(1950s) 4925 ATOMIC WEAPON BOMBER WING (TEST) FOLLOWED BY UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS

4925th Test Group Sees UFO

Kirtland AFB, New Mexico

March 22, 1950

AMERICA'S SECRET BOMBER WING DURING THE PERIOD OF ABOVEGROUND NUCLEAR WEAPON TESTS WAS FOLLOWED BY UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS AND THIS WAS NOT THE ONLY CASE ,DURING THE COLD WAR UNIDENTIFIED OBJECTS WERE SEEN AT MOST ATOMIC SITES ,FROM NEVADA TO THE PACIFIC ALSO AT THE LABS THAT WERE ENRICHING URANIUM AND BUILDING NUCLEAR DEVICES TO THIS DAY THE STORY IS LISTED AS BEING OBSERVED BY SOURCES SAID TO BE RELIABLE....

THE VERY FACT THAT THE JOB THESE MEN UNDERTOOK WERE APPOINTED BY USAF COMMAND AS THE BEST PILOTS AND NAVIGATORS ,CO-PILOTS AND SCORED HIGHEST ON APPTITUDE TESTS AND WON UNIT CITATIONS FOR THEIR PRECISE BOMB RUNS, THESE MEN WERE PROFILED AS THE BEST OF THE BEST..IF THESE MEN SAW WHAT THEY STATE BELOW..ITS TRUE AND BELIEVE IT AS FACT,IT WAS COMMON FOR JETS WITH LIVE NUCLEAR WEAPONS TO BE FOLLOWED BY UNIDENTIFIED AIRCRAFT MOVING AT SPEEDS WE HAVE NOT MASTERED YET, IT WAS UNUSUAL TO REPORT THEM OR THAT YOU SAW ANYTHING NOT NORMAL DURING HIGHLY CLASSIFIED TOP SECRET ATOMIC TEST BOMB RUNS, IF SOMETHING POPPED UP IN FRONT OF YOUR JET BAR JESUS H CHRIST YOU DID NOT REPORT IT FOR FEAR OF BEING LABELED PSCHYOLOGICALLY UNABLE TO CARRY TOP SECRET MISSIONS HERE UIS THE 4925th's STORY...

In February, 1950, a double barbed-wire complex was set up within Kirtland AFB, Albuquerque , New Mexico, to headquarter a new Top Secret U.S. Air Force unit designated the 4925th Test Group (Atomic). A small sign at the gate simply said "Sante Fe Operations". Unauthorized, curious visitors were politely but firmly turned away by armed USAF Air Policemen.

The best bomber and fighter pilots in the USAF and all types of expert support personnel were located worldwide and orders were promptly cut transferring them to the elite 4925th.

 
BRIEF 4925 USAF ATOMIC OP TEST WING PILOTS HISTORY

A special search was made for the right man to lead the outfit. Colonel Osmund J. "Ozzie" Ritland was selected as Commanding Officer. As a test pilot, he had 150 aircraft to his credit, including all captured aircraft in WWII. He had a degree in engineering, and was an expert in logistics.

All aircraft then in the Air Force inventory and thought capable of nuclear weapons delivery were to be obtained and sent to the 4925th for testing. The Special Weapons Command reporting only to the Pentagon and the AEC, set the wheels in motion to expedite this.

The 4925 was given this mission:

1. "Marry" all nuclear weapon types to all suitable types of aircraft.

2. Establish the ballistics of each type of nuclear weapon, on precision bomb ranges.

3. Support the AEC with live test drops, at Nevada and the Pacific.

4. Fly through and "sample" the highly radioactive nuclear "clouds" after the bangs.

With top priority established, the 4925th was staffed with highly experienced people. Bomber, fighter, and chopper pilots, triple-rated bombardiers (Bomb/Navigator/Radar), staff officers, nuclear project engineers (military and civilian), depot-level modification personnel, aerial cameramen, photo lab technicians, bomb loading specialists, crew chiefs and crews. Col. Ritland "welded" these pros into a highly sharp TEAM. If there ever was an ELITE outfit, the 4925th was it."

On March 22, 1950 eleven members of the 4925th Test Group (Atomic) witnessed a UFO northwest of Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, in broad daylight.

