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For obvious reasons these photographs no more than hint at the tremendous 

 amount of data obtained concerning the effect of the bombs upon ships and material. 

 They necessarily slight the technical and scientific lessons learned at Bikini. They do, 

 however, evidence an incontestable truth. The Atomic Age is here. It is no myth. 

 Nor is the atomic bomb "just another weapon." It is the most lethal destructive 

 agent yet devised by man. Its energy release is staggering; its radioactivity is slow- 

 killing poison. 



The purpose of these tests was to determine the effect of the atom bomb against 

 various types of naval vessels. With the information secured, we can improve our ship 

 design, tactics, and strategy, to minimize our losses in the unfortunate event of war 

 waged with atomic weapons. A reliable and continuously effective plan to avoid com- 

 petition in atomic armaments is the best possible defense against surprise attacks. With 

 such a plan, atomic energy can in time become the controlled slave of man's peacetime 

 pursuits. In the face of this new knowledge, these recently discovered truths concerning 

 the atom, so suddenly thrust upon an already chaotic world, not only warfare but civi- 

 lization itself literally stands at the Crossroads. Hence the name of this operation. 



/wwv* 



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