Histories Compiled by Ewa Historian John Bond
Hawaii As Nuke Operations Base
A Mark 5 was used as the primary fission trigger used in Ivy Mike, the first thermonuclear device in history.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivy_Mike
Ivy Mike Countdown and detonation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3ezhvCzWCM
As a result of the collection of samples from the "Mike Shot" explosion by U.S. Air force pilots (one of whom died in the process), scientists found traces of the isotopes plutonium-246 and plutonium-244, and confirmed the existence of the predicted but undiscovered elements einsteinium and fermium.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_5_nuclear_bomb
The Mark 5 design was the first production American nuclear weapon which was significantly smaller than the 60 inch (150 cm) diameter implosion system of the Fat Man nuclear bomb design first used in 1945, down to 39 inches (99.1 cm) diameter. The Mark 5 design used a 92-point implosion system (see Nuclear weapon design) and a composite Uranium/Plutonium fissile material core or pit.
As with many early US nuclear weapon designs, the fissile material or pit could be kept separately from the bomb and assembled into it during flight. This technology is known as In Flight Insertion or IFI. The Mark 5 had an automatic IFI mechanism which could insert the pit into the center of the explosive assembly from a storage position in the bomb nose.
Complete List of All U.S. Nuclear Weapons
https://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Weapons/Allbombs.html
Below, list of Naval Nuclear Weapons
NAS Barbers Point Top Secret Site 95
Above 1956 AUW - Navy Advanced Undersea Weapons Shop, Site 95
Not Likely A Big Surprise - NAS Barbers Point
It should not come as a surprise that Hawaii was widely used for nuke testing, storage and deployment. The information presented in this document contains nothing that is considered classified (Confidential, secret, etc.) Nearly everything such aircraft, weapons systems have been made available to the public in various videos and archive documents. Some of the nuclear test information was made public by scientists and activists and put on the internet used the Freedom of Information Act. Anything considered too “sensitive” was deleted, marked out or “sanitized” from documents found on line.
Also because of projects reaching a 50 year period make them historic and eligible for the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and possible listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Finally because Naval Air Station Barbers Point was closed in 1999 and most of the property now dispersed to various state and federal agencies through the Base Realignment and Closure process mandated by Congress in 1993, the locations of now historic events and activities is now largely all in the public domain.
In addition, this story is timely because Hawaii for the first time in many decades has the possibility of being a nuclear target and possibly seeing nuclear testing in the Pacific by North Korea. It is as if the dark threat of nuclear warfare is emerging from a long sleep like a Godzilla Monster and those of the older generation remember the “Duck and Cover” civil defense posters and movies and learning to hide under their school desks.
Having said that, many will still likely be surprised at the extent NAS Barbers Point was involved in many operations and phases of the US nuclear weapons programs from 1946 onward. This includes the major Operation Crossroads on Bikini Atoll with the iconic huge nuclear blast lifting battleships out of the water and into a massive mushroom cloud. The tests were conducted using NASBP as an important logistic, operations and support base because it was close in proximity to the test areas on Christmas, Johnston and other Pacific Islands.
NASBP was used by the major weapons developers of the era, including the Manhattan Project, Sandia Labs, Los Alamos, Livermore and several others. An area on the West end of the former naval airbase was ideal because it was remote, secure, had relatively good communications, nearby housing and a large WW-II era cross runway. This special area became designated as Area 95. Those familiar with the major cult like interest in places like Area 51 and shows like the X-Files will find that part of that era did actually exist at NASBP during the Cold War era.
However, there is one very different component of the nuclear weapons story in Hawaii in that the huge atomic blasts could be seen quiet well from the south shore of the islands and actually became both fascinating and frightening multicolored lightshows that turned night into day, put radio stations off the air, set off burglar alarms and knocked out some street lights and power grids in Honolulu.
Hawaii and in particular Naval Air Station Barbers Point, was an ideal location for what were three general phases of nuclear weapons- Development, Testing and Deployment. NASBP saw the earliest post WW-II phases, the extremely critical summer and fall of 1962 which almost brought the United States to war with the Soviet Union, and finally a long weapons deployment phase where nuclear bombs became much smaller, very easy to roll around on bomb carts with dial able yield down to a small fraction of a megaton.
