" THE H BOMB " 1956 UNITED KINGDOM CIVIL DEFENSE TRAINING FILM HYDROGEN NUCLEAR BOMB 41304

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This black and white training film, made for the United Kingdom’s Civil Defense and Fire Service in 1956, provides a straight forward and unflinching look at the possible effects a hydrogen bomb would have on a major city in that country. Using World War II era footage of rescue work in the aftermath of German air attacks, animations, scale models, and somber narration, the film attempts to convey the devastation such an attack would inflict, what rescuers should expect to encounter in their efforts, and the sobering differences between a “nominal” atomic bomb and a ten megaton hydrogen bomb. Produced for the Home Office by RHR Productions, Ltd. Produced by Ronald H. Riley. Written and directed by David Villiers. This film directly references the 1952 Civil Defense training film “The Atomic Bomb: It’s Effects & How to Meet Them,” which is available in the Periscope Film archive.

00:08 TITLE AND PRODUCTION CARD 00:30 Nuclear explosion 01:18 Air Raid Precautions (ARP)/Civil Defense Service personnel climb over rubble, carry a stretcher 01:28 Wounded woman in hospital, doctor bedside 01:30 Royal National Lifeboat Institution lifeboat launching out to sea 01:33 ARP Rescue Service member finds man trapped under rubble 01:38 Rescue Service personnel carry ladders, equipment; use hoist jack to move large beam in rubble, free the trapped man 01:58 Untrained volunteers attempt identical rescue, cause trapped man to be crushed by beam 02:13 Rescue Service personnel watch a demonstration, take notes 02:32 ARP personnel dig through rubble 02:46 Incendiary bombs explode; building collapses 02:56 National Fire Service (NFS) members fight fires in burning buildings 03:08 ARP Controller’s Office; Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS) members answer phones, take messages 03:26 Fire alarm bell rings, NFS lorries depart; WVS members direct movements over telephone 4:00 Victory parade; Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery rides in convertible, marching columns pass through Admiralty Arch 04:07 London News Chronicle newspaper headline about atomic bombing of Japan 04:17 Animation depicting stages of atomic blast; heat, radiation, blast; mushroom cloud over large city 04:48 Animation depicting power of a “Nominal Bomb” (equivalent to the “Fat Man” bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan) 05:14 Scale model of English urban area before and after atomic explosion 05:31 Woman calls over Rescue Services member to destroyed building; injured man carried out 05:53 V-1 flying bomb explodes midair 05:54 London News Chronicle newspaper headline; “Britain Decides - We Make the H-Bomb” 06:07 Animation: Power of atom bomb vs. hydrogen bomb 08:33 Damaged and destroyed buildings 08:40 Woman whitewashes window pane, man hangs shutter 09:19 Animation: Types of radiation, range increases with hydrogen bomb vs. atomic bomb 11:02 Animation: range of A-Bomb vs. H-Bomb explosion and fallout superimposed over map of London 11:40 Nuclear explosion, mushroom cloud 12:16 Animation: Fallout cloud moves across British Isles 12:35 ARP Wardens shoo people off the street and into shelter 12:53 Animation: Civil Defense shelter blueprints; people in house with emergency supplies 13:43 Weather balloon launched 14:00 Animation: Effects of A-Bomb vs. H-Bomb damage broken down by distance from Ground Zero 15:20 Animation: Likely effects observed upon approaching Ground Zero 18:23 Animation: Recap of three effects of H-Bomb on major city, based on distance from Ground Zero 19:30 Women, children, Rescue Service personnel walk through city ruins 19:50 Severed hand in debris 20:10 Rescuer Service member carries injured man out of burning building 20:13 Crying child trapped in rubble 21:05 CREDITS

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com