The following, formerly confidential incident, is not listed among the original Project Blue Book Unknowns. However it was found in the Blue Book archives. With the credibility of the witnesses established, and the discovered documents now available, there is no question that this UFO sighting is also credible.

NARA Blue Book Microfilm Sequence 70352 Page 20608

Time: 1100 hours. Heights: 25,000 to 30,000 feet. Described as about the size of a golf ball at arm's length with approximate shape of the "flying wing" and tan in color to brown on the edges. Horizontal flight, extremely high speed, heading northeast. Out of sight in 5-9 seconds.

NARA Blue Book Microfilm Sequence 70353 Page 20609

NARA Blue Book Microfilm Sequence 70354 Page 20610

The Spot Intelligence Report was sent to the Director of Special Investigations, Headquarters, USAF Washington, DC. The official document reads:

"1. SNYNOPSIS: On 22 March 1950, ROPER and ten others observed what they believed was a flying disc. Disc at 25,000 to 30,000 feet northwest of Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico. Shape similar to flying wing aircraft and tan in color, turning to brown around the edges. When first observed, object was traveling in a northwesterly direction then turned north and disappeared with a tremendous burst of speed. Object left no vapor trail, although aircraft in the vicinity were leaving vapor trails. Reliabillty of informants: Reliable.

"2. DETAILS: On 25 March 1950, M/Sgt. John H. Roper, AF-18038342, 4925th Special Weapons Group, Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, advised that he, together with ten other persons, observed what he believed a flying disc at 1100 hours, 22 March 1950. Other members of the party, all of the 4925th Special Weapons Group, were:......"

In this Spot Intelligence Report ten witnesses were listed. All of these personnel were interviewed and all stated substantially the same, that at 1100 hours, 22 March 195O, all of them were standing outside of the east hanger in the Kirtland AFB Restricted Area facing south. The party noticed an object in the sky which was moving northwest very quickly. The objectthen suddenly turned north and disappeared with a great burst of speed. The tan colored object with brown edges was about the size of a golf ball held at arm's length. When it put on the last burst of speed to the north it was out of sight in 5-6 seconds.

This single SPOT INTELLIGENCE REPORT listed more witnesses, but the reports for the previous day had more isolated witnesses and much more information.

It is interesting to note that there were several very important UFO incidents reported around this period:

Mar 21, 1950; Kirtland AFB, NM, Sightings by the 4925th

Mar 22, 1950; Kirtland AFB, NM, Sightings by the 4925th

Apr 27, 1950; White Sands, NM, theodolite photo

May 11, 1950; McMinnville, Oregon, Trent Photos.

May 29, 1950; White Sands, NM, theodolite photo

At Los Alamos laboratories, New Mexico, a crash program to develop the Hydrogen Bomb was underway during March 1950. There were many reports of "Green Fireballs", discs and globes seen all around Los Alamos and Kirtland AFB during March 1950. This is just on month after the 4925th Test Gruop (Atomic) set up shop at Kirtland AFB. During the period of March 14 through 17, 1950 many UFOs were seen hanging around northern New Mexico

The Spot Intelligence Reports were sent to the Director of Special Investigations, Headquarters, USAF Washington, DC. The official documents read:

(20598) "Unidentified Flying Objects were observed from Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, between 1300 and 1330 hours, on 21 March, 1950. Object was silver in color; size approximating that of a dime at arm's length; round in shape; more maneuverable than a jet aircraft; had no projections, left no trail or exhausts; had no effect on clouds; and there was no sound or odor detected. Details of this report set out the estimated angle of elevation, time of sight, etc., as was observed by various individuals. Reliability of information unknwon."

(20598-20599) At 1320 hours a S/Sgt (Wamsley) from the 1100th Special Reporting Group, Sandia Base, New Mexico was at a checkpoint 200 yards east of the Pit Area when he reported two objects, silver in color, approximately size of dime at arm's length, round, at a considerable distance in the East, heading southwest. The ten minute observation showed no conventional turns and the objects moved up and sideways in excess of jet speeds until both objects moved out of sight in the southwest.

