Arguing over A-Bombs

Abstract

Interservice rivalry between the United States Army and Navy over the 1946 Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests was an example of a larger rivalry over roles, missions, and budgets that was endemic to U.S. defense policy immediately after World War II.The tests became embroiled in this larger conflict because of the perception that they could be employed by either service to argue its case for the lion’s share of resources in the postwar world.Therefore, each service went to great lengths to try to assure the press and public that the tests were not “rigged.”What is most interesting, however, about the atomic bomb tests of Operation Crossroads was the fact that the test results were so inconclusive.