Also known as: クロスロード作戦
Operation Crossroads was a pair of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States military at Bikini Atoll in July 1946. The purpose was to investigate the effect of nuclear weapons against warships. The test fleet was largely composed of obsolete and surplus US Navy ships, as well as three surrendered Axis ships. Test Able consisted of a Mark III Bomb dropped from a B-29 Superfortress, while Test Baker consisted of a Mark III bomb detonated underwater. Some of the ships were sunk outright, many were damaged, and almost all were severely radioactively contaminated and had to be scuttled.
Operation Crossroads is sometimes referenced, both in-game and in fan works, by the Kantai Collection and/or Azur Lane characters who were historically present:
- Sakawa: Sakawa (Kancolle) / Sakawa (Azur Lane)
- Sunk by Test Able.
- USS Independence (CVL-22): - / Independence (Azur Lane)
- Survived both tests with serious damage and heavily irradiated, scuttled 1951 off the coast of California.
- USS Nevada (BB-36): Nevada (Kancolle) / Nevada (Azur Lane)
- Painted orange as the primary target of Test Able; however the bomb was considerably off target. Survived with serious damage and heavily irradiated, scuttled in 1948 near Pearl Harbor.
- USS Pensacola (CA-24): - / Pensacola (Azur Lane)
- Survived with serious damage and irradiated. Scuttled 1948.
- USS Salt Lake City (CA-25): - / Salt Lake City (Azur Lane)
- Survived with serious damage and irradiated, sunk as a target ship in 1948.
- USS Saratoga (CV-3): Saratoga (Kancolle) / Saratoga (Azur Lane)
- Seriously damaged by Test Able, sunk by Test Baker
- Nagato (Battleship): Nagato (Kancolle) / Nagato (Azur Lane)
- Survived Test Able with "moderate" damage instead of "serious" damage (only ship within 1000 yd/900 m to do so). Sunk by Test Baker.
- Prinz Eugen (Cruiser): Prinz Eugen (Kancolle) / Prinz Eugen (Azur Lane)
- Survived with light damage, but still so heavily irradiated that it could not be boarded to repair a leak. Sank under tow five months later. Her starboard propeller and part of her stern remain above water.
- USS Pennsylvania (BB-38): - / Pennsylvania (Azur Lane)
- Survived with light damage but still lethally irradiated. Scuttled 1948