In April 1952, countless television cameras focused on the Nevada desert. Then a nuclear bomb exploded live on American television.
During World War II, US military atomic bombs wreaked unprecedented destruction on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since then they have not been used as a weapon.
Nuclear weapons testing continued after World War II. The USA and the Soviet Union in particular constantly expanded their arsenal during the Cold War. US President Harry Truman decided to use a site in the Nevada desert as an above-ground test site.
For 12 years, the US dropped atomic bombs there to study their effects. On April 22, 1952, the government invited the press to such a test, the “Big Shot” bomb detonated live on American television.
For incredible images of the 1952 explosion, watch the video right here or above.
