In January 1946, the Navy announced Operation Crossroads — the first postwar nuclear weapons test series, to be conducted at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The March 1946 All Hands Bulletin article “Big Boom at Bikini” explained the upcoming tests to the naval enlisted community: two atomic bomb detonations (one aerial, one underwater) would be conducted against a fleet of surplus and captured warships to evaluate the effects of nuclear weapons on naval forces. The tests took place in July 1946 and profoundly shaped postwar naval doctrine and ship design.
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