page 142 



THE SKIES LOOK DOWN. High above Bikini la- 

 goon an aerial camera caught this impressive 

 view of the Able Test. Note that the shock wave, 

 the circular arc clearly visible on the surface of 

 the water, has just about reached the Atoll islands 

 nearest to the bomb detonation point. In the 

 same space of time the bomb cloud has risen many 



thousand feet into the sky. Position of the shock 

 wave indicates that all this action has required no 

 more than about five seconds. It was essential to 

 the safety of the Task Force personnel that the 

 radioactive cloud be dissipated into the upper 

 atmosphere without being brought back into the 

 area by high altitude counter-winds. 



