Amplitude distributions obtained from field observations of the azimuthal distribution of motion from cratering shots near a vertical face in a limestone section yielded data on radiation into a half‐space. These effects have been approximately reproduced in the laboratory by means of two‐dimensional seismic models. Small chemical explosions were fired on or near the edge of a large plexiglas sheet and the radiation of both P and S waves observed. Shots on the edge of the model sheet produce P and S radiation patterns expected from a normal downward impulse on the free surface. The radiation patterns from cratering shots may be qualitatively explained by the combined action on the free surface of a normal downward stress and a pair of horizontal stresses (dipole without moment) at the source point. The observed data are not sufficient for verifying theoretical S wave distributions. Observations of SV amplitudes from nuclear explosions could yield useful information concerning the relation between the angle at which the waves leave the source and the distance at which the wave emerges.