Nuke Hoax Miniatures

My impression of Nuke test footage was always that it was nothing more than elaborate propaganda utilizing scale miniatures. Well, possible confirmation of my suspicion came while I was watching this propaganda film allegedly documenting the 1955 'Operation Cue'. There are scale miniatures being explicitly shown and referenced within the first few minutes of the film. The narrator says, "carefully prepared model of the site".

Operation Cue was the first and largest "so-called" atomic test that was conducted specifically for civilians. Coverage of the test was carried live, nationwide by radio and TV stations, as well as extended coverage in newspapers. The blast was alleged to have been about twice as powerful as the Hiroshima bomb. (Link)

The Operation Teapot series of (so-called) nuclear explosions involved fourteen "nuclear" events and one non-nuclear detonation between February 18 and May 15, 1955. The participants included the various branches of the military brought together under the rubric of the Joint Test Organization (JTO). The JTO also involved The Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) the Department of Defense Operations Coordination Staff, the Air Weather Service, the JTO Radiological Safety Group, the Lookout Mountain Laboratory Group, and the Field Command Support Group. Shot Apple 2, the May 5th (supposed) nuclear explosion on which the Operation Cue tests were based, was the 14th detonation in the Teapot series. (Link)

In 1947 the military established a secret film unit, headquartered at the Lookout Mountain Laboratory, the lab drew on Hollywood talent and technology to pursue its clandestine ends. The inconspicuous building, on Wonderland Avenue in Laurel Canyon, was just minutes from the Sunset Strip and had a sound stage, screening rooms, processing labs, animation gear, film vaults and a staff of more than 250 producers, directors and cameramenI'm — all with top-secret clearances. Film historians say the unit tested many technologies that Hollywood later embraced, including advanced lenses and cameras, films and projection techniques. The photographers were dispatched from the Hollywood Hills to Nevada and the South Pacific. (Link) (Link)

THE PROPAGANDA FILM

The following are all images from the 1955 Propaganda Film above. Notice the boards that the models are mounted too; the supposed real buildings seem to be on similar surfaces.

MINIATURE SCALE MODELS ON DISPLAY

MINIATURE PROPANE TANK MODEL

SUPPOSED REAL PROPANE TANK

SCALE MODEL HOME (NOTICE THE BASE)

SUPPOSED REAL HOME (SAME BASE?)

ANOTHER (IRRELEVANT) MODEL

SOMETHING TELLS ME THAT THIS GUY ISN'T GONNA SEE MUCH ACTION

AN AMUSING SIDE STORY/

ANOTHER PROPAGANDA TOOL

on May 1, 1955 Copa Girl Linda Lawson was crowned "Miss-Cue" by military personnel participating in Operation Cue at the Nevada Test Site. Miss-Cue was actually named for the program known as Operation Cue. When high winds kept causing delays, personnel dubbed it "Operation Miscue" and further poked fun by crowning Lawson with a mushroom cloud. (Link)

LATER USE OF MINIATURE FAKERY

IN A HOLLYWOOD FILM

EXAMPLES OF ADMITEDLY FAKE NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS

I Think that the video on this LINK is an even better example of a simulated nuke than the one above but I am unable to embed it here unfortunately but here are some screenshots from the airshow video (1:50).