The nearly 3000 acres of the Navy airbase, originally built in 1942-43 to service and support four Navy carrier air groups, was relatively remote and easy to keep secure. The vast open acreage provided a great deal of ready explosives storage for bombs and torpedoes. The carrier airbase went on to supporting carrier air groups during the Korean and Vietnam Wars of the 50’s and 60’s.
Naval Air Station Barbers Point was an ideal location to support the AEC Pacific Test Range
After the Cold War era began, NAS Barbers Point shifted to nuclear weapons, initially because of the support of the huge nuclear bomb tests in the Pacific Islands starting in 1946. Its runways and ramps could accommodate all sorts of aircraft of any size and was primarily involved in the major 1,500-mile Pacific barrier, before satellites, to patrol for inbound Soviet bombers carrying nuclear weapons. This later shifted to patrolling and locating Soviet submarines up until the time the base closed in 1999. Many today believe the closure was a huge mistake and loss of a valuable Pacific defense asset.
Major Nuclear Tests in the Pacific by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)
Pacific Proving Grounds Testing chronology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Proving_Grounds
2.1 Operation Crossroads (1946)
2.2 Operation Sandstone (1948)
2.3 Operation Greenhouse (1951)
2.4 Operation Ivy (1952)
2.5 Operation Castle (1954)
2.6 Operation Redwing (1956)
2.7 Operation Hardtack I (1958)
2.8 Operation Dominic (1962)
The next big nuclear weapons role for NAS Barbers Point came in 1962 when it was a primary staging area for Operation Dominic that was a combination of B52 air drops and fired missiles carrying nuclear bombs of various configurations. The B52 nuclear bomb drops out of Hawaii were by far the largest and most successful part of Operation Dominic while the Thor missile launches from Johnston Island had many disasters and miscalculations.
By 1958 the Navy had already begun reconfiguring the large airbase for storage and operational deployment of nuclear weapons. Due to all of the previous nuclear tests over the decades nuclear bombs had been designed down to fairly small sizes with adjustable yields. This meant a nuclear explosion of relatively small size, making such weapons “tactical.” These bombs were small enough to carrying on relatively lightweight A4 Skyhawks deployed off aircraft carriers. Some argued during the Vietnam War that small tactical nuclear weapons should have been used against North Vietnam, including creating a radioactive barrier between North and South Vietnam.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_A-4_Skyhawk
Navy Nuclear Weapons for Tactical Use
The Navy had many tactical nukes for delivery by SkyHawks, Intruders as well as P-3's. P-3's had nuke torpedoes or depth charges. The smaller fighter jets were special nuke units within the larger carrier groups. They could wipe out an opposing fleets and near surface submarines. Or they could be directed to block a major enemy invasion such as in Korea.
GOP Candidate Barry Goldwater advocated using nukes on North Vietnam and "Bombing Them Back To The Stone Age."
1962 – An Important Year of Hawaii Nuclear History That Few People Remember Today, When Thor Missile Launches Exploded Atomic Bombs in the Pacific Atmosphere and Oahu watched from lawn chairs.
It is important to jump back in history to understand why these mega bomb tests happened:
Detonation of Tsar Bomba in 1961
On January 1, 1959, Cuban nationalist Fidel Castro drove his guerilla army into Havana and overthrew General Fulgencio Batista, the nation’s American-backed president. For the next two years, officials at the U.S. State Department and CIA attempted to push Castro from power. In April 1961, the CIA launched a full-scale invasion of Cuba by 1,400 American-trained Cubans. However, the invasion did not go well. Badly outnumbered by Castro’s troops, and they surrendered after less than 24 hours of fighting. This was the Kennedy administration’s first foreign policy failure just as it came into office.
In May, 1961 President Kennedy approved sending 400 Special Forces troops and 100 other U.S. military advisers to South Vietnam. On the same day, he ordered the start of clandestine warfare against North Vietnam to be conducted by South Vietnamese agents under the direction and training of the CIA and U.S. Special Forces troops. Kennedy’s orders also called for South Vietnamese forces to infiltrate Laos to locate and disrupt communist bases and supply lines there. This was a policy influenced by the “Communist Domino Theory.” Cuba was launching guerilla insurgencies in Central and South America. President Kennedy was under great pressure to respond to what was seen a major Communist plan for world domination.
