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86-497: Van Kirk may refer to: Theodore Van Kirk (1921–2014), United States Air Force officer and navigator Van Kirk Farm , historic farm in Elizabeth Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Van Kirk . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

172-525: A base in the Marianas Islands to drop on the city of Hiroshima, Japan, the first atomic bomb to be used in warfare. Flying 1500 miles over open water to the coast of Japan, they manned their assigned positions and crossed the island of Shikoku and the Inland Sea. They constantly faced the danger of being hit by anti-aircraft fire, enemy fighters, or suffering mechanical or other failures which would intensify

258-498: A large number of targets widely dispersed over a large area. A quarter century earlier, in 1921, the Navy had suffered a public relations disaster when General Billy Mitchell 's bombers sank every target ship the Navy provided for the Project B ship-versus-bomb tests. The Strauss test would be designed to demonstrate ship survivability . In August 1945, Senator Brien McMahon , who within

344-407: A mark where the 27,000-ton battleship USS  Arkansas was. As with Able , any ships that remained afloat within 1,000 yards (900 m) of the detonation were seriously damaged, but this time the damage came from below, from water pressure rather than air pressure. The greatest difference between the two shots was the radioactive contamination of all the target ships by Baker . Regardless of

430-429: A rapidly expanding hot gas bubble that pushed against the water, generating a supersonic hydraulic shock wave which crushed the hulls of nearby ships as it spread out. Eventually it slowed to the speed of sound in water, which is one mile per second (1,600 m/s), five times faster than that of sound in air. On the surface, the shock wave was visible as the leading edge of a rapidly expanding ring of dark water, called

516-569: A replica of the B-29 flew overhead. Van Kirk appeared and signed books at the Vectren Dayton Air Show on July 8, 2012. Van Kirk appeared at the Marietta Museum of History on August 11–12, 2012. He signed his book, My True Course , from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday at the museum's Aviation Wing. On Saturday, August 11 at 4 p.m., he gave a rare address at the main wing of

602-426: A safe distance from the detonations. The drones could fly into radiation environments, such as Able's mushroom cloud , which would have been lethal to crew members. All the land-based detonation-sequence photographs were taken by remote control from tall towers erected on several islands of the atoll. In all, Bikini cameras took 50,000 still pictures and 1,500,000 feet (460,000 m) of motion picture film. One of

688-541: A year would write the Atomic Energy Act and organize and chair the Congressional Joint Committee on Atomic Energy , made the first public proposal for such a test, but one designed to demonstrate the vulnerability rather than survivability of ships. He proposed dropping an atomic bomb on captured Japanese ships and suggested, "The resulting explosion should prove to us just how effective the atomic bomb

774-761: Is when used against the giant naval ships." On September 19, the Chief of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), General of the Army Henry H. Arnold , asked the Navy to set aside 10 of the 38 captured Japanese ships for use in the test proposed by McMahon. Meanwhile, the Navy proceeded with its own plan, which was revealed at a press conference on October 27 by the Commander in Chief, United States Fleet , Fleet Admiral Ernest King . It involved between 80 and 100 target ships, most of them surplus U.S. ships. As

860-453: The 509th Bombardment Group on July 1, 1946. It detonated 520 feet (158 m) above the target fleet and caused less than the expected amount of ship damage because it missed its aim point by 2,130 feet (649 m). The second test was Baker . The bomb was known as Helen of Bikini and was detonated 90 feet (27 m) underwater on July 25, 1946. Radioactive sea spray caused extensive contamination. A third deep-water test named Charlie

946-544: The 509th Composite Group at Wendover Field , Utah, in late 1944. The group flew the Boeing B-29 Superfortress , with Tibbets as commander and Van Kirk as the group navigator. From November 1944 to June 1945 they trained continually for the first atomic bomb drop, which occurred 6 August 1945. The thirteen-hour mission to Hiroshima began at 02:45 hrs in the morning Tinian time. By the time they rendezvoused with their accompanying B-29s at 0607 hrs over Iwo Jima ,

