Operation Redwing - Nuclear Test Film (1956)

Courtesy: U.S. Department of Energy
0800019 - Operation Redwing - 1956 - 25:45 - Black&White - Operation Redwing, a 17-test nuclear weapons series, was conducted at the Pacific Proving Ground between May 4 and July 21, 1956. The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) tested high-yield thermonuclear devices that could not be tested at the Nevada Test Site.
Over 10,000 military personnel and civilian employees of the AEC and the Department of Defense participated in these nuclear tests. The LACROSSE and CHEROKEE tests were observed from aboard the USS Mt. McKinley by 15 American press, radio and television reporters. These were the first uncleared U.S. civilians in ten years to observe an American nuclear test in the Pacific.
The AEC's progress in miniaturization of warheads had accelerated to where the equivalent of the 90-ton weight of the MIKE device in Operation Ivy could now be dropped from a bomber. Operation Redwing also further advanced the AEC's designs of nuclear weapons that would produce reduced fallout and provided new information for the design of nuclear warheads for missiles.
Complete weapons systems were exposed to blast effects in Operation Redwing, and a fallout computer was successfully used for the first time. The series included the CHEROKEE test, the first airdrop by U.S. of a thermonuclear weapon.
Tests comprising the 1956 Operation Redwing were as follows:
LACROSSE, May 4, Enewetak (Runit Island), surface, weapons related, 40 kilotons (kt)
CHEROKEE, May 20, Bikini (near Nam Island), airdrop, weapons related, 3.8 megatons (Mt)
(allowed scientists to make some unique measurements)
ZUNI, May 27, Bikini (Eneman Island), surface, weapons related, 3.5 Mt
YUMA, May 27, Enewetak (Aomon Island), tower, weapons related, 190 tons
ERIE, May 30, Enewetak (Runit Island), tower, weapons related, 14.9 kt
SEMINOLE, June 6, Enewetak (Boken Island), surface, weapons related, 13.7 kt
FLATHEAD, June 11, Bikini (off Iroij Island), barge, weapons related, 365 kt
BLACKFOOT, June 11, Enewetak (Runit Island), tower, weapons related, 8 kt
KICKAPOO, June 13, Enewetak (Aomon Island), tower, weapons related, 1.49 kt
OSAGE, June 16, Enewetak (near Runit Island), airdrop, weapons related, 1.7 kt
INCA, June 21, Enewetak ( Lujor Island), tower, weapons related, 15.2 kt
DAKOTA, June 25, Bikini (off Iroij Island), barge, weapons related, 1.1 Mt
MOHAWK, July 2, Enewetak (Eleleron Island), tower, weapons related, 360 kt
APACHE, July 8, Enewetak (off Dridrilbwij Island), barge, weapons related, 1.85 Mt
NAVAJO, July 10, Bikini (off Iroij Island), barge, weapons related, 4.5 Mt
TEWA, July 20, Bikini (off Nam Island), barge, weapons related, 5 Mt
HURON, July 21, Enewetak (off Dridrilbwij Island), barge, weapons related, 250 kt

[@Zoomer30_]

I don't often watch nuclear test videos. But when I do I always watch them sanitized. Stay radioactive my friends.

[@nicholasmaude6906]

I'd like to watch them unreacted.

[@borntoclimb7116]

Youre the radioactiv men

[@mnbalfour1985]

It's amazing that you get a Wilson cloud with even the lowest yield nukes like the 1.7 kilotonne Osage shot.

[@trolleriffic]

A decent sized conventional explosion will produce a Wilson cloud in humid air.

[@pandzban4533]

1.1 kilotons kzbin.info/www/bejne/iaebpYZqlMmFqM0

[@user-cr5yy4te3i]

@@trolleriffic for instance, the Lebanon fertilizer explosion

[@HookEcho100]

Thanks for posting this.

[@charleshultquist9233]

I'd like to see a follow up years later to see if the pilots and crews of those planes that flew through the clouds had any increase incidence of cancer etc.

[@user-sp6jk3zz5b]

A Congressional report after documents were declassified relating to the atomic testing showed high incidents of cancer among AF pilots and the Navy ..A special compensation fund was set up in the 1990s. My father who was part of Task Force 7 2 in the army received a letter but he never developed cancer

[@Indrid__Cold]

The guys who got cancer would have probably gotten it anyway.

