Above is a sequence of four photos documenting Britain’s first nuclear test, a 25 kiloton shot codenamed Hurricane and detonated inside an anchored river-class frigate to determine what effects such a weapon might have if it were smuggled into London via the Thames. They learned, shockingly, that if a nuclear weapon exploded in London it would be a bad thing. The first image was exposed at the moment of detonation, the second an instant later, the third at about five seconds, and the last—with the blast’s debris cloud climbing miles into the atmosphere—at seven and a half minutes. The test occurred in the Monte Bello Islands of Australia, in October 1952. See our entire nuclear gallery by clicking keyword “nukes” below.