(20599 - 20600) - At 1300 hours, another witness, (Sgt. Woods) from HQ & HQ Service Company, 8450th M.P. Group, Sandia Base, reported four, round, silver to shady gray objects to the northeast. His location was east side of the pit Area. Appeared to be more maneuverable than any known aircraft. The tactics used were similar to the change of positions during dog fights involving two aircraft. However, the way the objects changed position there seemed to be no similarity to the maneuverability of a conventional plane. Were more maneuverable, made right angle turns, also appeared to reverse (back up) the direction of flight. The duration apparently was about 30 minutes. These objects appeared to be at a great distance, approximately 40,000 to 60,000 feet.

(20600 - 20601)Mr. XXXXXXXXXX at Albuquerque, New Mexico reported objects in the east traveling southeast at 1315 hours. His position was from the Ordnance Area, Sandia Base. Two, white objects, smaller than a fist at arm's length at about one mile range were observed. One object changed direction to the east after completely circling the other object just prior to disappearing. Speed: Approximately 600-700 mph. Time in sight: Approximately 5 minutes.

DURING PACIFIC TESTING THE 4925th ATOMIC TEST WING WOULD BE RELOCATED TO KADENA AFB JAPAN TO PARTICIPATE IN NUCLEAR DROPS BY BOMBER

(20601 -20602) These documents list four witnesses from the 4925th Special Weapons group. The event occurred between 1300 and 1330 hours and from a restricted area near Hanger P-400. Two bright silver objects were observed that appeared the size of a dime at arm's length. They were unable to estimate distance but they appeared as quite distant in the southeast. Objects were very maneuverable with zig-zag motions up and down, more maneuverable than jet aircraft. One maneuver described it as "sort of floated like a piece of large paper in the air." When simply moving along their speeds were similar to a fast-moving jet. After about a minute the two objects were out of range of vision.

(20603) - This was a sighting by the 1100th Special Reporting Group sighting similar to others. The document is very hard to read, but the two objects were silver; like a dime a arm's length; round in shape; more maneuverable than aircraft, observed for about ten minutes. This is apparently a report filed by one witness.

(20604 - 20605) These documents are a continuation of the above report but contains the beginning of another report by a Sgt.(Woods) at Hq. & Hq. Service Company. The time is given as 1300 hours and on the east side of the pit area. Similar descriptions because these Spot Intelligence Reports are the same incidents by different people in each group. The witness here described the tactics used as similar to the change of positions during dog fights involving two aircraft. Right angle turns were also reported. The duration apparently was about 30 minutes.

FOR QUICK TAKEOFFS FROM SHORT RUNWAYS OR DURING ALERTS B-47 AIRCRAFT COULD BE FITTED WITH JATO ROCKETS (JET ASSISTED TAKEOFF)

(20605 - 20606) A civilian witness from Albuquerque offered this information: He observed the two white objects at 1315 hours from the Ordnance Area of Sandia Base. Described as smaller than his fist at arm's length and in the east; 500-700 mph, one circled the other before departure. Five minute duration.

(20606 - 20608) Four witnesses from the 4925th near a restricted area at Kirtland, filed their report. Two unidentified aerial objects were observed from Kirtland AFB and Sandia Base, New Mexico, from a restricted area on the east side of hanger P-400. This incident occurred between 1300 and 1330 hours. These objects were silver in color, and approximating the size of a dime at arm's length and round in shape. These objects were more maneuverable than jet aircraft, had no projections, left no trail or exhaust, and made no sound. The objects were observed in the east approximately a mile away. One object made a complete circle around the other just prior to disappearing. The highest speed of the objects was estimated at 600 to 700 mph, but the total sighting time of all the maneuvers was around five minutes.

PERFORING TACTICAL PITCH OUT TO MINIMIZE THE ATOMIC BLAST ON THE AIRCRAFT THE BOTTOM "WHITE" WAS PAINTED SO IT WOULD REFLECT THERMAL PULSE AFTER DETONATION OF DROPPED NUKE

The next day there were more sightings, even more impressive. This time by eleven witnesses from the 4925th Test Group

 

ONE IMPORTANT THING TO REMEMBER WHAT THESE MEN SAW AROUND THE SKIES WHILE DROPPING ATOMIC WEAPONS IT IS NOT THE RAVINGS OF LUNATICS THESE MEN WERE PICKED FOR THIS MISSION OF CARRYING AND DROPPING ATOMIC WEAPONS FOR SOME OF THE BIGGEST AND MOST IMPORTANT TESTS CARRIED OUT AT THE NEVADA TEST SITE.THESE MEN PASED TONS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL AND STRESS AND PERSONAL TESTS IF THESE GUYS EVEN BOUNCED A CHECK THEY WOULD NOT BE DROPPING NUCLEAR WEAPONS, EVER!




