ARMY & NAVY: Test for Mankind

The night was drizzly and starless, but in the last hours of June the forecast was for clearing weather. By July's first dawn, the blacktopped, coral runway of Kwajalein islet was ablaze with lights. It was Able-day for Operation Crossroads and the explosion of the world's fourth atomic bomb.

Overhead was the roar of planes. But all eyes, mostly red from lack of sleep, were focused on a glistening B-29 Super-fort, Dave's Dream,* which stood apart at the south side of the strip.

Alongside the plane was a tent in which Manhattan District engineers...

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