The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 transformed naval strategy overnight. In the months that followed, All Hands ran a series of articles explaining nuclear science to enlisted men, documenting Operation Crossroads — the 1946 Bikini Atoll nuclear tests designed to assess atomic weapons’ effect on naval forces — and exploring what the atomic age meant for the future of the United States Navy.
The articles below, drawn from All Hands issues spanning September 1945 through August 1946, trace that story from Japan’s surrender to the first anniversary of the atomic age.
- Atomic Energy: A New Era — September 1945. The first All Hands account of atomic energy following Hiroshima and Nagasaki, explaining the science behind the bomb to fleet personnel.
- Final Victory Is Ours — September 1945. Japan’s surrender, the formal ceremony aboard USS Missouri BB-63 in Tokyo Bay, and the end of the Second World War.
- Facing the Atomic Age — March 1946. How the Navy was grappling with nuclear weapons’ strategic implications as it prepared for Operation Crossroads.
- Big Boom at Bikini — March 1946. Announcement and background on Operation Crossroads, the nuclear weapons tests planned for Bikini Atoll in the Pacific.
- Backstage at Bikini — April 1946. The assembly of the Operation Crossroads target fleet, including captured German and Japanese warships.
- Atomic ABC’s — April 1946. A nuclear physics primer written for enlisted personnel, covering Manhattan Project history and the mechanics of fission.
- Rendezvous with a Bomb — April 1946. A preview of Operation Crossroads, describing the planned Shot Able aerial and Shot Baker underwater detonations at Bikini Atoll.
- One Year After — August 1946. The first anniversary of Japan’s surrender, assessing atomic weapons’ impact on naval strategy and the lessons of Operation Crossroads.