LIFE Magazine – July 15 1946

The July 15, 1946 issue of LIFE Magazine features the playful “Welded Water Gadgets” cover, photographed by Roger Coster, showing one of the imaginative inflatable water toys that captured America’s postwar enthusiasm for recreation and leisure. The unusual summer cover gives this issue strong visual appeal while the contents document a consequential moment in the first year after World War II.

Inside, LIFE reports on the atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll, one of the defining events of the early atomic age. Other major stories include the trial of Yugoslav resistance leader Draža Mihailović, turmoil following the end of OPA price controls, unrest behind the emerging Iron Curtain, and the death of the young king of Siam. The issue also offers LIFE’s characteristic range of photography and features, including farm machinery, trout fishing, cornea transplants, The New Yorker cover art, photographs from inside the Kremlin, and the movie Till the End of Time.

Inside This Issue

• Atomic Bomb at Bikini Atoll — LIFE photographs and reports on the historic postwar nuclear test in the Pacific.
• Draža Mihailović Trial — The Yugoslav resistance leader awaits the verdict in his controversial postwar trial.
• Trouble Behind the Iron Curtain — M. W. Fodor examines growing political tension in Eastern Europe.
• Death of OPA — The end of federal wartime price controls brings confusion to the American economy.
• Princess Elizabeth — The future Queen Elizabeth II appears in LIFE’s coverage of the week’s international events.
• Inside the Kremlin — New photographs give American readers a rare look inside the Soviet seat of power.
• Farm Machines — A LIFE photographic essay examines mechanization transforming American agriculture.
• Till the End of Time — LIFE covers the 1946 film about returning World War II veterans adjusting to civilian life.
• Cornea Transplants — A medical feature explores advances in restoring eyesight through transplantation.
• Welded Water Gadgets — LIFE looks at the inventive recreational products featured on this memorable summer cover.

Original LIFE Magazines are authentic issues published between 1936 and 2000.