The Empire of Japan formally surrendered to the Allies on 2 September 1945, following the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While the fighting had ended, a new weapon had been unleashed onto the world stage that nations rushed frantically to develop and master. The USA needed somewhere extremely remote to conduct its experimental nuclear weapons testing. They chose Bikini Atoll – a beautiful Pacific coral atoll in the Marshall Islands in the middle of the Pacific and perhaps the most remote group of islands on the planet. The nuclear experiments were assigned the codename Operation Crossroads. The 157 local islanders were moved out of their once tranquil tropical paradise whilst American, and captured German and Japanese, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, and aircraft carriers were moved to the lagoon and moored strategically around the test area so that the effects of a nuclear blast on them could be studied. In total, the US conducted twenty-two nuclear tests on the atoll between 1946 and 1957. Unsurprisingly, Bikini was closed to all visitors until the 1990s. But now, with radiation levels having fallen to a safe level, Bikini has been able to open its doors. Hosting wrecks of some of the most famous warships of the Second World War, Bikini has become a magnet for divers. Yet despite its fame, little has been written about the Bikini shipwrecks. A renowned diver, Rod Macdonald is famous for his books about the Second World War shipwrecks of Truk Lagoon and Palau. He has now investigated and photographed the Bikini wrecks. Along with a detailed analysis of the Able and Baker nuclear tests, this book presents a stunning collection of unique images of the wrecks which graphically portray the effects of the most devastating weapons known to mankind.
