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Nuclear Test Film - Operation Tumbler-Snapper
31 kt · Apr 1, 1952 · Nevada Test Site · 2 Hiroshimas
Operation Tumbler-Snapper (1952, Nevada) ran eight shots split between weapons development ('Tumbler') and military effects ('Snapper'). It produced some of the most-reproduced footage of the era, including high-speed film of the shock front racing across the desert floor and the structures, vehicles and mannequins arranged to absorb it.
Aftermath
Fallout from the Nevada series drifted across Utah and into the Midwest. The Atomic Energy Commission's public assurances of safety stood in sharp contrast to the radiation monitoring it was quietly conducting on the same downwind communities.