On August 30, 1961 Soviet Union Premier Nikita Khrushchev announced the end of a three-year moratorium on nuclear testing and recommenced in September 1961, initiating a series of major tests that included the detonation of Tsar Bomba which was a massive 50 megatons. President John Kennedy immediately responded by authorizing Operation Dominic which was a huge effort rushed on a very short time scale undertaken by Joint Task Force 8 during April–November 1962.
Operation Dominic was a series of 31 nuclear test explosions with a 38.1 Megaton total yield conducted in by the United States in the Pacific. This test series was scheduled quickly, in order to respond in kind to the Soviet resumption of testing after the tacit 1958–1961 test moratorium. Most of these shots were conducted with free-fall bombs dropped from B-52 bomber aircraft. Twenty of these shots were to test new weapons designs; six to test weapons effects; and several shots to confirm the reliability of existing weapons. The Thor missile was also used to lift warheads into near-space to conduct high-altitude nuclear explosion tests; these Thor shots were collectively called Operation Fishbowl.
Naval Air Station Barbers Point became the operational focal point for the B52 bombers using the WW-II designed Navy airfield which had the advantage of nearly 3000 acres of highly secured military space in the remote sugar cane plantation community of Ewa Villages. This included nuclear weapons storage areas near the runways and the then very accessible West Loch and Waikele nuclear weapons storage areas. There was also a Navy narrow gauge railway that connected the airbase with Lualualei Ammunition Depot and the Pearl Harbor West Loch Ammunition depots. Nuclear weapons components were carried in Navy box cars on this 1890’s railway and the Navy diesel engines and rolling stock still provide popular museum tours today.
The Operation Dominic nuclear bomb tests were just ending when quickly followed by the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1962 which was a direct dangerous confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and closest the two superpowers came to nuclear war. The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced a military readiness status of DEFCON 3 as U.S. naval forces began implementation of a Cuba quarantine and accelerated plans for a military strike on Cuba. The crisis was unique in a number of ways, featuring calculations and miscalculations as well as direct and secret communications and miscommunications between the White House and the Kremlin with relatively little input from the bureaucracies typically involved in the foreign policy process.
State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands given a complete Nuclear Bomb Facility from Navy
Parcel 13073-E has been transferred by the Navy (intended as open space City park) to Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA) for development as a 5 MW solar PV farm (like Hunt's PV farm).
The parcel has very special and important Cold War history only declassified in 2012. Many local residents and even career Navy veterans of Barbers Point never knew about this major Top Secret project when live nuclear weapons were dropped from B-52's. The historic B52 is now restored in a Cold War Museum in New Mexico. "Cowslip" was the B52's ID.
Navy BRAC land transfer of Site 95 to DHHL but there was never any specific mention of it.
The Barbers facility was also likely used for the deactivation of the nuclear bombs so they could be
transported back to a company in Texas called Pantex. The others still useful were taken over to West Loch. Most West Loch bombs are now most likely all ship based systems.
The early tactical series was the B-43. The B-57 was probably the most widely managed at Barbers. The B-61 was the last in the series of tactical nukes- these may not have been widely staged at Barbers but West Loch may have some. Refitting B-61's are a big DoD issue today and most are for phasing them out.
Obviously guided missiles and cruise missiles led to the phase-out of tactical nukes on aircraft.
They also had some (known) accidents, one in Hawaii, on a carrier near Japan and on an AFB- that are known anyway. Figure 2-3 times that are not known. Most "Broken Arrows" take decades before they become public- usually because of a FOIA.
Barbers Point remains the most secretive and untold nuke bases of the Cold War era. It was involved in all the phases of the US nuclear program.
The “hot pad” at today’s Kalaeloa State Airport which many think is a helicopter landing pad.
This was actually a highly secured nuclear weapons and ordinance offloading area where weapons were taken to nearby secure storage bunkers. The is Parcel 13073-E that HCDA turned into 5 MW solar PV farm.