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1032-474: The Baker shot. Fire caused serious damage to ship #10, the aircraft carrier Saratoga , more than 1 mile (1.6 km) from the blast. For test purposes, all the ships carried sample amounts of fuel and ordnance, plus airplanes. Most warships carried a seaplane on deck which could be lowered into the water by crane, but Saratoga carried several airplanes with highly volatile aviation fuel , both on deck and in

1118-430: The Baker test proceeded on schedule. 57 guinea pigs, 109 mice, 146 pigs, 176 goats, and 3,030 white rats had been placed on 22 target ships in stations normally occupied by people. 35% of these animals died or were euthanised in the three months following the explosion: 10% were killed by the air blast, 15% were killed by radiation, and 10% were killed by the researchers as part of later study. The most famous survivor

1204-491: The Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Special Weapons, Vice Admiral William H. P. Blandy , whom Parsons proposed for the role. This recommendation was accepted, and on January 11, 1946, President Harry S. Truman appointed Blandy as head of Army/Navy Joint Task Force One (JTF-1), which was created to conduct the tests. Parsons became Deputy Task Force Commander for Technical Direction. USAAF Major General William E. Kepner

1290-522: The Manhattan Project which built the bombs, did not get the job. The Joint Chiefs of Staff decided that because the Navy was contributing the most men and materiel , the test should be headed by a naval officer. Commodore William S. "Deak" Parsons was a naval officer who had worked on the Manhattan Project and participated in the bombing of Hiroshima . He had been promoted to assistant to

1376-623: The Marshall Islands , arrived by seaplane from Kwajalein . Referring to Biblical stories which they had learned from Protestant missionaries, he compared them to "the children of Israel whom the Lord saved from their enemy and led into the Promised Land." He also claimed it was "for the good of mankind and to end all world wars." There was no signed agreement, but he reported by cable "their local chieftain , referred to as King Juda, arose and said that

1462-550: The National Cancer Institute . Amphibious target ships were beached on Bikini Island. A support fleet of more than 150 ships provided quarters, experimental stations, and workshops for most of the 42,000 men (more than 37,000 of whom were Navy personnel) and the 37 female nurses. Additional personnel were located on nearby atolls such as Eniwetok and Kwajalein. Navy personnel were allowed to extend their service obligation for one year if they wanted to participate in

1548-724: The Silver Star , the Distinguished Flying Cross , and 15 Air Medals . Van Kirk went on to receive his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from Bucknell University in 1949 and 1950. For the next 35 years, he held various technical and managerial positions in research and marketing with DuPont . Dutch Van Kirk appeared April 9–10, 2005 at the MacDill Air Force Base Air Fest, Tampa, FL, filling in for scheduled Paul Tibbets, who

1634-407: The base surge ) and outside the 1000-yard circle, escaped serious contamination and hull damage and was successfully decontaminated, repaired, and briefly returned to service. The Baker shot produced so many unusual phenomena that a conference was held two months later to standardize nomenclature and define new terms for use in descriptions and analysis. The underwater fireball took the form of

1720-509: The hangars below. The fire was extinguished, and Saratoga was kept afloat for use in the Baker shot. As with Little Boy (Hiroshima) and Fat Man (Nagasaki), the Crossroads Able shot was an air burst . These were purposely detonated high enough in the air to prevent surface materials from being drawn into the fireball. The height-of-burst for the Trinity test was 100 feet (30 m);

1806-412: The stratosphere and become part of the global, rather than the local, environment. Air bursts were officially described as "self-cleansing." There was no significant local fallout from Able . There was an intense transitory burst of fireball radiation lasting a few seconds. Many of the closer ships received doses of neutron and gamma radiation that could have been lethal to anyone on the ship, but

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1892-418: The "slick" for its resemblance to an oil slick. Close behind the slick was a visually more dramatic but less destructive whitening of the water surface called the "crack". When the gas bubble's diameter equaled the water depth, 180 feet (55 m), it hit the sea floor and the sea surface simultaneously. At the bottom, it created a shallow crater 30 feet (9 m) deep and 2,000 feet (610 m) wide. At

