TROOPS WATCH SIMULATED ATOMIC EXPLOSION-
Soldiers of the 278th infantry regimental combat team watch mushroom cloud
form atop column of smoke following a simulated atomic explosion at Ft. Devens.
The simulated "bomb" was made up in a 55-gallon oil drum containing
TNT, white phosphorous grenades, 40 gallons of 100-octane gasoline, 100 pounds
of Napalm and two different types of chemical smoke and detonated electrically.
The purpose of the simulated bomb was to "familiarize troops with the sight
and sound of the atomic bomb without the danger of radioactivity."
800 Troops See Dummy 'A-Bomb" At Fort Devens
FT. DEVENS, Mass. (P) Some 800 troops say what an atomic bomb explosion looks
like yesterday when the Army detonated a dummy "A-bomb" which sent
a ball of red flame and towers of smoke mushrooming over a 100-yard area.
The simulated blast was designed by the First Army Chemical Defense School
to show troops what the atom bomb looks and sounds like without exposing them
to dangerous radiation.
The artificial bomb, put together by Army scientists for less than $100, exploded
with a force which shook the ground for hundreds of yards. Veterans of genuine
atomic tests in the southwest and the Pacific termed the explosion "very
realistic."
Observers seated more than 100 yards from the blast said there was a distinct
concussion. They earth buckled, followed instantly by a wave of heat similar
to that emanating from a roaring furnace when the door is opened suddenly.
The "bomb" consisted of a 55-gallon metal drum containing a mixture
of napalm with 40 gallons of 40-octane gasoline, 10 white phosphorous grenades,
and other chemicals encircled with 198 feet of primer cord. |