Parcel 13069 was transferred by the Navy to DHHL which uses it today as an industrial area.
This was the center of nuclear weapons activity at Naval Air Station Barbers Point during the Cold War.
In 1965 this was an ideal highly secured airfield nuclear weapons operations area of NASBP
Buildings 278 and 1682 circled. This entire area of NAS BP was once a highly secure nuclear weapons zone with high double fences and orders to shoot to kill trespassers.
One of the important buildings was the Assembly building 1682 where weapons maintenance and readiness was performed. Below is a photo of the building during its active use before the base closed in 1999. Building 278 is the extremely historic Operation Dominic B52 building of 1962.
Strategic nuclear weapons were handled on carriers by specially trained ordinance crews. These shown appear to be the widely used B61 series on aircraft carriers during the cold war and what was mostly maintained and stored at NAS Barbers Point for carrier air group deployments.
A “W” Division on each aircraft carrier was responsible for maintaining and preparing the nuclear weapons aboard. During the Cold War aircraft carriers are believed to have routinely carried around 100 nuclear weapons when forward deployed.
B61 nuclear bomb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B61_nuclear_bomb
The B61 nuclear bomb is the primary thermonuclear gravity bomb in the U.S. Enduring Stockpile following the end of the Cold War. It is a low to intermediate-yield strategic and tactical nuclear weapon featuring a two-stage radiation implosion design. It was designed and built by the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
The B61 has a variable yield ("dial a yield") design with a yield of 0.3 to 340 kilotons in its various mods. It has streamlined casing capable of withstanding supersonic flight speeds. The weapon is 11 ft 8 in (3.56 m) long, with a diameter of about 13 inches (33 cm). Basic weight is about 700 pounds (320 kg), although the weights of individual weapons may vary depending on version and fuze/retardation configuration. Total production of all versions was approximately 3,155.
The B61 inert training version is often seen at naval air museums as many were produced.
When the B61 was still classified, Navy ordinance crews never used the term "B61". Instead, it was referred to as the "silver bullet.” The B61 is a lightweight, multipurpose thermonuclear modern tactical bomb even though was referred to officially as a “strategic” weapon. B61s were designed for aircraft carrier operations and delivery by A-4M, A-6E, A-7E and F/A-18 attack/fighter aircraft.
NAS Barbers Point also stored the B57 nuclear depth bomb for use by ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) P-3 Orions
Nuclear Tomahawks and nuclear weapons were also stored at Lualualei. Today after the closure of NASBP, West Loch is believed to be the only location where nuclear weapons may be still stored in Hawaii. Defense policies will not disclose how many are still there but very likely it is far below the numbers once seen during the Cold War.
A4 Skyhawk with a MK 7 nuclear bomb
RB-57 preparing to fly through a nuclear cloud
During the Cold War at NAS Barbers Point this was a highly secure guard building
Building 278, Operation Dominic nuclear bomb assembly building at NAS Barbers Point.
Building 278 Project Dominic bomb storage building at NAS Barbers Point
Watch this video and realize that these massive nuclear explosions came from bombs assembled in this very building and why it should be placed on the National Historic Register.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-IsUoDdeuY
Building 278 was one the first building nuclear weapons facility buildings built in 1958. The large storage bunkers appear by 1959. This coincides with the P-3 Orion program coming in to base at the air station with Patrol Wing HQ located at building 972 and then the later SOSUS building, all located on the opposite side of the based at the entrance to former MCAS Ewa.
Building 278 is mentioned in a declassified report as where the 1962 Operation Dominic B-52 "devices" were assembled. The report also says a better assembly building is required in the future. This was likely the newer building 1682 built later.
"The entrance door into the high bay area of building 278 was cut out especially for Operation DOMINIC. This door was made too narrow for a straddle carrier to enter. This necessitated that the test device be pulled up a slope of 12 inches in 13 feet in a turn such that the test unit would not bump the sides of the entrance. The apron in front of the entrance of both building 278 and the storage igloos was too narrow to adequately position a test device so that it could be pushed straight in to the desired area. These aprons were widened with asphalt approximately four weeks after starting the test drops."
