1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:12,680 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:12,680 --> 00:00:15,520 Speaker 1: a show that uncovers a little bit more about history 4 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:20,720 Speaker 1: every day. I'm Gay Bluesier, and in this episode, we're 5 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:23,959 Speaker 1: talking about the first demonstration of an atom bomb to 6 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:27,840 Speaker 1: be shown on American television and how it gave rise 7 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:35,520 Speaker 1: to the era of atomic tourism. The day was February one, 8 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: ninety one. The k t l A TV station in 9 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: Los Angeles made the first live broadcast of an atomic explosion. 10 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,240 Speaker 1: The detonation took place in the Frenchman Flat Basin in 11 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:51,920 Speaker 1: the Nevada Desert and was part of a series of 12 00:00:52,040 --> 00:00:57,320 Speaker 1: nuclear tests known as the Operation Ranger program. The blinding 13 00:00:57,360 --> 00:01:00,800 Speaker 1: white light produced by the blast was trying submitted live 14 00:01:00,920 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: to early Bird viewers in Los Angeles. Kt l A 15 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:08,319 Speaker 1: didn't have authorization to film the blast, but managed to 16 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:12,160 Speaker 1: capture the footage anyway using cameras secretly stationed on top 17 00:01:12,200 --> 00:01:16,800 Speaker 1: of a Las Vegas hotel. The atomic bomb, known as 18 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: the Ranger Easy, was outfitted with a mass of plutonium 19 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 1: evocatively known as the Demon core. It was dropped from 20 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: a B fifty bomber plane above the Nevada test site, 21 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:32,600 Speaker 1: roughly sixty five miles northwest of Las Vegas. The bombs 22 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:36,959 Speaker 1: one kiloton payload produced a destructive force strong enough to 23 00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:39,840 Speaker 1: level a large building and most of a city block. 24 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:45,000 Speaker 1: Ranger Easy was one of one hundred such nuclear tests 25 00:01:45,120 --> 00:01:48,440 Speaker 1: that were conducted above ground in the Nevada Desert between 26 00:01:48,520 --> 00:01:53,280 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty one and nineteen sixty two. Initially, the tests 27 00:01:53,280 --> 00:01:56,200 Speaker 1: were deemed top secret that no members of the press 28 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 1: were allowed anywhere near them. That high level of secrecy 29 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:03,480 Speaker 1: stoked the public's interest and compelled Katie l A station 30 00:02:03,560 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: manager Klaus Landsburg to undertake a risky operation. He sent 31 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:11,240 Speaker 1: a camera crew to Las Vegas and had them set 32 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:13,720 Speaker 1: up on the roof of a local hotel where they'd 33 00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:16,600 Speaker 1: have a clear view of the blast. At the time, 34 00:02:16,840 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: remote broadcasts were a new frontier for television, and the 35 00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,280 Speaker 1: infrastructure to support them wasn't yet in place. In fact, 36 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: Nevada didn't even have its own TV station at the time. 37 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: To make the live shot work, the kt l A 38 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:34,480 Speaker 1: crew had to cobble together a chain of transmitters that 39 00:02:34,600 --> 00:02:37,200 Speaker 1: stretched all the way from Nevada back to the l 40 00:02:37,240 --> 00:02:41,240 Speaker 1: A station some two miles away. It was such a 41 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:45,320 Speaker 1: makeshift solution that engineers that each transmitter had to use 42 00:02:45,400 --> 00:02:50,000 Speaker 1: flashlights to communicate their position to one another. Jury rigged 43 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:54,040 Speaker 1: though it was, the system worked successfully, relaying images of 44 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: the blast to the station's transmitter at the Mount Wilson 45 00:02:56,919 --> 00:03:01,200 Speaker 1: Observatory in Los Angeles. Early users who happened to tune 46 00:03:01,200 --> 00:03:04,079 Speaker 1: in at five thirty that morning were among the first 47 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:08,120 Speaker 1: in the nation to witness an atomic blast. The estimated 48 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:11,720 Speaker 1: thirty thousand viewers watched in awe as a flash fifty 49 00:03:11,760 --> 00:03:15,800 Speaker 1: times brighter than the sun filled their screens. In those 50 00:03:15,919 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: days before the advent of videotape and long before digital recording, 51 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:23,960 Speaker 1: there was no easy way to record the footage being transmitted. 