It was 55 years ago today...

[Hardbopjazz]

that first nuke was set off in the Bikini atoll.

Edited May 21, 2011 by Hardbopjazz

[BERIGAN]

Wouldn't that be 65 years ago???

[Hardbopjazz]

I thought so too. But the article states it was 55 years ago.

Friday marks the 55th anniversary of the United States dropping the first airborne hydrogen bomb on the Bikini atoll in the Pacific Ocean. The test was a success and symbolized a huge leap in the nuclear arms race.

According to the History Channel, people who witnessed the test remarked the resulting fireball "measured at least four miles in diameter and was brighter than the light from 500 suns."

In honor of the anniversary, LIFE.com has published a series of bomb-test photos that are both frightening and beautiful (see the full LIFE.com collection on the website). You can check out the images below, and see not just the fireballs and explosions, but also the bomb's impact on "test houses" and mannequins that researchers used to measure the bomb's terrifying power.

Article

Edited May 21, 2011 by Hardbopjazz

[PHILLYQ]

I'm 55 next month and was born in '56, well after Hiroshima/Nagasaki???!!!

[JSngry]

From the comments:

In case anyone is confused about which test this article is talking about, it was the Cherokee H-bomb airdrop which was part of Operation Redwing May 20, 1956. Not the first or even second hydrogen bomb, but the first one airdropped.

[A Lark Ascending]

The key words are 'H-bomb' and 'airborne'.

Edit: Sorry - just saw JSngry's post after posting.

The one I always think of is the 1954 test where a Japanese fishing vessel got caught:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/1/newsid_2781000/2781419.stm

First H Bomb was 1952 (with the Soviets catching up the following year):

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2388027.stm

Edited May 21, 2011 by A Lark Ascending