FORMER 4925 USAF ATOMIC TEST WING
PERSONAL BRIEFING ON THE 4925th

Approximately 300 SWC personnel from the 4925th Test Group (Atomic) and the 4901st Support Wing (Atomic) performed support missions.

Next, by an even luckier stroke, I was assigned to the 4925th Test Group (Nuclear) at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. The 4925th was an elite outfit dedicated to developing and testing nuclear weapons for the Air Force.

I have dropped more “live” atomic bombs than any pilot in the Air Force, during nuclear tests in the Pacific and Nevada Nuclear Test Sites. 1958. Awards and Decorations

In 1955 he was assigned as commander of the 4925th Test Group at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., and in 1956 assumed command of Task Group 7.4, the Air Force component of Joint Task Force 7, conducting nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific.

USAF 4925th Test Group (Atomic) Special Weapons Center Kirtiand Air Force Bass Albuq drquhr. Noew Mexico January 1963 1-2 *r 4925 CRYSTAL PATTERN RO0OR(S "#C At ES AREA 0of T...

Boyne returned to active flying as a nuclear test pilot with the 4925th Nuclear Test Group at Kirtland Air Force Base near Albuquerque, New Mexico.[4] While at Kirtland, he became an aircraft commander in the B-47 and B-52 Stratofortress.[2] Boyne...

Then I was sent to the 4925th Test Group (Nuclear) at Kirtland Air Force Base. It was a small outfit, with two B-47s, two B-52s and a handful of Century Series fighters.

report describes the special air instrumentation carried by delivery aircraft of the 4925th Test Group (Atomic) during Operation Buster. The instrumentation was intended to cover …[SW: NUCLEAR WEAPONS, TESTING, OPERATION BUSTER JANGLE] Details.

Boyne returned to active flying as a nuclear test pilot with the 4925th Nuclear Test Group at Kirtland Air Force Base near Albuquerque, New Mexico. While at Kirtland, he became an aircraft commander in the B-47 and B-52 Stratofortress.

Boyne flew as a nuclear test pilot with the 4925th Nuclear Test Group at Kirtland Air Force Base, flying the B-47 and B-52 bombers.

After graduating with distinction, he received the Atomic Energy Commissions “Q” Clearance and was assigned to the 4928th Test Squadron of the 4925th Nuclear Test Group, with which he served from December 1954 through August 1956.

service test program. He next served with the 4925th Test Group at Kirtland AFB, N.M., supervising the association of new types of nuclear weapons with specific types of aircraft.

The series was intended to test nuclear devices for possible inclusion in the weapons arsenal and to improve military tactics, equipment, and training. and the 4901st Support Wing...

He served with the 4925th Test Group, also involved in Nuclear Testing, at Kirtland AFB from January 1953 to May 1954, and then as Commander of the 4926th Test Squadron at Kirtland from May 1954 to June 1955.

He flew as a B-50 and B-47 combat crew member in the Strategic Air Command and later was a nuclear test pilot with the 4925th Nuclear Test Group at Kirtland AFB, flying both the B-47 and B-52.

JRB-36H 1957 = POP: 1 [51-5748], along with [51-5750] was transferred from the 28th SRW to the 4925th Test Group (Atomic), redesignated and modified as a camera platform to observe Operation Hardtack I (35 Nuclear tests at Eniwetok and Bikini...

3. Support the AEC with live test drops, at Nevada and the Pacific. 4. Fly through and "sample" the highly radioactive nuclear "clouds" after the bangs. With top priority established, the 4925th was staffed with highly experienced people.

which was exactly what the name says: an air unit tasked with testing nuclear weapons. That mission included live drops of nuclear bombs.