1978-411: The 1946 movie, Gilda . The Baker bomb was Helen of Bikini. This femme-fatale theme for nuclear weapons, combining seduction and destruction, is epitomized by the use in all languages, starting in 1946, of " bikini " as the name for a woman's two-piece bathing suit . The United States' test series summary table is here: United States' nuclear testing series . At 09:00 on July 1, 1946, Gilda

2064-519: The Army Air Forces. Operation Crossroads Operation Crossroads was a pair of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. They were the first nuclear weapon tests since Trinity on July 16, 1945, and the first detonations of nuclear devices since the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. The purpose of the tests was to investigate

2150-466: The Army and the Navy maneuvered for control of the tests, Assistant Secretary of War Howard C. Peterson observed, "To the public, the test looms as one in which the future of the Navy is at stake ... if the Navy withstands [the tests] better than the public imagines it will, in the public mind the Navy will have 'won. ' " The Army's candidate to direct the tests, Major General Leslie Groves , head of

2236-570: The Bikini Lagoon as the site for the two 1946 detonations, Able and Baker . The deep underwater test, Charlie , scheduled for early 1947, would take place in the ocean west of Bikini. Of the possible places given serious consideration, including Ecuador's Galápagos Islands , Bikini offered the most remote location with a large protected anchorage, suitable but not ideal weather, and a small, easily moved population. It had come under exclusive United States control on January 15, when Truman declared

2322-628: The Hiroshima mission. From August to October 1942, the crew flew 11 missions out of England. They were the lead aircraft, responsible for group navigation and bombing. In October 1942, they flew General Mark Clark to Gibraltar for his secret North African rendezvous with the French prior to Operation Torch . In November, they ferried General Eisenhower to Gibraltar to command the North African invasion forces. After German reinforcements began pouring into

2408-527: The JTF-1 replied that "it is regretted that such ships as the USS ; New York cannot be spared." A series of three tests was recommended to study the effects of nuclear weapons on ships, equipment, and materiel. The test site had to be in territory controlled by the United States. The inhabitants would have to be evacuated, so it was best if it was uninhabited, or nearly so, and at least 300 miles (500 km) from

2494-587: The Japanese cruiser Sakawa , the battleship Nagato , and the German cruiser Prinz Eugen . The ships carried sample amounts of fuel and ammunition, plus scientific instruments to measure air pressure , ship movement, and radiation . The live animals on some of the target ships were supplied by the support ship USS  Burleson , which brought 200 pigs, 60 guinea pigs, 204 goats, 5,000 rats, 200 mice, and grains containing insects to be studied for genetic effects by

2580-529: The Soviet Union's position against acceptance of the Acheson–Lilienthal Plan , which discussed possible methods for the international control of nuclear weapons and the avoidance of future nuclear warfare. At a March 22 cabinet meeting he said, "from the standpoint of international relations it would be very helpful if the test could be postponed or never held at all." He prevailed on Truman to postpone

2666-655: The United States to be the sole trustee of all the Pacific islands captured from Japan during the war. The Navy had been studying test sites since October 1945 and was ready to announce its choice of Bikini soon after Truman's declaration. On February 6, the survey ship Sumner began blasting channels through the Bikini reef into the lagoon . The local residents were not told why. The 167 Bikini islanders first learned their fate four days later, on Sunday, February 10, when Navy Commodore Ben H. Wyatt, United States military governor of

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2752-452: The aim point for Able and was painted orange, with white gun barrels and gunwales , to make her stand out in the central cluster of target ships. There were eight ships within 400 yards (366 m) of it. Had the bomb exploded over the Nevada as planned, at least nine ships, including two battleships and an aircraft carrier, likely would have sunk. The actual detonation point, west-northwest of

2838-511: The air. The submarine USS  Skipjack was the only sunken ship successfully raised at Bikini. She was towed to California and sunk again, as a target ship off the coast, two years later. Three other ships, all in sinking condition, were towed ashore at Bikini and beached: attack transport USS  Fallon , ship #25; destroyer USS  Hughes , ship #27; and submarine USS  Dentuda , ship #24. Dentuda , with her crew safely away from their submarine, being submerged (thus avoiding