[@SullenSkoung]

my grandfather was involved in this operation. I still have his badge from when he was there

[@lindaeasley4336]

My dad was a participant as an army engineer during the Operation Redwing Eniwetok detonation. HE is gone now but my mom saved his ID badge

[@dghhambo]

I hope being part of it never made him ill

[@SullenSkoung]

@@dghhambo He died of according to the VA, "totally unrelated to service" squamish small cell throat cancer. I got to watch him die.

[@dghhambo]

@@SullenSkoung I am sorry. My dad had throat cancer but he smokes three packs a day.

[@wesleymantooth8016]

wave your nearest geiger counter over the badge.

[@EvulDali]

How the hell does this man manage to make Hbombs boring i will never know!

[@Ronbo710]

I think he was going for feasibility.

[@lilblackduc7312]

Valium.

[@ChandlerBrown13]

My grandfather is on one of those helicopters at 4:28. HMH 363. Still wears the hat to this day.

[@user-li8et1ye2k]

I was on the Badoeng Straight during these tests

[@RawH2o]

My father was crew chief 88 now won't talk much about it.

[@user-sp6jk3zz5b]

​​@@RawH2o My dad was in the army and participated as part of Task Force 7.2. He never talked about it either. Guess he never saw it as something to be proud over. Mishaps occured that lead to radioactive contamination of participants

[@user-li8et1ye2k]

I was there during the tests, aboard the CVE 116 USS Badoeng Straight

[@donaldrichey5866]

I was also there on the USS Navasota AO- 106.There aren't many of us who can make that claim. I am now 86 years old and as far as I know I'm in perfect health.

[@derealfantom443]

@@donaldrichey5866 nice to meet you.

[@geonerd]

Thanks again.

[@Ronbo710]

If they did they would have tried. Actually it was their fear of the unknown that kept everyone in their place. And the world was a Hell of a lot safer in those days than it is today.

[@davidh9844]

Crews would only be exposed to 75 Roentgens??? Good god, those people didn't have a clue as to what they were doing and who they were killing!

[@brianoneil6920]

Of course nuclear studies were in the beginning stages

[@marshmallowbudgie]

"Hi, I'm Troy McClure! You may remember me ..."

[@Wildstar40]

You been binge watching The Simpsons ?

[@hibco3000]

😂

[@tinafoster8665]

*.. from such idiotic nuclear propaganda shows as, "Atoms for Vibrators, It's AAAALL Good", and "Tommy Neutron: bad kid on the Block",.." LOL

[@alexandercarder2281]

I remember

[@wesleymantooth8016]

@@tinafoster8665 Quote was so funny you had to post it twice, huh?

[@Zoomer30]

Safety of Task Force personnel is our top priority 😉. Now go fly into that mushroom cloud like a good solider.

[@SullenSkoung]

My grandfather (who died of totally nonrelated according to the VA small cell throat cancer) was one of those poor bastards tasked with flying in those clouds. He told me sometimes they never put film in their dossimiters so they never knew exactly how much radiation they were exposed to

[@Zoomer30]

​@@SullenSkoung Easier to avoid a lawsuit that way 🙄. The military had the idea that these "peace time" risks were equal to the risks taken in war. But they didn't need to be taken.

[@Indrid__Cold]

50 rads for 21 pilots. "Hey Joe, did the hair on YOUR nutsack fall out?"

[@kaizee808]

The only megaton scale tests done on U.S soil (that I am aware of) were 'Cannikin' and 'Milrow', underground tests conducted on Amchitka, Alaska. The largest atmospheric test conducted on U.S. soil was 'Hood', a 74 KT device.

[@lindydickinson70]

kaizee808 ok

[@lindydickinson70]

Sucks

[@alexandergallant79]

Why did they do underground tests ? Like what . I get underwater kind of and barely but ? Did it not make a earthquake or idk

[@WGarbarczyk]

@@alexandergallant79 tests were moved underground to prevent radiation from entering the atmosphere. The Partial Test Ban Treaty is the abbreviated name of the 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water, which prohibited all test detonations of nuclear weapons except for those conducted underground.

[@alexandergallant79]

@@WGarbarczyk so it doesn’t create a earthquake underground?

[@kc8hnz]

This one seems to have more redacted then most. I have the feeling he was describing specifics for each shot as they were listed. These were weapon development so I suppose no surprise there.

