1956 UK Government Film Warns Of The H-Bomb's Destructive Power

This Public Information Film was made by the UK Government in 1956 to educate the public about the devastating effects of the H-Bomb. It highlighted the increased power of the H Bomb compared with the A Bomb as used in WWII and painted a picture of what the devastation would look like as one approached ground zero. WWII had ended just a few years before so the impact of bombs hitting civilian populations was still fresh in the mind, bringing a cold reality to the commentary on the film and serving as a contemporary record of the attitudes of the time. FAST are grateful to QinetiQ plc for allowing us access to this film and to the Heritage Lottery Fund whose donation funded its digitisation. 0:00 Titles & Introduction 1:06 "We shall all be in it" 2:16 WWII civil defence 3:39 The atomic age 5:29 Advent of the H-Bomb 6:28 Heat effects 8:46 Immediate radiation effects 10:04 Residual radiation effects 13:16 Blast effects 14:37 Approaching ground zero 17:30 Summary & conclusions #coldwar #nuclear #publicinformation #nuclearwar