2924-523: The blast, shut their eyes, and cradle their arm across their face for additional protection. A few observers who disregarded the recommended precautions advised the others when the bomb detonated. Most shipboard observers reported feeling a slight concussion and hearing a disappointing little "poom". On July 26, 2016, the National Security Archive declassified and released the entire stock of footage shot by surveillance aircraft that flew over

3010-472: The bomb release was pressed. The bomb cleared, and fell toward the planned objective. They then headed from the area and, despite a minor effect from the detonation, returned safely to their home base. By their courage and skillful performance of duty achieved in outstanding fashion despite the dangers involved in accomplishment of this historic mission, these individuals distinguished themselves by extraordinary achievement and reflect great credit on themselves and

3096-470: The cameras could shoot 1,000 frames per second. Before the first test, all personnel were evacuated from the target fleet and Bikini Atoll. They boarded ships of the support fleet, which took safe positions at least 10 nautical miles (19 km) east of the atoll. Test personnel were issued special dark glasses to protect their eyes, but a decision was made shortly before Able that the glasses might not be adequate. Personnel were instructed to turn away from

3182-560: The degree of damage, only nine surviving Baker target ships were eventually decontaminated and sold for scrap. The rest were sunk at sea after decontamination efforts failed. Prinz Eugen , ship #36, survived both the Able and Baker tests but was too radioactive to have leaks repaired. In September 1946 she was towed to Kwajalein Atoll , where she capsized in shallow water on December 22. She remains there today, with starboard propeller blades in

3268-422: The destroyer USS  Lamson , which sank, was farther away than seven ships that stayed afloat. Lamson was broadside to the blast, taking the full impact on her port side, while the seven closer ships were anchored with their sterns toward the blast, somewhat protecting the most vulnerable part of the hull. The only large ship inside the 1000-yard radius which sustained moderate rather than serious damage

3354-436: The device was mounted on a tower. It made a crater 6 feet (1.8 m) deep and 500 feet (150 m) wide, and there was some local fallout . The test was conducted in secret, and the world at large learned nothing about the radioactive fallout at the time. To be a true air burst with no local fallout, the Trinity height-of-burst needed to be 580 feet (180 m). With an air burst, the radioactive fission products rise into

3440-600: The difference between the practice and real missions, and he replied, "In America, they're not shooting at you!" On September 15, 2013, he spoke for approximately an hour and answered questions about his military service and specifically his role as the navigator on the Enola Gay at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, Texas . Afterward, he signed copies of his book, My True Course . Van Kirk died on July 28, 2014. He

3526-485: The effect of nuclear weapons on warships. The Crossroads tests were the first of many nuclear tests held in the Marshall Islands and the first to be publicly announced beforehand and observed by an invited audience, including a large press corps . They were conducted by Joint Army/Navy Task Force One, headed by Vice Admiral William H. P. Blandy rather than by the Manhattan Project , which had developed nuclear weapons during World War II . A fleet of 95 target ships

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3612-549: The first test for six weeks, from May 15 to July 1. For public consumption, the postponement was explained as an opportunity for more Congressional observers to attend during their summer recess. When Congressmen complained about the destruction of $ 450 million worth of target ships, Blandy replied that their true cost was their scrap value at $ 10 per ton, only $ 3.7 million. Veterans and legislators from New York and Pennsylvania requested to keep their namesake battleships as museum ships , as Texas had done with USS  Texas , but

3698-427: The flight log he kept on board the Enola Gay during the atomic bombing of Hiroshima for US$ 358,500 in a public auction. Van Kirk stated he decided to sell the log, because he wanted it to be kept at a museum. The auction house did not reveal the name of the successful bidder, although it said it was a U.S. citizen. In August 1946 Van Kirk completed his service in the Army Air Forces as a Major. His decorations include

