When I was in the French Navy, in 1972, I have seen a nuclear explosion live.
Our ship was around 200 km from Moruroa. The top of the mushroom was at an elevation of 15 degrees.
We heard the sound of the explosion 4 minutes later.
Edit: As pointed by @kingmotan, the sound could not have reached us 4 minutes later, but 10 minutes later.
Wow. So it more than doubled the speed of sound.
Obviously, it cannot be faster than the speed of sound.
So, indeed, if we were at around 200 km, the sound could not have reached us after 4 minutes.
I am 67 years old, and this happens 45 years ago: obviously my memory is failing.
4 minutes at the speed of sound is around 83 km.
We definitely were farther than that.
I am convinced that the 200 km are correct. So the sound must have reached us 10 minutes later, not 4.
Thank you for pointing to my mistake.
interesting
You're good at your calculations...
@pocketechange
Those in nuclear submarines would be able to outlive any nuclear explosion. You might have to join the Navy again in the case of a threat, at least this is my backup plan.
At least you have a back up plan
Not if they're hit by a nuclear torpedo.
An underwater ICBM? Interesting
sounds like a plan.not sure how well it will work for you though
Oh man.
LOL.....Tsunami
Yeah bro i will definetly catch her
EISH!
Ouch :(
What was she trying to do...???
@pocketechange
Thats about as much luck as the human race will gain if/when this breaks out.
Of course nuclear weapons are crazy dangerous, but are they as beautiful/spectacular in person as they are on video?
Yes, they are.
Did you or were other men you served with affected by the fallout? Did you know so many people in Turkiye and across Europe were affected by the Fallout carried in the air from Chernobyl? Thyroid problems and other diseases are profound.
No, we were not affected, because we were in the east of Moruroa and the wind was blowing to the west.
Sure, those people that received the fallout from the wind were sometimes severely affected.
Did it take about 6 minutes for the mushroom to form?
Sorry, I don't remember.
Wow, thanks godness you guys made if alive. Thanks for your comment, hope to hear more from you
Of course we made it alive!
We were there to see the nuclear explosion. At 200 km, there was no risk at all.
Ok, good that all went well. Lets stay in touch and success to you.
OMG!!! Quite scary...
what was the name of the blast/mission? also, do u recall the MT/KT?
I don't remember the name of the mission.
I believe it was a 2 MT hydrogen bomb.
That's incredible, thank you so much for sharing your intense experience with us!
Hey @vcelier , how was the view of explosion.
At 200 KMs, was it visible when the explosion happened.
So, yes, the explosion was visible, as I have seen it.
Haha, some people lol
Holy cow! That's insane!
Could u se the explosion clearly and did u feel anything?
Yes, we could see the explosion clearly, the weather was fine.
The only thing we felt was the sound of the explosion, 10 minutes later.
that should've looked terribly awesome. Or how would you describe the view?
This is a view of the explosion taken from the Moruroa attol itself.
Of course, we saw a lot less details, as we were 200km from it.
Woah!
this looks like nothing ever seen before.
Scary beauty
breathtaking threat
Then can you tell me what is PACER.
Are you referring to "project PACER", a 1970s nuclear power project at Los Alamos National Laboratory in the United States?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_PACER
Wow, @vcelier you served in the French Navy in 1972? I'm really impressed. I wonder if you felt fear at the moment when you actually knew what was happening.
No, no fear.
And I knew very well what was happening.
Wow! I wonder how humanity can wipe out itself in a few minutes with nuclear war.