Boyne was a nuclear test pilot with the 4925th Nuclear Test Group flying B-47’s and B-52’s at Kirtland Air Force Base. In 1983, Boyne was named Director of the National Air and Space Museum.

Then sent to Kirtland AFB to 4925th Test Group (Nuclear), checked out as aircraft commander in B-47s and B-52s, flew base C-47s and B-25s. Participated in Operation Dominic, last live drops of atomic weapons in 1962.

UPON TAKEOFF WITH THE WEIGHT OF A ATOMIC BOMB AND INSTRUMENTS ON BOARD A KC 135 TANKER WAS NEEDED TO REFUEL THE B-47 BOMBER SO THE 4925th CAN GET TO THE TEST SITE AND HOME

THE ATOMIC AGE No.58 (1950's)

PREPARING AMERICAS YOUTH FOR THE ATOMIC YEARS (1961)

STRAIGHT FROM THE "CAPE" MADE IN NYC..

FOR AMERICAS YOUNG MISSILE OFFICERS THIS INTERESTING FIND BY ANOTHER ATOMIC HISTORY BUFF CAME IN A UNPLAYABLE STATE IF ANYBODY KNOWS OF ANOTHER ID LOVE TO HEAR IT!



PORTLAND OREGON'S CIVIL DEFENSE DEBUT "A DAY CALLED X" (1957)

    A DAY CALLED X ATOMIC ATTACK  

Be prepared.

That's what they keep telling us. Prepared for a viral pandemic. Girded for a killer earthquake. Braced for the next volcano eruption, for widespread fires, for marauding terrorists.

Bad things happen, we know this. So hunker down. Gear up. And thank your lucky stars that no matter how scary the H1N1 virus may seem, at least we no longer consider ourselves to be poised on the brink of a day so horrifyingly destructive it can only be referred to as "X."

It actually happened in Portland, on a sunny September morning in 1957. You think I'm kidding, but I've seen it. You can see it, too (watch video below). What you'll see, my friends, will shock you.

It's our city. Fifty-two years ago, but entirely recognizable, full of light and life and something like vim. Urban life proceeding apace. Paper boys on their bikes, longshoremen loading scrap iron at the port, the City Council dickering over some incomprehensible point of sewer policy. "An average day in an average American city," notes Glenn Ford.

Wait. What? The actor Glenn Ford? How did he get into the picture? Who's he talking to? And why did he just compare Portland's size and population on this wonderfully average day to that of, um, Hiroshima?

"This day," Ford continues, "THIS day is the one called ... X."

That can't be good. And just in case you think you're watching a Hollywood fantasy, here comes Mayor Terry Schrunk -- the real Terry Schrunk, Portland's mayor from 1957 until 1973 -- looking extremely grim as he addresses officials stationed in the city's doomsday bunker in Kelly Butte.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he intones. "You've heard reports that enemy planes are approaching. In less than three hours an H-bomb might fall over Portland."

This really happened. The sirens really wailed. Mayor Schrunk really sprinted off to Kelly Butte. He really declared that enemy planes were on their way. Portland hospitals and schools were really evacuated. Citizens really fled the city in droves.

All for the benefit of cameras sent from CBS to film "The Day Called 'X,'" a 30-minute movie aired on the television network on Dec. 8, 1957.

Produced as a kind of dramatized documentary about the best way to respond to a nuclear attack, "X" was shot in Portland over several weeks that September, with actual Portlanders (including the mayor and other government notables) as themselves. Chosen as a result of a particularly successful citywide Civil Defense drill in 1955, Portland stepped easily into its role of an American city on the brink of a nuclear holocaust.

Families across the city became aware of the worldwide crisis when the newspaper landed on their front porch.

"We're interested more in the reality of Portland's civil defense work than in a glamour-type Hollywood production," associate producer Arthur Swerdloff told The Oregonian a few weeks before filming began.

Which seems fortunate when you consider the absence of real characters or a plot beyond the surface story of a city full of people made to run for their lives in the most calm, reasoned way imaginable.

"My dad was always big on civil defense, and being prepared," recalls Terry Schrunk's son, longtime Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk, who was a teenager during his father's turn in front of the cameras.

