Milwaukee Civil Defense Director Don E. Carleton and Col. Anthony F. Levno assess damage after simulated attack on Milwaukee. Milwaukee Journal, Jul. 20, 1956.

Today marks the 60th anniversary of what was, as far as I’ve been able to determine, the only nationwide test of CONELRAD, the system designed to give Americans emergency information about a nuclear attack.

As I wrote in a previous post, all radio and TV broadcast stations in the U.S. left the air at 3:10 PM Eastern Time.  Designated stations came on the air on 640 or 1240 kHz, alternating between transmitters to confuse enemy bombers.  In some cities, such as Milwaukee, local exercises were conducted in conjunction with the CONELRAD test.  In the photo shown here, civil defense planners are examining the hypothetical ruins of Milwaukee.

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