Macdonald, Rod Bikini Atoll

Shipwrecks of the Nuclear Tests

The Japanese Empire officially surrendered to the Allies on 2 September 1945, after atomic bombs had been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The fighting was over, but a new weapon had entered the world stage, which nations now desperately sought to develop and master. The United States needed an extremely remote location to conduct its experimental nuclear weapons tests. They chose Bikini Atoll, a beautiful coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean that belongs to the Marshall Islands and is perhaps the most remote island group in the world. The nuclear tests were given the code name Operation Crossroads. The 157 native islanders were relocated from their once peaceful tropical paradise, while American and captured German and Japanese battleships, cruisers, destroyers, submarines and aircraft carriers were brought into the lagoon and anchored around the test area to study the effects of a nuclear explosion on them. In total, the US conducted twenty-two nuclear tests on the atoll between 1946 and 1957. Unsurprisingly, Bikini was closed to all visitors until the 1990s. Now that radiation levels have fallen to safe levels, Bikini has been able to reopen its doors. With the wrecks of some of the most famous warships of the Second World War, Bikini has become a magnet for divers. Despite its fame, however, little has been written about the shipwrecks of Bikini. Renowned diver Rod Macdonald is known for his books on World War II shipwrecks in Truk Lagoon and Palau. He has now explored and photographed the wrecks of Bikini. In addition to a detailed analysis of the Able and Baker nuclear tests, this book presents a collection of unique images of the wrecks that vividly illustrate the effects of the most devastating weapons known to mankind.