Trinity Site Anniversary

[THE PILGRIM]

Trinity was the first detonation of a nuclear weapon, conducted by the United States Army at 5:29 a.m. MWT on July 16, 1945, as part of the Manhattan Project. The test was of an implosion-design plutonium bomb, or "gadget", of the same design as the Fat Man bomb later detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945.
It’s the 80th Anniversary of the Atom Bomb.
This is Ben Benjamin. He’s the only guy that I ever met who was there.
He was an Army Buck Sergeant, Instrumentation Tech and Photographer.
When it went Boom, he was in one of the 10,000 Yard Bunkers.
I asked him how did you know how to set the cameras? They had a bunch!
Remember, back then the settings were all manual.
He replied , we didn’t know. Just estimated a range, and set them.
Some were open too wide and the blast burned a hole in the film.

 

[biku324]

Trinity Site is about 75 miles from my home.

 

[LVSteve]

Today is the 14th, Bastille Day, so the OP baffles me a little.

 

[biku324]

It's the 15th across the Date Line.

 

[LVSteve]

...so it still isn't the 16th.

 

[biku324]

Oh, c'mon - don't be a Debbie Downer!

 

[fordson]

It’ll be the 16th tomorrow…….don't rush it…..

 

[ACORN]

Today’s the tomorrow you thought about yesterday

 

[TX-Dennis]

My family visited the Trinity Site when I was around 10 years old. What I remember most is being worried about the radiation which we were told was still present (obviously.)

Hey, I was a kid. The historical significance was lost on me. I'm sure Mom had pictures of the monument, but I haven't been able to find them in her boxes of photos. I remember an ominous feeling about the site, but again - I was just a kid.

 

[SMSgt]

After Trinity was Tinian, where Fatman and Little Boy were loaded on B-29s. My dad helped build the two loading pits, now covered with a glass dome to keep the tourists from falling in.

 

[Rudi]

From a documentary, I remember, the flash so bright, that a blind person "saw" it. Many photons.

 

[dockmurgw]

Here's an interesting read on the subject.

MSN