UNCUT! Famous Atomic cannon footage May 25, 1953

Wiki:The codename Grable was chosen because it is phonetic for the letter G, as in "gun", since the warhead was a gun-type fission weapon fired from a gun. As a shell, or artillery-fired atomic projectile (AFAP), the device was the first of its kind. The test remains the only nuclear artillery shell ever actually fired in the U.S. nuclear weapons test program.
Grable was the second of only four gun-type warheads ever detonated (the first was Little Boy, the last two were test firings of the W33; all other atomic weapons were implosion-type weapons). The shell, designated a Mark 9 nuclear weapon, had a diameter of 280 mm (11.02 in), was 1380 mm (54.4 in) long and weighed 364 kg (803 lb). The M65 Atomic Cannon from which it was fired had a muzzle velocity of 625 m/s (2,060 ft/s), for a nominal range of 32 km (20 mi), and weighed 77 metric tons (85 t).
The detonation of Grable occurred 19 seconds after its firing.It detonated over 11,000 yards (over 10 km, 6.25 mi) away from the gun it was fired from, over a part of the Nevada Test Site known as Frenchman Flat. The explosion was an air burst of 160 m (524 ft) above the ground (7 m (24 ft) above its designated burst altitude), 26 m (87 ft) west and 41 m (136 ft) south of its target (slightly uprange). Its yield was estimated at 15 kilotons, around the same level as Little Boy. An anomalous feature of the blast was the formation of a precursor, a second shock front ahead of the incident wave. This precursor was formed when the shock wave reflected off the ground and surpassed the incident wave and Mach stem due to a heated ground air layer and the low burst height. It resulted in a lower overpressure, but higher overall dynamic pressure, which inflicted much more damage on drag sensitive targets such as jeeps and personnel carriers. This led strategists to rethink the importance of low air bursts in tactical nuclear warfare.
Some images from Upshot-Knothole Grable were accidentally relabeled as belonging to the Priscilla shot from Operation Plumbbob in 1957. As a consequence, many publications, including official government documents, have the photo mislabeled.
Admiral Arthur W. Radford, at the time the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of Defense Charles E. Wilson were present for the test.

[@bravodelta3083]

Never seen the uncut footage before; thank you for posting!

[@willip66]

Brilliant. My favourite test shot. Love the delay from the gun fire until the explosion - I believe a distance of approx 7 miles from gun to ground zero.

[@GIZALARF]

The description say's 6.25 miles.

[@alphagt62]

It’s way too close!

[@jamesroets800]

Thanks for posting this! I've never seen the uncut footage before now.

[@ad_2211]

0:26 the initial flash feels bright enough to cause retina strain even on a regular smartphone screen!

[@paulchristman5875]

Great footage, but the music is way loud and distracting...

[@Jackkamerun]

this means it fits ! ..nuclear war is not comfort zone ..with Hamburger and Popcorn, get awake friend!

[@Z301B]

you have a mute button

[@Killerator80]

What music? All I heard was freedom...

[@cyb_structure]

You control the volume…🙄

[@P-G-77]

Nice footage, thanks

[@mn_draq4764]

it took 22 seconds from launch to hit the target with the warhead, if the film is completely original.

[@coltrainjw]

I like the color versions of this test better.

[@Ganiscol]

Annie gives you more BANG for the Buck! 💥

[@vap0rland]

_This is my boomstick!_ *Ash*

[@davidcope3304]

Old Annie. Wonder if she's still at the Fort Sill museum.

[@PE9A3p4hUfwv]

The actual gun that fired the shell is at the Museum of Nuclear History in Albuquerque, NM. Not sure how many total were made though.

[@davidcope3304]

@@PE9A3p4hUfwv The one that fired that shot is at Fort Sills U.S. Army Artillery Museum. Of the 20 M65's only 7 are left with most not even having the prime movers. I was stationed there for a few years

[@aloysiusbelisarius9992]

To think that 800-lb. shell gave off the same yield as the 10,000-lb. Little Boy bomb detonated eight years prior...AND, the basic configuration was the same: Both used uranium-gun configuration. Testament as to how committed they were in advancing nuclear-weapon development.

