It features the testimony of those veterans who went up into the air and lets visitors discover their stories for themselves.<\/p>\n
RAF 76 Squadron is one of the crews highlighted at the museum. Working as part of Operations Grapple Y and Zulu Flagpole, they were ordered to fly through the detonations of two of the biggest bombs dropped near Christmas Island at three megatons and one megaton respectively.<\/p>\n
Flight Lieutenant Joe Pasquini flew through those tests and is remembered by Founder of LABRATS International, Alan Owen.<\/p>\n
He told GB News: \u201cTo witness that explosion going off, and to then be told, \u2018we’re actually going to fly into that mushroom cloud\u2019, it’s just unbelievable.<\/p>\n
\u201cJoe mentions that when the bomb went off, it was like seeing the face of God. He mentions flying through the cloud was like going into hell.<\/p>\n
![\"\\u2018Into](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/u2018into-the-atom-u2019-exhibit.png\")
\u2018Into the Atom\u2019 is dedicated to the RAF crews who were ordered to head into the sky minutes after detonation and take measurements of the bombs<\/p>\n
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GB NEWS<\/p>\n
\u201cJoe had already written down the readings, he knew about radioactivity, and he knew that he was being exposed, but they still went through that cloud, and he still wrote those readings down.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo think that these guys saw it, but carried on and did their duty.\u201dThey are one of the more forgotten parts of Britain\u2019s Nuclear Testing in the 1950s and 60s, but these men were flying into the clouds of bombs a thousand times more powerful that the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.<\/p>\n
The crews on board these sampling flights were told they could be exposed to 10 roentgens and be safe, but when 76 squadron were ordered to make six passes through the cloud in Operation Zulu Flagpole, declassified documents show the men received more than double the limit.<\/p>\n
Other documents show no formal enquiry regarding their overexposure was made with the crew to prevent causing what was labelled as \u201cneedless anxiety\u201d.<\/p>\n
![\"\\u2018Into](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1777635601_15_u2018into-the-atom-u2019-exhibit.png\")
The exhibit features the testimony of those veterans who went up into the air and lets visitors discover their stories for themselves<\/p>\n
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GB NEWS<\/p>\n
The men knew that as the plane flew back and forth through the mushroom cloud, the only protection from high doses of radiation was the body of the aircraft.<\/p>\n
Kevin Hunt is one of the two brothers who started the museum back in 2003, and at this family-run site, the story of nuclear testing is personal because of their Uncle Tom.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was working on the engines for the aircraft that were flying through the cloud, taking samples of the radiation.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was in Australia and it was hot, so their standard uniform when they were working was shorts and short-sleeved shirts.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was absolutely no protection from radiation whatsoever and he was probably handling parts of the aircraft that were highly radioactive.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNot a lot of people know about Britain\u2019s nuclear testing, and this is an area that needs to be recognised in history. It deserves to be recognised in history.\u201d<\/p>\n