3784-480: The following day. Some of the 114 press observers expressed disappointment at the effect on ships. The New York Times reported, prematurely, that "only two were sunk, one capsized, and eighteen damaged." The next day, the Times carried an explanation by Forrestal that "heavily built and heavily armored ships are difficult to sink unless they sustain underwater damage." The main cause of less-than-expected ship damage

3870-489: The grounds of the David Taylor Model Basin outside Washington, DC, dress rehearsals for Baker were conducted with dynamite and model ships in a pond named "Little Bikini." A fleet of 93 target vessels was assembled in Bikini Lagoon. At the center of the target cluster, the density was 20 ships per square mile (7.7 per km ), three to five times greater than military doctrine would allow. The stated goal

3956-481: The group was three hours from the target area. As they approached the target Van Kirk worked closely with the bombardier, Tom Ferebee, to confirm the winds and aimpoint. The bomb fell away from the aircraft at 09:15:17 Tinian time. Van Kirk later participated in Operation Crossroads , the first Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests. According to the 1995 New York Times interview by Gustav Niebuhr Mr. Van Kirk said he

4042-627: The island on board the LST-861 , with most moving to the Rongerik Atoll . In the 1950s, a series of large thermonuclear tests rendered Bikini unfit for subsistence farming and fishing because of radioactive contamination . Bikini remains uninhabited as of 2017 , though it is occasionally visited by sport divers . Planners attempted to protect participants in the Operation Crossroads tests against radiation sickness , but one study showed that

4128-521: The life expectancy of participants was reduced by an average of three months. The Baker test's radioactive contamination of all the target ships was the first case of immediate, concentrated radioactive fallout from a nuclear explosion. Chemist Glenn T. Seaborg , the longest-serving chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission , called Baker "the world's first nuclear disaster." The first proposal to test nuclear weapons against naval warships

4214-429: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Van_Kirk&oldid=933230906 " Categories : Disambiguation pages Disambiguation pages with surname-holder lists Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Theodore Van Kirk Van Kirk

4300-499: The mice were placed outside the expected lethal zone in order to study possible mutations in future generations. Although Gilda missed its target Nevada by nearly half a mile (800 meters), and it failed to sink or to contaminate the battleship, a crew would not have survived. Goat #119, tethered inside a gun turret and shielded by armor plate , received enough fireball radiation to die four days later of radiation sickness having survived two days longer than goat #53, which

4386-517: The miss was caused by a miscalculation by the crew. The mystery was never solved. There were other factors that made Able less spectacular than expected. Observers were much farther away than at the Trinity test , and the high humidity absorbed much of the light and heat. The battleship USS  Nevada , the only battleship to get underway at the Attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, had been designated as

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4472-560: The museum. On September 14, 2013, Major Van Kirk visited and spoke at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas, Texas. He spoke for about an hour about his experience in the service, and afterwards, he signed copies of his book, My True Course . During this event, Mr. Van Kirk relayed stories about both his practice bombing runs in America and his real bombing missions abroad. He was asked to describe

4558-604: The natives of Bikini were very proud to be part of this wonderful undertaking." On March 6, Wyatt attempted to stage a filmed reenactment of the February 10 meeting in which the Bikinians had given away their atoll. Despite repeated promptings and at least seven retakes, Juda confined his on-camera remarks to, "We are willing to go. Everything is in God's hands." The next day, LST-861 moved them and their belongings 128 miles (206 km) east to

4644-406: The nearest city. So that a B-29 Superfortress could drop a bomb, there had to be an airbase within 1,000 miles (1,600 km). To contain the target ships, it needed to have a protected anchorage at least 6 miles (10 km) wide. Ideally, it would have predictable weather patterns and be free of severe cold and violent storms. Predictable winds would avoid having radioactive material blown back on

4730-495: The nuclear test site just minutes after the bomb detonated. The footage can be seen on YouTube . Able and Baker are the first two letters of the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet , used from 1941 until 1956. Alfa and Bravo are their counterparts in the current NATO phonetic alphabet . Charlie is the third letter in both systems. According to eyewitness accounts, the time of detonation for each test

