Operation Doorstep tested the effect of a nuclear blast on homes, shelters, and cars in Nevada on March 17, 1953.
These before-and-after photos show how a house and family 7,500 feet from the 16-kiloton bomb detonation fared.
Record Group 304: Records of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization
Series: Civil Defense Photographs
Image description: Four mannequins are posed in a living room. A woman sits on a pouffe ottoman with her back to the window; two men sit on a chair and couch, respectively, and a young girl sits on a footstool in front of a fireplace screen. There are three lamps, a framed item, and other furniture in the room.
Image description: Four mannequins in a living room with a blown-out window and broken furniture. The woman has fallen sideways off of her seat; the man on the couch has fallen to the side and has a broken lampshade next to him; the man on the chair is still upright; and the young girl has been knocked to the side by the fireplace screen and is missing an arm.