Original 1947 AP Wire Photo showing the light aircraft carrier USS Independence (CVL-22) after sustaining damage during the atomic bomb tests conducted at Bikini Atoll as part of Operation Crossroads. The attached AP caption states the carrier arrived in San Francisco Bay on June 19, 1947, displaying scars from two atomic bomb blasts and returning for further examination by atomic scientists. The Independence was among the target ships used to study the effects of nuclear weapons on naval vessels following World War II. A striking and historically important image documenting one of the earliest chapters of the Atomic Age. Measures approximately 9⅛" x 8½". Mounted on original newspaper archive backing with newsroom tape remnants, edge wear, and handling marks consistent with age and use. From a Pennsylvania newspaper archive. Please see photos.