4816-578: The ocean." In Baker on July 25, the weapon was suspended beneath landing craft LSM-60 anchored in the midst of the target fleet. Baker was detonated at 08:35, 90 feet (27 m) underwater, halfway to the bottom in water 180 feet (55 m) deep. No identifiable part of LSM-60 was ever found; it was presumably vaporized by the nuclear fireball. Ten ships were sunk, including the German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen , which sank in December, five months after

4902-500: The port of Bizerte , Tunisia , posing a serious threat to Allied strategy, a new mission emerged. On 16 November 1942, the crew led their group in an attack that took the Germans by surprise at Sidi Ahmed Air Base at Bizerte. Van Kirk returned to the U.S. in June 1943 after flying a total of 58 missions overseas. He served as an instructor navigator until reuniting with Tibbets and Ferebee in

4988-544: The results, Senator McMahon complained to Truman that the Navy should not be "solely responsible for conducting operations which might well indeed determine its very existence." Truman acknowledged that "reports were getting around that these tests were not going to be entirely on the level." He imposed a civilian review panel on Operation Crossroads to "convince the public it was objective." Pressure to cancel Operation Crossroads altogether came from scientists and diplomats. Manhattan Project scientists argued that further testing

5074-409: The risks of carrying this powerful missile. Throughout the mission the element of hazard from the unknown prevailed, for this was the first time that this bomb, much more destructive than any other in existence, had been dropped from an airplane. The effect it would have on the airplane and these crew members was only to be estimated. Shortly after 0900 they brought the plane in over the city, and at 0915

5160-522: The same sentence. In a war, there are so many questionable things done. Where was the morality in the bombing of Coventry , or the bombing of Dresden , or the Bataan Death March , or the Rape of Nanking , or the bombing of Pearl Harbor ? I believe that when you're in a war, a nation must have the courage to do what it must to win the war with a minimum loss of lives. In October 2007, Van Kirk auctioned off

5246-516: The ship to experience a 90% radiation reduction would still have received a lethal dose of 1,000 rems. In the assessment of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists : "a large ship, about a mile away from the explosion, would escape sinking, but the crew would be killed by the deadly burst of radiations from the bomb, and only a ghost ship would remain, floating unattended in the vast waters of

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5332-516: The ships did not become radioactive. Neutron activation of materials in the ships was judged to be a minor problem by the standards of the time. One sailor on the support ship USS  Haven was found to be "sleeping in a shower of gamma rays" from an illegal metal souvenir he had taken from a target ship. Fireball neutrons had made it radioactive. Within a day nearly all the surviving target ships had been reboarded. The ship inspections, instrument recoveries, and moving and remooring of ships for

5418-413: The target, was closer to the attack transport USS  Gilliam , in much less crowded water. In addition to the five ships that sank, fourteen were judged to have serious damage or worse, mostly as a result of the shock wave . All but three were located within 1,000 yards (900 m) of the detonation. Inside that radius, orientation to the bomb was a factor in shock wave impact. For example, ship #6,

5504-460: The task force personnel, and predictable ocean currents would allow material to be kept away from shipping lanes, fishing areas, and inhabited shores. Timing was critical because Navy manpower required to move the ships was being released from active duty as part of the post-World War II demobilization, and civilian scientists knowledgeable about atomic weapons were leaving federal employment for college teaching positions. On January 24, Blandy named

5590-548: The test and wrote President Truman about his objections to it, arguing that any data obtained from the test could be obtained more accurately and cheaply in a laboratory. Secretary of State James F. Byrnes , who a year earlier had told physicist Leo Szilard that a public demonstration of the bomb might make the Soviet Union "more manageable" in Europe, now argued the opposite: that further display of U.S. nuclear power could harden

5676-453: The test, because radioactivity prevented repairs to a leak in the hull. Photographs of Baker are unique among nuclear detonation pictures. The searing, blinding flash that usually obscures the target area took place underwater and was barely seen. The clear image of ships in the foreground and background gives a sense of scale. The large condensation cloud and the vertical water column are distinctive Baker shot features. One picture shows

