The creation of the atomic bomb is most frequently mentioned in connection with President Harry S. Truman trying to speed the ending of WWII. Spectacular photographs of postwar tests proved highly influential to a curious public who eagerly absorbed the images of the mushroom cloud over the Bikini Atoll and the outrushing shock wave. During the first test, in 1946, 95 American, allied, and captured warships moored nearby could be seen in the before and after photographs.

The ‘after’ photographs clearly showed that warships were highly vulnerable to an atomic blast, at least nearby.