"He saw it as promoting civil defense," the younger Schrunk says. "There wasn't any big glamorous opening, or anything like that."

Granted, "The Day Called 'X'" isn't the sort of glossy crowd-pleaser designed to make audiences stand up and cheer. More like duck and cover, or perhaps run and hide. No wonder CBS felt compelled to plaster "AN ATTACK IS NOT TAKING PLACE" across the screen every few minutes.

The fun begins with a quick establishing shot from the radio tower on Kelly Butte, from which we see a pair of official-looking cars zooming up the road. A siren blares. The cars screech to a halt. And men in suits burst from the doors, striding past a guard and into the maw of an underground bunker.

The lead man is Schrunk, who seems a bit queasy as he faces the bureaucrats stationed at the desks and confirms what they already know to be true: Bombers are headed for Portland. The fiery holocaust is imminent.

The entire city hit the road, including patients in hospitals, students in schools -- all but essential personnel.

The shriek of an air raid siren accompanies the movie's title, which lasts scant seconds before we cut to the reassuring presence of Ford, perched on a stool on a darkened stage in a funereal suit.

"Like myself," the actor rumbles, "I think you'll be very interested in the story we're about to tell you."

This may strike you as an understated way to begin a movie about the end of the world. But Ford is nothing short of avuncular as he sets the scene for viewers, describing Portland's sylvan setting and the "friendly, rugged" people here. Why, here comes Joe the paper boy now, tossing a copy of the morning's Oregonian (good lad) onto the porch of Mrs. Frank Stuefel, housewife and mother of five, who avoids the terrifying headlines on the front page (WORLD SHAKEN BY CRISIS) in favor of the ladies' page. A nameless host on KOIN-AM beams happily into his microphone as he ushers his listeners into the new day. "Wake up, Portland!" he cries. "It's a wonderful day today!"

Not for long. Because what we're seeing is the world's worst nightmare, particularly in the 1950s depths of the Cold War between the nuclear powers of the United States and the Soviet Union: the onset of a nuclear war, waged against everyday citizens in virtually any, or perhaps every, city in the world.

"The banshee wail heralds the siren," the announcer says. "And the city prepares for survival."

There is, he continues, an intricate citywide plan already in place. "But," he muses, "will it work?"

Next we revisit the opening sequence, with Schrunk and his entourage bee-lining their way to Kelly Butte. The top ranks of the city's government are already there to greet him ("The government must survive if its people are to survive," Ford points out) and from there the film becomes a lesson in how a well-oiled bureaucracy approaches the prospect of a fiery apocalypse. Amazingly, and perhaps reassuringly, they make it all look boring: mass death foretold in traffic bulletins, evacuation statistics and reports of what sounds like widespread indifference. "There is no panic among the schoolchildren!" a functionary shouts.

Bunker-like facilities for the officials who had to stay in town were provided with purified air.

Then it's 1:47 p.m., almost three hours after the initial reports had the enemy something like, oh yes, that's right -- three hours away. The camera settles again on the grim face of Portland's mayor, who observes that "the bombers are probably overhead."

Silence. Then a quick cut back to Ford, perched again on his stool. "What happened after that moment, we'll leave you to contemplate," he says.

Viewers' contemplations inspired a variety of responses. Some were terrified, particularly in Portland, where dozens of panicked calls flooded into The Oregonian's city desk. More savvy watchers, such as the TV critic at Time magazine, declared themselves bored with a film that portrayed a citizenry greeting their own near-guaranteed destruction "with the equanimity of Perry Como in a high school fire drill." The fault, the review concluded, belonged to the 10,000 unprofessional actors. "Portland's citizens let viewers down."

I'm sure they felt terrible. But, as Ford pointed out at the movie's end, at least Portland had a plan. "They're ready, if there really is a day called 'X,'" he says, fixing the camera with a level gaze. "How about you?"

The definition of 'X' may change. But the question still looms.