5762-437: The test, thus "absent without leave" from its post on Sakawa and showing up about the same time other surviving pigs were captured. The high rate of test animal survival was due in part to the nature of single-pulse radiation. As with the two Los Alamos criticality accidents involving the earlier demon core , victims who were close enough to receive a lethal dose died, while those farther away recovered and survived. Also, all

5848-488: The tests and see an atomic bomb explode. The islands of the Bikini Atoll were used as instrumentation sites and, until Baker contaminated them, as recreation sites. Radio-controlled autopilots were installed in eight B-17 bombers, converting them into remote-controlled drones which were then loaded with automatic cameras, radiation detectors, and air sample collectors. Their pilots operated them from mother planes at

5934-416: The top, it pushed the water above it into a "spray dome", which burst through the surface like a geyser . Elapsed time since detonation was four milliseconds. During the first full second, the expanding bubble removed all the water within a 500-foot (150 m) radius and lifted two million tons of spray and seabed sand into the air. As the bubble rose at 2,500 feet per second (760 m/s), it stretched

6020-402: The uninhabited Rongerik Atoll , to begin a permanent exile. Three Bikini families returned in 1974 but were evacuated again in 1978 because of radioactivity in their bodies from four years of eating contaminated food. As of 2022, the atoll remains unpopulated. To make room for the target ships, 100 short tons (90 t) of dynamite were used to remove coral heads from Bikini Lagoon. On

6106-548: Was Deputy Task Force Commander for Aviation. Blandy codenamed the tests Operation Crossroads. Under pressure from the Army, Blandy agreed to crowd more ships into the immediate target area than the Navy wanted, but he refused USAAF Major General Curtis LeMay 's demand that "every ship must have a full loading of oil, ammunition, and fuel." Blandy's argument was that fires and internal explosions might sink ships that would otherwise remain afloat and be available for damage evaluation. When Blandy proposed an all-Navy board to evaluate

6192-541: Was Pig #311, which was reportedly found swimming in the lagoon after the blast and was brought back to the National Zoo in Washington, DC . The mysterious survival of Pig #311 caused some consternation at the time and has continued to be reported in error. However, an investigation pointed to the conclusion that it had neither swum in the ocean nor escaped the blast; it had likely been safely aboard an observation vessel during

6278-627: Was ailing. Van Kirk was present at the 2008 Thunder over Michigan Air Show. On Friday, April 9, 2010 Van Kirk spoke at the University of West Georgia in the Biology Building Lecture Hall. It was billed as "Lone Survivor of Enola Gay Visits UWG" . On September 3, 2010 Major Van Kirk, accompanied by his wife, appeared at the model air show "Warbirds Over Atlanta 2010" in Ball Ground, Georgia where he signed his books and photographs as

6364-478: Was announced as H or How hour; in the official JTF-1 history, the term M or Mike hour is used instead. There were only seven nuclear bombs in existence in July 1946. The two bombs used in the test were Fat Man plutonium implosion-type nuclear weapons of the kind dropped on Nagasaki. The Able bomb was stenciled with the name Gilda and decorated with an Esquire magazine photograph of Rita Hayworth , star of

6450-464: Was assembled in Bikini Lagoon and hit with two detonations of Fat Man plutonium implosion-type nuclear weapons of the kind dropped on Nagasaki in 1945, each with a yield of 23 kilotons of TNT (96  TJ ). The first test was Able . The bomb was named Gilda after Rita Hayworth 's character in the 1946 film Gilda and was dropped from the B-29 Superfortress Dave's Dream of

6536-709: Was born in Northumberland, Pennsylvania , to Frederick and Grace (Snyder) Van Kirk. He joined the Army Air Force Aviation Cadet Program in October 1941. On 1 April 1942, he received both his commission and navigator wings and transferred to the 97th Bomb Group , the first operational Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress unit in England. The crew of the "Red Gremlin" also included pilot Paul Tibbets and bombardier Tom Ferebee . Van Kirk would later fly with these men on

