The Navy Dropped Atomic Bombs on More Than 90 Ships. The ‘Ghost Fleet’ Is Still There

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The Navy Dropped Atomic Bombs on More Than 90 Ships. The 'Ghost Fleet' Is Still There

https://www.military.com/the-navy-dropped-atomic-bombs-on-more-than-90-ships-the-ghost-fleet-is-still-there

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The Navy Dropped Atomic Bombs on 90+ Ships. The 'Ghost Fleet' Is Still There

Eighty years after Operation Crossroads, dozens of warships remain at the bottom of Bikini Atoll. The United States Navy assembled more than ninety vessels for the 1946 atomic bomb tests, sinking historic carriers, battleships, and submarines in the lagoon.

These submerged hulks offer a physical record of early nuclear weapons effects on naval architecture and equipment. The tests also forced the permanent displacement of local residents and introduced widespread radioactive contamination, establishing early precedents for the environmental and social costs of atomic research.

The Navy assembled more than 90 ships for nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll. Eighty years later, warship wrecks remain beneath the lagoon.

An underwater museum of warships rests in turquoise water, frozen by 1946 blasts and littered with wartime gear.

Nearly 200 feet beneath the turquoise water of Bikini Atoll, an American aircraft carrier still rests upright on the lagoon floor.

USS Saratoga survived Japanese torpedoes, kamikaze attacks and years of fighting across the Pacific during World War II. What finally sank the carrier was an atomic bomb detonated underwater in 1946. And Saratoga is not alone.

Read the full article at Military.com:
https://www.military.com/the-navy-dropped-atomic-bombs-on-more-than-90-ships-the-ghost-fleet-is-still-there