Testing of German V-2 rocket at the Guided Missile Proving Ground in Alamogordo, New Mexico. An aerial view showing the vertical launching tower for small-type missile and a gantry crane. V-2 on the ground nearby. A view of surrounding countryside.
Shows the first atomic bomb explosion in history, on July 16, 1945, resulting from the work of the Manhattan Project. Atomic bomb tested at an experimental station in New Mexico, United States. Bomb explodes and a mushroom cloud forms, seen from cameras 6 miles away. Smoke and fire emerges. (World War II period).
A goat herd in Mesquite, New Mexico. Goats in an enclosure. Small tents being pitched for the little kids to save them from the scorching sun. Two kids near a tent. They get under the tent. The goats in a herd move along a path. The goats, one by one, slide on a slanted piece of wood and come out of the enclosure. The goat herd moves on a rough terrain. The goat herd around a small pond drinking water.
14 people died in a coal mine blast in Madrid, New Mexico. The coal mine blast site. Men go into the mine. A girl standing at the site. Men carry wounded people. The girl cries. A joint burial for coal dust explosion victims.
Explosion of the first ever Atomic Bomb at Alamogordo, New Mexico in World War II. Brilliant flash at detonation of the Atomic bomb. Huge smoke cloud rises. Smoke all around. Narrator indicates that men 5 miles away were knocked down, that a pressure wave was felt and the sound and quake was noted in an area 300 square miles in size. He indicates that the testing platform was vaporized. He comments on the awesome power of the weapon, its ability to shorten the war, and the important responsibility that rests with those who know the secrets of the weapon.
Activities the day before the Trinity nuclear test conducted at Alamogordo in New Mexico during World War II (part of the Manhattan Project). Technicians and physicists work inside a tent erected on the test tower platform in the Jornado del Muerto desert test site. The men perform final arming of the plutonium core nuclear implosion device nicknamed the "Gadget". White duct tape seen in use in places on and in the enclosure; as a adhesive since welding would be prohibitive. They attach the Gadget, the first atomic bomb in history, to a crane hook. Persons seen in the footage include Herbert Lehr and Louis Slotin. Also seen is Robert Oppenheimer at 0:38-0:40 wearing a soft brimmed hat, shirtsleeves rolled up to elbows, and ID badge at center of chest. Oppenheimer is seen again, no longer wearing hat (now holding it in his right hand), in blue collared shirt, standing behind the device from 1:13 to end of clip.