[@evadnitsua]

It is reported Little Boy's fallout cloud caused radio-active black-colored rain to fall on Hiroshima subsequent to detonation. I wonder if this did the same thing?

[@thenomadrhodes]

So what was the size of the warhead? That was a pretty damn big explosion.

[@skandalf9726]

you see the size of the barrel?

[@cyb_structure]

Description states it was a 15kt yield.

[@tricky778]

​@@skandalf9726not really, I see the number of pixels but I can't tell how each pixel relates to the standard metre since there's no reference object near it that I recognise. Even with the outer diameter of the barrel, that's merely an upper limit on two of the three dimensions of the size of the warhead.

[@JoelPerez-tn4yw]

❤❤❤

[@dand8538]

Hi Atomic Test Channel. One bit of test footage I saw when I was young was of test 219. Other than that one time I have never been able to find real test 219 footage. I have had many years of searching with no success. Could you guys please somehow find some test 219 footage. It is no easy task.

[@maughan3061]

I've always been skeptical about this footage. They could have set up a nuke test ready to go, and a few miles away they set up the gun. Then fire an ordinary shell, or a blank, from the gun, timed with the atomic explosion, to merely appear like the gun fired an atomic shell.

[@chrstfr]

To what end?

[@maughan3061]

@chrstfr Propaganda to counter communism. In 1953 Eisenhower gave a speech where he said the cold war, Americas number one priority, was a battle for the soul of man and introduced the idea that came to be known as the “bigger bang for the buck” defense strategy. That a cheaper and more efficient defense could be built around the nation’s nuclear arsenal. There were never any other nuclear artillery tests, and I simply do not believe the technology existed to miniaturise a device tough enough to fire from a gun.

[@gainmelk]

Oh boy, the comments are to die for.

[@maughan3061]

@@Radiowaves5150Its like I stole peoples dreams or something. Explain how I'm wrong then.

[@sionbarzad5371]

@@maughan3061 it's because there is no reason for them to ''fake it''. Ballistics by this time were pretty much completely mastered and having a delayed nuke fired from a cannon is nothing crazy in 1953.

[@willharmatuk4723]

So I guess I was tricked into thinking this was color footage… 😂

[@michaeltibuni255]

Lower music volume

[@alexdovbysh67]

👍

[@dominicseanmccann6300]

Always got time for Annie...

[@Mamo878]

Boom at :26

[@cyb_structure]

💥

[@quasaristmagnetar2658]

why the shockwave didn't reach the cannon? or I didn't see it?

[@Digi20]

it does so roughly 35 seconds (10km+ distance) after the detonation at around 1:02 in the video i believe. keep in mind that was "only" 15kt at 10+km distance. not much happening there.

[@dand8538]

1:04 The camera movement. Think that was it.

[@richardlangdon712]

That had to of scared the crap out of the Russians.

[@bneto1309]

Alguém sabe dizer qual a potência desta explosão? Obrigado!

[@Red-rl1xx]

15 kilotons, I'm pretty sure.

[@billmadison2032]

I'll take stupid inventions for a thousand Alex

[@hebegebes1785]

saw it🤪

[@ertugrulcetin2650]

N

[@ProfessorJayTee]

Cut the damned VOLUME before playing! Why do people feel the need to add ridiculous music?

[@crushedrgb]

Do you have volume control? Use it!

[@82ndVet]

Trump will be releasing the files on this test that created both The Hulk & Atom Ant along with all the other South Pacific Test created creatures from Godzilla to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

[@Ganiscol]

Were those part of the classified files he stole and hid in a bathroom? 😂

[@82ndVet]

@ Yes the stolen by Biden hidden in his Bathroom & Garage Files. 🙄

[@СергейВладимирович-е8х]

Где Америка там всегда смерть и страдания