Battery of Cameras in Steel Towers for Atomic Test Close-Ups, Bikini Atoll

Battery of Cameras in Steel Towers for Atomic Test Close-Ups, Bikini Atoll
  • s-3020
  • Photograph
  • June 26, 1946
  • BATTERY OF CAMERAS IN STEEL TOWERS TO MAKE “CLOSE UP” PHOTOGRAPHS OF ATOMIC TEST—So that scientists and the public may get first hand information on the atomic bomb tests at Bikini, hundreds of cameras of all types will be aimed at the target ships anchored in Bikini Atoll. Army and Navy photographers flying at a safe distance from the target array will photograph the blast from start to finish. Cameras located inside these seventy-five foot steel towers will give “close-up” pictures, however. Towers such as the one shown in the photograph are located in strategic spots on various of the Islands in Bikini Atoll. Each tower contains still and motion picture cameras of various focal lengths and film sizes. Certain of the cameras will be started manually the day prior to the test and will operate electrically every few seconds over a period of several days. The remainder of the cameras will be started by radio impulse from a remote control station in one of the photographic planes or an observing ship. Cameras must be started by remote control as there will be no human being on any of the Islands near the scene of the atomic tests.

    U.S. Navy Sea Bees fasten steel corners of camera tower to concrete foundation.