Paintings of Nuclear Explosions

After reading Scott Snyder’s “The 13th Egg” (subscription required), I found myself in a particularly good position to appreciate the U.S. Navy’s paintings of the Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests, as described by Snyder. “Operations Crossroads” was staged in 1946 to determine the effects of a nuclear explosion on warships, and the military had Gunnery Sergeant Grant Powers, USMC, on hand to render his observations. (Two other soldiers contributed paintings, too, presumably on their own time.)

Over ninety surplus, captured, or damaged vessels were brought to the island’s lagoon to be subjected to a pair of nuclear detonations. Two 21 kiloton bombs were tested: Able, a low-altitude explosion, and Baker, a shallow-water explosion. With the men safely 11.5 miles away, a B-29 dropped Able. Five ships were sunk by the blast. Twenty four days later, Baker was detonated. Eight ships were sunk, and many were damaged. Though the radiation from Able dispersed safely within a day, Baker’s most serious effects lasted weeks. The process of cleaning or disposing of the radioactive ships lasted nearly a year.

Check out the dozens of beautiful paintings that captured this event. Especially nice is the scene two seconds after Able, the view through protective goggles, the comic-style rendering of sailors watching the explosion, the destroyed USS Independence, and the USS Arkansas being tossed into the air by Baker. If we’re going to blow things up, we may as well be left with some nice paintings.