David EilersOctober 29, 2011

<s>Chemical</s> Smoke Testing At Dugway in Utah

UPDATE: A reader at Wes' offroadaction site noted that these are likely pictures of smoke testing rather than chemical testing as claimed by the Tribune. You can view Harold's response here.

I spotted these pics at the Salt Lake Tribune's online site. I wish there were more close ups of the equipment.

BrettOctober 2, 2011 at 10:27 PM
You just got to love the lack of safety back in the simple days.
Wes KibbleOctober 30, 2011 at 1:21 AM
I posted these photos on my website and a reader commented: Those are not chemicals the soldiers are testing, it’s a smoke generator. Even in the 1940s, the soldiers would have been wearing protective clothing and gas masks if it had been chemical weapons. Dugway Proving Ground still tests smoke generators. Smoke is used to hide troop movement and assets from enemy view.
deilersOctober 30, 2011 at 1:28 AM
Wes, Thanks for that note! I will update the post. Your reader's comment does make sense. The newspaper article which referred to the pics indicated chemical and, me not knowing any different, assumed they had done the research to validate their claim. :-) - Dave