Operation Crossroads: The U.S. Military Dropped a Nuclear Weapon on a ‘Battleship’ Fleet

Operation Crossroads: The U.S. Military Dropped a Nuclear Weapon on a ‘Battleship’ Fleet

Key Points and Summary – In 1946, the U.S. military conducted the Operation Crossroads atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll, detonating nuclear weapons against a target fleet of 95 warships to study their effects. Many of the warships were World War II-era battleships. The tests, including a powerful underwater blast, sank over a dozen ships and showered the fleet in radioactive fallout. While providing valuable scientific data, the operation had a…