6622-620: Was dropped from the B-29 Dave's Dream of the 509th Bombardment Group . The plane, formerly known as Big Stink , had been the photographic equipment aircraft on the Nagasaki mission in 1945. It had been renamed in honor of Dave Semple , a bombardier who was killed during a practice mission on March 7, 1946. Gilda detonated 520 feet (158 m) above the target fleet, with a yield of 23 kilotons. Five ships were sunk. Two attack transports sank immediately, two destroyers within hours, and Sakawa

6708-512: Was made on August 16, 1945, by Lewis Strauss , future chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission . In an internal memo to Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal , Strauss argued, "If such a test is not made, there will be loose talk to the effect that the fleet is obsolete in the face of this new weapon and this will militate against appropriations to preserve a postwar Navy of the size now planned." With very few bombs available, he suggested

6794-576: Was not to duplicate a realistic anchorage but to measure damage as a function of distance from the blast center, at as many distances as possible. The arrangement also reflected the outcome of the Army/Navy disagreement about how many ships should be allowed to sink. The target fleet included four obsolete U.S. battleships, two aircraft carriers , two cruisers , thirteen destroyers , eight submarines , forty landing ships, eighteen transports, two oilers, one floating drydock, and three surrendered Axis ships,

6880-427: Was often asked, "given a choice about his role in the Hiroshima bombing, would he do it again?": Under the same circumstances – and the key words are "the same circumstances"  yes, I would do it again. We were in a war for five years. [ sic ] We were fighting an enemy that had a reputation for never surrendering, never accepting defeat. It's really hard to talk about morality and war in

6966-440: Was on the deck, unshielded. Had Nevada been fully manned, she would likely have become a floating coffin, dead in the water for lack of a live crew. Two years later she was finished off by an aerial torpedo 65 miles southwest of Pearl Harbor on 31 July 1948. In theory, every unprotected location on the ship received 10,000 rems (100 Sv) of initial nuclear radiation from the fireball. Therefore, people deep enough inside

7052-475: Was planned for 1947 but was canceled primarily because of the United States Navy 's inability to decontaminate the target ships after the Baker test. Ultimately, only nine target ships were able to be scrapped rather than scuttled . Charlie was rescheduled as Operation Wigwam , a deep-water shot conducted in 1955 off the coast of Mexico ( Baja California ). Bikini's native residents were evacuated from

7138-514: Was survived by his four children. His decorations include: Captain (Air Corps) Theodore J. Van Kirk, United States Army Air Forces, for gallantry in action while engaged in aerial flight against the Japanese Empire on 6 August 1945. Captain Van Kirk was Navigator for a combat crew of the B-29 aircraft of the 393d Bombardment Squadron , 509th Composite Group , 20th Air Force , which flew from

7224-504: Was that the bomb missed its aim point by 710 yards (649 m). The ship the bomb was aimed at failed to sink. The miss resulted in a government investigation of the flight crew of the B-29 bomber. Various explanations were offered, including the bomb's known poor ballistic characteristics, but none was convincing. Images of the drop were inconclusive. The bombsight was checked and found error free. Pumpkin bomb drops were conducted and were accurate. Colonel Paul W. Tibbets believed that

7310-496: Was the sturdily built Japanese battleship Nagato , ship #7, whose stern-on orientation to the bomb gave her some protection. Unrepaired damage from World War II may have complicated damage analysis. As the ship from which the Pearl Harbor attack had been commanded, Nagato was positioned near the aim point to guarantee her being sunk. The Able bomb missed its target, and the symbolic sinking came three weeks later, five days after

7396-476: Was unnecessary and environmentally dangerous. A Los Alamos study warned "the water near a recent surface explosion will be a witch's brew" of radioactivity. When the scientists pointed out that the tests might demonstrate ship survivability while ignoring the effect of radiation on sailors, Blandy responded by adding test animals to some of the ships, thereby generating protests from animal rights advocates. J. Robert Oppenheimer declined an invitation to attend

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