[@lava96753]

I love the Navy and always have i didn't feel frightened. I was on a detail that went from island to island to take radiatin readings, I have reservations about "nukes" these days. Considering the half life of radiactivity is of concern

[@user-cr5yy4te3i]

the bright cheery glow of a thermonuclear fireball warms the cockles of my heart💛💛💛💛💛💚💚💚💚💚💙💙💙💙🖤🖤🖤

[@kamakaziozzie3038]

“Sanitized” films make me feel much cleaner during the time of viewing

[@RoboCorpse3000]

@TheClaywell I would love to see a subtitled Russian film of the same type. I can't even guess how creepy that would be.

[@tumbullweed]

This video is a blast 💥👍🏼😂thanks buddy for your work 🗽

[@kamakaziozzie3038]

I’d never heard that one before! 😄👍

[@smoothvirus]

26:41 Be kind, rewind!

[@Zoomer30]

I was trying to Google "Fallout computer" and you can imagine how well that worked.

[@borntoclimb7116]

11:32 great footage. 24:31 impressive view

[@Indrid__Cold]

I sure would like to listen to that "final report" video.

[@apriori7]

@10:30 "Perhaps at the expense of efficiency" I think is a reference to the football shaped subcritical primary that is compressed to form a supercritical sphere in which a bit more fissile material is required. Btw, I think Tewa was one of the dirtiest devices tested. Anybody know if it would be possible to employ a typical primary/secondary thermonuclear setup to initiate Helium fusion in a third stage (i know its not practical or useful but just curious if its possible)?

[@CThyran]

Decade old comment so this is probably worthless to you by now but yeah if I recall right fusion bombs exist but they're quite complicated.

[@josephastier7421]

4:38 Heliocopter? For landing on the Sun?

[@anniesmith7046]

This information is intended for 12CeeSee and all who had family members in Operation Redwing May to July 1956. My father-in law was in the United States Army, a Chemist. His role was to measure the levels of radiation from the Meters / Badges. Yes, these a atrocities have occurred. The one positive aspect that we learned form this is that we know how much radiation levels that a Doctor, Nurses, Medical Workers, and Patients can tolerate before becoming toxic. This also includes medical procedures such as Non Blind needle entries for epidurals. At this point somewhere around 4 units are safe and in the past 16 was safe. My Father-In Law would be proud that the work he performed was not for no reason at all. I know the true intensions were not for what I mentioned above, but perhaps for war. Thank you Dad and All Veterans for your protection. On more thing I would like to mention is the Enlisted Men in the Navy and Army had no idea what they were transporting to the Marshall Islands. The freight was protected by The US Marine Corp... Thank you again.

[@nutsackmania]

HUH?

[@theq4602]

Spencer Tossas I wish I could have been there. Working on one of the many projects for test. To see the flash and the cloud. It would have been glorious.

[@orange70383]

+Spencer Tossas Protection from what, fictitious enemies made up by our government to justify their actions. I'm ashamed of how easily our population has been brainwashed, only a few percent seem to have any sort of discernment ability, it's sad.

[@anniesmith7046]

This is considered in poor taste because my Father- in law has now been deceased for more then two years. The main cause of death was Thyroid Cancer from witnessing 5 hydrogen bombs. The DNA chromosomes changed , including his children, my wife. Witnessing his death in Hospice places a poor taste in my mouth. What generated theses comments?

[@theq4602]

Spencer Tossas He did it for his country bro.

[@RawH2o]

My dad was there and kicking 87 years young!

[@Ronbo710]

Was a mega-ton yield bomb ever ground tested on U.S. soil (White Sands etc.) ? Thanks for these GREAT films !!

[@toddbowers418]

A 9 Mt warhead safety features were put to the test near Damascus Arkansas on September 18-19, 1980. Thanks to excellent engineering it did not detonate.

[@Indrid__Cold]

There were some notable underground tests done after the atmospheric test ban. One was a test named: Operation Flintlock - BoxcarDate: April 26, 1968 with a yield of 1.3 megatons done at the Nevada Test Site.

[@jorgecallico9177]

Like children playing with matches and razor blades. "Hey, let's store the 9mm semi-auto in the toddler's room"!

[@Indrid__Cold]

"Previous to Redwing, all weather forecasting consisted of "finger in the wind" technology."

[@appleguyone]

Today its known as The Defense Threat Reduction Agency in Ft Belvoir. What a place to work.

[@TheClaywell]

This is spooky as fuck.

