They Stood UNDER a Nuclear Explosion on Purpose

On 19 July 1957, five US Air Force officers stood at ground zero in the Nevada desert while a nuclear rocket exploded high above their heads. No bunker, no helmets, just summer uniforms, next to a hand-painted sign: "Ground Zero. Population 5." The rocket was the AIR-2 Genie, an unguided air-to-air rocket with a nuclear warhead, built to destroy whole formations of Soviet bombers. Because it would explode over American and Canadian towns, the Air Force wanted proof that the people underneath would be safe. The men were fine, and the gamma and neutron doses measured on the ground were negligible. A sixth man stood with them: George Yoshitake, the Defense Department photographer who filmed it. The Genie stayed in service with the US and Canada into the 1980s. Sources: Robert Krulwich, "Five Men Agree To Stand Directly Under An Exploding Nuclear Bomb", NPR (2012); "AIR-2 Genie" and "Operation Plumbbob", Wikipedia; Operation Plumbbob shot list, Nuclear Weapon Archive (1.7 kt, burst at 18,500 ft). #history #coldwar #nuclear #shorts