filmato 19:00] Una torre metallica a traliccio per misurazioni o telecomunicazioni si erge lungo la costa sul mare.
  111. [filmato 19:05] Un gruppo di uomini in abiti tropicali e cappelli da sole conversano attorno a materiale e strumenti a terra vicino alla spiaggia.
  112. [filmato 19:10] Dettaglio di un pesante dispositivo cilindrico di misurazione con fori circolari sulla piastra frontale bullonata.
  113. [filmato 19:15] Esterno di un edificio moderno con automobili parcheggiate e palme all'esterno.
  114. [filmato 19:20] Ripresa aerea di una massiccia esplosione atomica con nube a fungo e onda d'urto visibile sull'acqua.
  115. [filmato] Hartman
  116. [filmato] Lampson
  117. [filmato] autumn of 1947
  118. [filmato] 1947
  119. [filmato] Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory
  120. [filmato] Aberdeen Proving Ground
  121. [filmato] David Taylor Model Basin
  122. [filmato] Sandia
  123. [filmato] Eniwetok Atoll
  124. [filmato] Central Pacific
  125. [filmato] West Coast
  126. [filmato] Hawaii
  127. [filmato] Fort Shafter
  128. [filmato] Pineapple Pentagon
  129. [filmato] durata 19 minuti (1111 secondi)
  130. [filmato] licenza CC0
  131. [filmato] autore o produzione: Department of Energy
  132. [filmato] pagina d'origine https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ANuclear%20Test%20Film%20-%20Operation%20Sandstone%20-%20Blast%20Measurement.webm

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