Operation Crossroads: Atomic Tests at Bikini Atoll

• Senator Brien McMahon advocated for further atomic bomb testing on captured Japanese ships on August 25, 1945.
• Chief of Naval Operations Ernest J. King favored testing the atomic bomb on naval vessels, leading to negotiations with the Manhattan Project in October 1945.
• Vice Admiral William H.P. Blandy commanded the joint Army-Navy task force for the tests.
• The military aimed to study the atomic bomb's effect on naval vessels to improve ship design, tactical formations, base locations, and strategic ship disposition.
• Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands was chosen as the test site.
• In February 1946, Commodore Ben H. Wyatt convinced 165 natives of Bikini Atoll to temporarily leave their homes, with the promise of return after the tests.
• The U.S. Navy relocated the Bikini inhabitants to Rongerik Island in March 1946.
• On July 25, 1946, Test Baker, the first underwater nuclear explosion, detonated 90 feet below the surface.
• Test Baker released radioactive water onto the target fleet, sinking eight ships, including the aircraft carrier Saratoga (CV-3).
• Eight ships and two submarines were towed to Hawaii for radiological inspection.
• Twelve ships were deemed safe and crewed for a return voyage to the United States.
• Contaminated ships were either scuttled in Bikini Atoll or taken to Kwajalein Atoll for decontamination.
• Tests Able and Baker sank 14 ships, excluding those later sunk due to radioactivity.
• Photos from the tests were carefully selected for public release.
• The President’s Civilian Evaluation Commission and the Joint Chiefs of Staff reported the deadly effects of radiation on animals aboard the ships.
• Test Charlie was postponed due to concerns about decontamination and radiation safety.
• Joint Task Force One was dispersed on November 1, 1946.
• The Atomic Energy Act of 1946 established the Atomic Energy Commission, replacing the Manhattan Project in January 1947.
• From 1947 to 1958, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission conducted 23 detonations at Bikini Atoll.
• The U.S. government allowed Bikini natives to return in 1970, but evacuated them again in 1978 because of high radiation levels.
• During Operation Crossroads, only 15% of personnel received dosimeters to measure radiation exposure.
• In the 1970s-1980s, veterans voiced concerns, leading the DOD to study radiation exposure among test participants.
• The DOD created a Nuclear Test Personnel Review (NTPR) in 1978 to identify personnel involved in atmospheric nuclear weapon tests.
• Congress later passed a bill providing compensation to "atomic veterans" with specific cancers resulting from radiation exposure.
• In 1994, President Bill Clinton started an Advisory Committee on Human Radiation Experiments and apologized for the government's actions.
• The Nuclear Radiation and Secrecy Agreement Act was repealed in 1996.
• In 1997, the IAEA advised against permanent resettlement of Bikini Atoll due to radiological conditions.
• The natives of Bikini Atoll are still exiled from their homeland due to radiation.
• On July 1, 1946, 95 ships were placed in Bikini Atoll lagoon as a target fleet.
• Animal subjects were placed on ships to study the effects of the bomb on future ship crews.
• The support fleet, consisting of over 150 ships, withdrew 10 nautical miles from the atoll.
• On July 1, 1946, a B-29 bomber dropped the first bomb, which detonated 520 feet above the target fleet.
• Five of the 95 ships sunk in this first test, Test Able, with many suffering topside damage because of the aerial blast.

Operation Crossroads was a series of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in 1946. The tests aimed to study the effects of atomic bombs on naval vessels. This involved relocating the native population and performing underwater detonations.