52 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,359 Speaker 1: That meant there were no replays of the blast. If 53 00:03:27,360 --> 00:03:30,000 Speaker 1: you weren't tuned in for the live telecast, then you 54 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:33,520 Speaker 1: were out of luck. That said, the rating share for 55 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: the one off event was so large that Klaus Landsburg 56 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: decided to cover another atomic tests the following week. The 57 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:46,040 Speaker 1: station's unsanctioned broadcast put the Atomic Energy Commission in a 58 00:03:46,040 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 1: tough spot. Obviously, it would have preferred to keep its 59 00:03:49,560 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: top secret program out of public view, but if that 60 00:03:52,800 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: wasn't possible, it at least wanted to have more control 61 00:03:55,920 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: of the narrative. With that in mind, the military invited 62 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: the rest to attend the twenty five atomic bomb test 63 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:05,680 Speaker 1: in American history, which was set to take place on 64 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:13,360 Speaker 1: April nineteen fifty two. Surprisingly, all three television networks NBC, ABC, 65 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: and CBS initially declined the invitation. The reasons cited were 66 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,400 Speaker 1: the high cost and technical complexities of making a live 67 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:26,719 Speaker 1: coast to coast broadcast from the Nevada Desert. In the end, 68 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,800 Speaker 1: only one station manager accepted the challenge, k t l 69 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:35,159 Speaker 1: AS Klaus Landsburg. He and his crew worked tirelessly to 70 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:38,200 Speaker 1: set up a three hundred mile long relay link between 71 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: the test field and Los Angeles, the longest ever attempted 72 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,400 Speaker 1: at the time. On the morning of April nineteen fifty two, 73 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:49,839 Speaker 1: k t l A made history once again by making 74 00:04:49,839 --> 00:04:54,000 Speaker 1: the first live national broadcast of an atomic bomb blast. 75 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:58,560 Speaker 1: The station's six cameras covered the detonation from all angles, 76 00:04:58,720 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 1: with the images they capture being simulcast on all the 77 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:06,520 Speaker 1: major networks that time. About thirty five million viewers tuned 78 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:09,599 Speaker 1: in for the event, ensuring there would be no shortage 79 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:13,800 Speaker 1: of TV coverage. For future atomic tests. Over the next 80 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:17,479 Speaker 1: ten years, Operation Ranger was followed by a host of 81 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:24,000 Speaker 1: other descriptively titled nuclear programs, including Buster, Jangle, Tumbler, Snapper, Nougat, 82 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:29,239 Speaker 1: and Sunbeam. A bomb tests became so routine that watching 83 00:05:29,240 --> 00:05:32,919 Speaker 1: them turned into a new kind of tourist attraction. In fact, 84 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce even printed calendars listing 85 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:41,599 Speaker 1: detonation times and suggested viewing locations. One of the most 86 00:05:41,640 --> 00:05:44,680 Speaker 1: popular spots to watch from was the sky room at 87 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,279 Speaker 1: the Desert Inn Hotel and Casino, but many other tourists 88 00:05:48,279 --> 00:05:51,120 Speaker 1: tried to get an even better look by picnicking as 89 00:05:51,200 --> 00:05:54,520 Speaker 1: close to the test site as they dared. K t 90 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:58,040 Speaker 1: l A had provided a public service by giving Americans 91 00:05:58,080 --> 00:06:01,479 Speaker 1: their first glimpse at the horrendous destructive power of a 92 00:06:01,560 --> 00:06:08,480 Speaker 1: nuclear bomb. The response, however, wasn't abject fear or disapproval. Instead, 93 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:12,480 Speaker 1: the most powerful weapon ever devised by man was relegated 94 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:16,880 Speaker 1: to just another form of spectacle. Tourists flocked on mass 95 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 1: to watch mushroom clouds bloom in the desert, secure in 96 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 1: the belief that they'd likely never be on the receiving 97 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 1: end of such a blast. It was an unthinkable pastime 98 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:30,359 Speaker 1: for the rest of the world, but especially so for 99 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:39,920 Speaker 1: those on whom America's Adam bombs had already flawed. I'm 100 00:06:39,960 --> 00:06:43,320 Speaker 1: Gay Blusier and hopefully you now know a little more 101 00:06:43,360 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. You can learn 102 00:06:47,600 --> 00:06:51,200 Speaker 1: even more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, 103 00:06:51,240 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d i h C Show, but 104 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: if you have any comments or suggestions, you can always 105 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,560 Speaker 1: send them my way. At this day did I heart 106 00:07:00,640 --> 00:07:04,560 Speaker 1: media dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 107 00:07:04,839 --> 00:07:07,160 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 108 00:07:07,200 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in history class.