WHY OPERATION CROSSROADS? 



shape of the water cloud would be, how big the water 

 ''crater" would be, or at what ranges ships might be 

 broken or capsized by the first giant solitary wave ex- 

 pected to tower 100 ft. high from trough to crest. 



Complete unknowns were such matters as: What 

 percentage of the lethal fission products from the 

 underwater explosion would remain trapped in the 

 water? How badly would these insidious products 

 contaminate the target ships ? Would they seep inside 

 the ships ? How long would their deadly effect linger ? 

 What could be done to wash them awa}^? Would an 

 entire harbor be seriously affected? 



If we could get answers to all these questions, then 

 we could dare tackle the really big questions : Which is 

 more serious, the explosion in air or the explosion 

 underwater? What loss of military efficiency or gen- 

 eral crippling of an actual fieet will result from an 

 atomic bomb explosion? What new naval tactics are 

 required? How should our shipbuilding program be 

 modified? Are heavier ships now less valuable and 

 lighter ships more valuable, or vice versa? Should we 

 cut down our largest naval bases and make more of 

 smaller size ? In short, what must be done for our Navy 

 to be of maximum use in the next ten or twenty years 

 of the Nucleonics Age ? 



Some persons urged calling off the tests. They 

 pointed to the high cost, expected to be many millions 

 of dollars. They condemned sacrificing seaworthy ships. 

 They feared tidal waves and chain-reactions in sea 



