It is the most spectacular ship graveyard in the world. A fleet of World War II warships from the United States and Japan lies rusting on the ocean floor beneath the lagoon of Bikini, a tiny atoll in the vast South Pacific Ocean. In July 1946 they were sunk by the first atomic bombs ever detonated during peacetime. They were used as target practice in the biggest experiment ever conducted in world history.
60 years later the experiment continues; a daring expedition returns to Bikini Atoll to document this marvellous underwater world and its nuclear fleet in an unprecedented way. A team of top scientists, historians and divers embarks on an exciting journey on board the 416 ft. long expedition vessel MY Octopus on a scientific mission to “paradise lost“. Equipped with the state-of-the-art submersible Pagoo, designed to hold eight passengers, as well as with an ROV and two HD-camera-equipped helicopters, they have come to explore the still deserted atoll and its legendary ghost fleet before it is forever lost to the ravages of time.
As the submersible Pagoo glides into the dark waters of Bikini lagoon the mood among the Bikini expedition members is tense yet excited. They are about to explore the eerie underwater landscape of the world’s most infamous ship graveyard and for the first time ever will this be done from the protective shield of a manned submersible, giving its passengers up to eight hours underwater. On board: Naval historian Steve Wiper, an expert on the WWII ships who has held an intense passion for the wrecks of Bikini Atoll since high school. Some of the most important ships of the Second World War lie on the bottom of the lagoon, and Steve is anxious to find out what two atomic explosions and 60 years on the ocean floor have done to them. His major interests: The Saratoga – a legendary American aircraft carrier with a glorious career in the war and the biggest of its time – and its Japanese rival the Nagato, famous for its role in the attack on Pearl Harbor, ultimately pushing the United States into the war. Having studied their history from books and photographs for years, Steve can hardly believe his eyes when suddenly, out of the dark, the first silhouettes of wrecks appear…
Sitting next to Steve is radiation expert Claus Bunnenberg from the Center for Radiation Protection in Hanover, Germany. Claus has joined the expedition ensure that the team doesn’t expose itself to invisible radiological hazards still looming in the lagoon. Claus’ radiation meter registers only low values inside the Pagoo, but what will happen when diver Jim Akroyd offers himself as a test person to dive into the wreck of the Saratoga – a wreck that was still reported to be radioactively hot not long ago? And this is not the only danger – many of the wrecks seem to have had massive collapses recently, and more could happen any minute. And what about the ammunition that the ships were carrying when they sank – does it still pose a danger after remaining untouched for the past 60 years?
For Claus, the eerie ghost fleet is only half the story. Operation Crossroads marked the beginning of a test series that sent 67 atomic bombs thundering across Bikini and other atolls in the area, climaxing with a thermonuclear bomb codenamed “Bravo” in 1954. The first bomb of its design ever tested was a disaster – miscalculations led to the explosion being two and a half times as big as expected. A 15 megaton explosion tore a gigantic crater into Bikini Atoll, three islands evaporated, and the area was covered in massive radioactive fallout. “Bravo” had the size of 1,000 Hiroshima bombs exploding simultaneously. It turned the island into a radioactive wasteland and a living laboratory for testing the long term effects of radiation on nature. What will Claus Bunnenberg find on the island and in the Bravo crater 50 years after the end of the test series?
In the same spirit of discovery, marine biologist Luiz Rocha has joined the expedition to study the long term effects of radiation on marine life. He has picked up the trail of a mysterious shark population with a strange mutation, which he suspects is a result of the atomic tests. Bikini’s “shark pass” is home to many sharks – but will Luiz find the legendary sharks, or will they remain a mystery after all?
“Radioactive Paradise” is an action-packed film about one of the most shocking experiments conducted by humans and its consequences. Besides offering stunning footage of the gigantic ghost fleet in a high definition quality never before seen, it reveals answers to many of the myths and questions surrounding the state of Bikini Atoll today. In addition to the stunning HD underwater footage, the adventure was also filmed from the HD cameras of two helicopters, revealing amazing views of the gorgeous South Pacific paradise island – a “paradise” that is frequently disturbed by military relics protruding in unexpected places and the constant looming threat of invisible radioactivity. The film will include recently released and never-before-shown spectacular color footage of the atomic explosions and the gigantic build-up surrounding Operation Crossroads and Bravo which draws in the audience by dramatically showing just how extraordinary the event is in world history. Touching eye witness accounts from Crossroads veterans and native Bikini islanders brings an emotional touch to the story and tells it from the perspectives of all participants. “Radioactive Paradise” combines all these elements to become a fast-paced documentary film that connects the past with the present, action with history and science, and adventure with emotion.
THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
In July of 1946 the United States military embarked on a scientific experiment that was to change the world forever. It launched an atomic testing program in the Marshall Islands that was to out-scale all other scientific experiments in magnitudes of effort and spectacle. The testing series that would lead up to 67 nuclear explosions started on Bikini Atoll with an operation codenamed “Crossroads” and climaxed with the first ever thermonuclear test “Bravo”, yielding an explosive power of 15 megatons, tearing a crater 6510 ft. in diameter into the atoll, and turning it into a radioactive wasteland.
After the end of World War II and the first droppings of atomic bombs on Japan many U.S. military leaders felt that military science was at a crossroads. U.S. Vice Admiral William Blandy, director of Operation Crossroads, declared that "warfare, perhaps civilization itself, had been brought to a turning point by this revolutionary weapon.” What effect this new weapon would have on existing warfare outfits such as the naval fleet could only be determined by testing it in the field. Bikini Atoll was singled out to be the perfect testing site due to its remote location. The 167 native Bikinians had to give up their home for nothing less than “the good of mankind and to end all world wars", as the U.S. Military put it. They left in good faith that they would soon return – their trust was misplaced and they were banished from their home island forever.
Besides testing the effects of the bomb on the naval fleet, practicing attack techniques, as well as using animals as dummies to determine atomic bomb effects on human beings, the tests were to be the ultimate demonstration of power. A “target fleet” of more than 90 war ships, including Japanese and German ships captured during the war, and 42,000 U.S. soldiers were deployed to the Bikini lagoon; 750 cameras and half the world’s available film stock were brought to document the event and get the pictures out to the world as quickly as possible. “Able” was detonated on July 1st, 1946; “Baker” followed only 24 days later. Both bombs were about the same size of the nuclear bomb dropped on Nagasaki. Able, dropped by a B-29 bomber, drifted a half-mile off target, detonated at an altitude of 520 ft. and sank “only” five ships. Baker, which detonated underwater just 90 ft. right beneath the ships, caused much greater destruction. Both bombs spread radioactive contamination throughout the islands. Most of the target fleet was bathed in radioactive water spray and debris. Not only did Baker sink eight ships in total, it also sent the gigantic aircraft carrier USS Saratoga and the Japanese flagship Nagato – famous for its role in the attack on Pearl Harbor – to the bottom of the lagoon.
60 years after Crossroad, the wrecks of the “nuclear fleet” still lie beneath the Bikini lagoon. The Bikinian people still remain the “nuclear nomads” Operation Crossroads had made them. Experts disagree on whether their lost paradise can ever be regained.
“Radioactive Paradise” brings its fascinating history to life and into the viewers’ home by combining astonishing HD-footage with captivating newly released HD color archive footage of the original atomic bomb tests.
