Air science in action

A film produced by the U. S. Air Force's Air Research and Development Command in conjunction with the Atomic Energy Commission depicts the testing ground in Nevada where 20 bombs (14 aerial) were exploded in the last two years. Major General John S. Mills commands the Air Force at the site. During atmospheric nuclear tests, aircraft track the atomic cloud, survey blasted acres with radiation counters, and gather samples from within the atomic cloud. Tests are conducted on the effects of the atomic blast on aircraft and on flash blindness in man. The film follows the preparation and launching of an A-bomb, emphasizing the precision of the bomb drop. A second film by the Civil Aeronautics Commission shows research being conducted on the effects on man of bailouts from jet aircraft and of explosive decompression. Wind tunnel tests reveal the stresses on a subject under differing angles and velocities, in varying positions, and clothed and unclothed.