THIS STORY COMES FROM A RESIDENT OF THE PORTLAND OREGON AREA AS
HE EXPLAINS HIS CITIES SCENES AND RESIDENTS WHO ACTED INSTEAD OF
HIRED  HOLLYWOOD TYPES ALL IN ALL WELL DONE PORTLAND WELL DONE!!! CONTACT PETER CARLIN FOR MORE HISTORY ON THE MOVIE A DAY CALLED "X"
 petercarlin@news.oregonian.com

A Day Called X is a dramatized CBS documentary film set in Portland, Oregon, in which the entire city is evacuated in anticipation of a nuclear air raid, after Soviet bombers had been detected by radar stations to the north; it details the activation of the city's civil defense protocols and leads up to the moment before the attack (the ending is left intentionally unknown). It was filmed in September 1957 and aired December 8 of that year. It was presented by Glenn Ford.

Its local rebroadcast in 2004 and appearance in the on-line Prelinger Archives attracted interest among local history buffs due to its extensive outside shots of the city, and the use of non-actor participants (local officials and broadcasters).Whenever one of these individuals is heard uttering warnings or statements regarding attack, the words "An attack is not actually taking place" are superimposed over the picture.

On September 27, 1955, Portland actually conducted an exercise evacuation of downtown called "Operation Greenlight,"and the film is often misattributed to that year. Ford's narration, however, does make direct reference to the 1955 exercise

At the dawn of the nuclear age, evacuation was opposed by the federal government. The Federal Civil Defense Administration produced a short movie called Our Cities Must Fight. It argued that in the event of a nuclear war, people need to stay in cities to help repair the infrastructure and man the recovering industries. "Nuclear radiation," it advised, "would only stay in the air a day or two."Despite this early opposition, evacuation plans were soon created. One city at the forefront of such efforts was Portland, Oregon. In 1955, their city government completed "Operation Greenlight"--a drill to evacuate the city center. Hospital patients were packed into semi-trucks, pedestrians were picked up by passing motorists, and the city's construction equipment and emergency vehicles were rushed out to "dispersal points." The entire city center was evacuated in 19 minutes. On December 8, 1957 CBS Television aired a dramatization of how a well prepared city might respond to an imminent nuclear attack. The show,A Day Called 'X', produced "in co-operation with the Federal Civil Defense Administration," was shot in Portland, using City officials and ordinary citizens instead of professional actors. It was narrated by Glenn Ford. Such plans were plausible in the early days of the Cold War, when an attack would have come from strategic bombers, which would have allowed a warning of many hours. The development of Intercontinental ballistic missiles made this goal less realistic, however. Despite that, civil defense officials still worked to prepare evacuation plans. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan announced the Crisis Relocation Plan. The White House suggested that the $10 billion, five-year program could allow the evacuation of targeted urban centers to rural "host areas" and thus save 80% of the population. The plan allowed up to three days for the evacuation to be completed, believing that a nuclear war would not come in a surprise attack but rather as the culmination of a crisis period of rising tensions. Thank god we did not have to Evacuate since as a study showed that if Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant had a level 1 Crisis with it being 50 plus miles up the hudson NYC residents would have to shelter in place since Evacuation would be impossible,Go ahead and look "shelter in place" on the FEMA web site, Another study during the 1970s was Evacuating Long Island if the Long Island Lighting Co. "LILCO" Shoreham Nuclear Power Generating Plant went online when construction was finished in the late 1980s, Long Island has one of the worst Rush Hour traffic problems in the world known as the worlds largest parking lot, A study showed it was impossible to Evacuate Suffolk and Nassau through New York City Day OR Night! If the Shoreham Reactor Had A crisis or a release of Radiation, (most long islanders had no idea about the working nuclear reactor at brookhaven national lab and IT was leaking into the ground water) Long Islanders trying to flee the reactor 80 miles east of NYC would try to Evacuate on  the Long Island Expressway and secondary roads not made for heavy traffic dooming anyone trying to get off LI,One simple point i will always remember And it was on every bridge pillar along the LIE, activists painted , Fallout Shelter symbols and statements like " If this were you evacuating would you make it ? imagine triple the amount of cars add panic-) Or (you are in the 30 mile Evacuation Zone lethal radiation expected) Now remember your sitting for over an hour in bumper to bumper traffic for miles reading these signs they worked and Shoreham was dismantled. Evacuation may have worked in "A Day Called X' with a 3 day head start but for most areas in the US this was wishful thinking,