The Wilmington morning star., 1946-07-01
MORE ABOUT
ONE SHIP
FROM PAGE ONE

mushrooms, WIN LHe SIedI SoP
it thousands of feet above tne
lagoon in a matter of 10 minutes.
The colors we're incredibly lovely.
The center of the column was glow
ing rose, and the billowing edges
of the cloud were creamy white
gradually suffused by a rose glow
as it mounted into the blue heav-
ems.
Ships Smoking
From planes circling the lagoon
came word that some ships were
smoking and possibly were ablaze
out. there in the lonely, deserted
lagoon of ghost ships-now an
area of death.
The bomb exploded exactly on
time, and evidently fell dead over
the center of the target fleet.
The bomb drop vas a success"
Admiral Blandy reported quickly
from his flagship.
Receives Reports
The Appalachian vas receiving
reports from all parts of the fleet
and from more than thceescore
planes in the air, Photographic
the explosion and making scienti-
fic recordings.
A super-thrilling spectacle, hold
ing newsmen ~enthralled, the atomic
blast was nevertheless a second.
rate show.
God, I'm disappointed" one
man said after the first dazzling
ball of fire broke from the horizon
and rushed into the sky.
Tension Terrific
A terrific tension had been built
up in onlookers waiting for the
seconds to pass and the bomb to
drop. Maj. Woodrow P. Swancutt
sent his B-29 bomber, dawes
Dream" on her first dry run across
the lagoon at $50 a. m. After a
second run, Bombardier Maj.
Harold H. Wood reported weather
okay for bombing"
Members of the ships crew:
ty unlimited.
were permitted to come topside to
Third was the live run-visibi,i-
see the column of smoke after the
first flash.
Faint Flash
Associated Press correspondent
Paul K. Lee radioed from the OBJ
servation ship Panamint that
through black goggles the flash
was disappointingly faint-'like a
distant flash of lightning"
Howard W. Blakeslee, Associat-
ed Press science writer watching
the target feet on a television
screen aboard the Appalachian,
saw all capital ships still afloat
after the blast. Some observers,
however, declared they believed
the explosion greater than that OF
the first atomic bomb-tested in
New Mexico.
Fires Observed
More than an hour after the ex-
plosion, fires were observed
burning in the lagoon and one was
seen breaking out on Bikini Island.
Reports of the ship fires were
fragmentary and without confirma.
ton, beyond Admiral Blandy's
brief preliminary report.
There was no indication of any
casualty in any part of the vastly
complicated test
Success Untold
Just how successful the test was
cannot be determined, of course,
until scientists and observers are
able to re-enter the lagoon which
they began e~vacuating Sunday.
Drone boats carrying instru-
ments to gauge radioactivity in
the area have withdrawn from the
lagoon, but as yet there has been
no report on what their instruments
recorded on the lethal rays gen
Grated by nuclear fission.
An hour after the explosion, the
mushroom cap of the radioactive
cloud a drifting slowly to the
southwest, but it was not visible
from this ship.
The Appalachian steamed toward
Blkini after the explosion and at
IL miles. those aboard could see
the palms and steel towers still
standing. None of the towers, in
Which television and radar instru-
ments were encased, had been
olown down Or fused by the terrific
neat OF the explosion.
Associated Press CORRESPONDENT
Elton C. Fay, aboard Blandy's
flagship the Mt. Mckinley, report.
ed observers believed they saw
one explosion amidships Of the
gallant old Carrier Saratoga. which
had been trailing smoke since the
blast.
The intense ball of fire which
formed the startling heart of the
burst more than 100, 600, 900 degrees
Fahrenheit, scientists asserted. It
did not appear large, and quickly
mushroomed into the rising cloud.
The test had been delayed a half
hour.