Bikini Atoll

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 initial nuclear experiments were assigned the codename Operation Crossroads. The 167 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-five nuclear tests on the atoll between 1946 and 1957.

Unsurprisingly, Bikini was closed to all visitors until the 1990s. But with radiation in the waters of the lagoon at safe levels, Bikini was able to open its lagoon to divers - and hosting wrecks of some of the most famous shipwrecks of the Second World War, Bikini soon became a magnet for technical divers. Today, diving the Bikini Atoll wrecks is seen as the ultimate diving experience.

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 the Bikini wrecks and presents a detailed analysis of the ABLE and BAKER nuclear tests, alongside a stunning collection of unique images of the wrecks, which graphically portray the effects of the most devastating weapons known to mankind.

About the Author

ROD MACDONALD is an internationally renowned shipwreck explorer, undersea adventurer and best-selling diving author with eleven books about shipwrecks, the culmination of a lifetime of diving. His beautifully illustrated books are the internationally accepted definitive guides to many world-famous dive locations such as Scapa Flow and Truk Lagoon. Rod is a graduate of the University of Aberdeen School of Law. He is a Fellow of the Explorers Club of New York and a Patron of the GB & Ireland Chapter of the Explorers Club. When not writing or exploring shipwrecks he is a big boat yachtsman, former volunteer lifeboatman, a RYA Advanced Powerboat Instructor and a Search and Rescue (SAR) instructor. He lives in Stonehaven, a small fishing town on the north east coast of Scotland with his wife, his two children having flown the coup.