[@Ronbo710]

Joe's Taliban passed their background check. Even spookier.

[@tinafoster8665]

"HI, I'm Troy McClure, you may remember me from such idiotic nuclear propaganda films as, "Atoms for Vibrators, It's AAAALL Good", and "Tommy Neutron: bad kid on the Block",.." LOL

[@micnorton9487]

HEY YOU lol excellent 👍👍👍...

[@notyou1567]

Beautiful!

[@roquefortfiles]

You'll be very sanitized by 100 million degrees.

[@dougg1075]

What the hell could still be classified?

[@pucky8231]

Even the oldest nuclear weapon designs still pose a danger in the wrong hands.

[@wesleymantooth8016]

This must be the boring dinosaur guy that Robin Williams pulled the rug out from under in Mrs. Doubtfire 😴

[@UHK-Reaper]

Its just amazing. Every single element is created at detonation however fleeting. The thing is a decent engineer could make a device but you could never fuel it. You could make the lenses, ebw detonators, machine the cases, the rotary switchs, neutron initiator, reflectors, tampers and whatever else but the exotic materials for some of those and the fuel itself isn't attainable. Thank god.

[@TwoTreesStudio]

oh you sweet summer child

[@gbyrne]

These lunatics thought they could win a nuclear war !

[@lindaeasley4336]

Something demented about the term " nuclear battlefield " They saw nuclear bombs as just another weapon like a grenade or machine gun .It only took one to wipe out an entire nation

[@sam23696]

state of the art! wow wat is the world coming to

[@user-sd9ze8ci9k]

Смотришь на него и думаешь "Хороший американец" , а на самом он делает ядерные испытания

[@nicholasmaude6906]

I want to see these films declassified AND unredacted!

[@lindaeasley4336]

It's hard to wrap your mind around the fact that the US military once considered nuclear bombs an acceptable part of future warfare

[@puncheex2]

No, more at NTS: Mandrel/Handley: 1.6 MT Underground shaft (UGS) Crosstie/Boxcar: 1.3 MT UGS Bowline/Benham: 1.1 MT UGS Anvil/Kaseri: 1.0 MT UGS

[@puncheex2]

See answer above.

[@TwoTreesStudio]

pretty scary that the people who were deciding whether to destroy humanity couldn't even make the right decision about whether to say nuclear or nucular

[@Picasso_305]

What a crock of crap on pilot safety

[@benquinney2]

Essex Nimitz

[@jayc2469]

21:42 Twenty One Pilots

[@GrizzlyPanda347]

MO-HAWK gren-ADE!!!

[@lowowl5299]

Just imagine if this footage was Iranian. CHILL OUT LOL

[@sevenpark]

vaul-tec real life

[@billbill3890]

I love these old propaganda documentaries with their vibrator music.

[@alexandercarder2281]

I can’t hear any vibrators

[@johnhopkins6260]

the presenter is about as interesting to listen to, as watching laundry dry.

[@burntorangeak]

This comment has been redacted.

[@lava96753]

i was there i was 18 yrs of age in the US Navy. as far as i know i wont say more

[@Indrid__Cold]

A lot of money for these tests! In today's dollars we are talking BILLIONS.

[@buckhorncortez]

So? It cost over $1B for each Space Shuttle launch...

[@DanielSmith-gv4kl]

This is why we have climate change. Not because of my suv.

[@baalofekron6663]

Yeah it can always be only one thing! It ain't your suv it would be the million other ones!

[@Indrid__Cold]

Just imagine if the SIOP as written in the late fifties had been launched. We'd have had single bomber wings capable of dropping over a thousand megatons of yield on the enemy. With bombs like the B-41 Y variant, we could not only have destroyed the biggest cities, but also sowed the surrounding hundred thousand square miles with enough fallout to kill every living thing except cockroaches. Sigh.......

[@JB-sl7vv]

Oh aye... Let us natter about this one.. MK - ULTEA is REAL

[@peterfirside295]

so much death.............how is that a good thing ?

[@buckhorncortez]

It stopped the use of nuclear weapons and subsequent world wars...?

[@peterfirside295]

@@buckhorncortez Why have them at all if they will not be used?

[@jessestovall7455]

I love Jesus Christ Aman 🙏🙏🙏

[@kollusion1]

What a poor choice of presenter.

[@brosefmcman8264]

What a great time to be an American!🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