The entrance door into the high bay area of building 278 was cut out especially for Operation Dominic. The original door was too narrow for a straddle carrier to enter as shown below.
This necessitated that the test device be pulled up a slope of 12 inches in 13 feet in a turn such that the test unit would not bump the sides of the entrance. The apron in front of the entrance of both building 278 and the storage igloos was too narrow to adequately position a test device so that it could be pushed straight in to the desired area. These aprons were widened with asphalt approximately four weeks after starting the test drops.
An alternate loading site on the concrete parking pad south of Building 117 at NAS Barbers Point was proposed. The only completely safe location for loading from EMR (Electro Magnetic Radiation) hazards was the originally proposed loading site on the taxi way north of runway 4L. One additional EMR problem was the operation of airborne radar equipment flying over and making approaches to NAS Barbers Point.
A lot more specific details are also given on loading locations, etc. This whole program spun off a lot of changes on NAS Barbers Point. A survey revealed that there were no adequate grounding facilities at the B-52 loading site, at the (2-124 offloading site and at the B-52 parking apron south of Building 117.
This problem was immediately brought to the attention of NAS Barbers Point Public Works who drew up necessary specifications for grounding points and, through JTG 8.4 at Hickam, Holmes & Narver completed a rush project. Adequate grounding points exist for the B-52 and C-124 operations at NAS Barbers Point.
So historically this specifically ties in that building with Operation Dominic. Now over 50 years old and a major historic Cold War building.
By 1964 the whole Site 95 area was built out as it appears as a result of the 1962 test recommendations.
This comes from the BRAC to DHHL in 2008. Mentions Hawaiian sinkholes and WW-II features but nothing about the diagram on the very last page which points at Building 278.
The hot pad, seen above, top right, was where nuclear weapons were offloaded and taken to nearby storage bunkers for operational readiness. Bombs were also transported for other areas for long term maintenance and long term storage, usually over at West Loch.
Building 1682 was built in 1965 and was used to store “special weapons” and also used by the Navy programs.
Site 95
NASBP provided space to the Manhattan Engineering District (MED)
The Atomic Energy Commission leased approximately 25 acres with construction of approximately 25 buildings for the Operation Dominic tests, collectively referred to as site 95 in AEC records.
Even after the Trinity test and the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, military officials still knew far less than they would have liked about the effects, especially on naval targets, of nuclear weapons. Accordingly, the Joint Chiefs of Staff requested and received presidential approval to conduct a series of tests during summer 1946. Vice Admiral W. H. P. Blandy, head of the test series task force, proposed calling the series Operation "Crossroads." "It was apparent," he noted, "that warfare, perhaps civilization itself, had been brought to a turning point by this revolutionary weapon."
1946 Operations Crossroads
In 1946 NASBP provided space to the Manhattan Engineering District (MED) to support the first atomic bomb tests in the Pacific - Operations Crossroads. MED was the historic Manhattan project that developed the As the test programs grew, the facilities became more permanent, providing spaced for the major laboratories – Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, the University of California Radiation Laboratory (later named Lawrence-Livermore National Laboratory) among others. This included space for “test devices” and to support air drop and Navy specific weapons tests. Site 95 supported materials going to the Pacific Test Facility (PTF) and materials returned from PTF.
Other Pacific nuclear tests involving NAS Barbers Point included Operation HARDTACK I consisting of 35 nuclear tests conducted at the Pacific Proving Ground between April 28 and August 18, 1958.
Department of Defense (DoD) provided support and conducted experiments that did not interfere with Atomic Energy Commission activities and after the leases ended in 1977 the area was transferred back to the Navy for their own special weapons projects and device storage.
Operation DOMINIC I was a series of 36 atmospheric nuclear detonations conducted in the Pacific Ocean from April to November 1962.
These detonations are listed on the accompanying table. Along with the continental DOMINIC II tests, these were the last atmospheric nuclear tests conducted by the United States.
Historical Background
Most of the DOMINIC I test shots were detonated in the air after being dropped from a B-52 bomber. Twenty-four of the airdrops took place from April 25 through July 11 over the ocean just south of Christmas Island, a United Kingdom possession located 1,200 nautical miles (nmi) (2,224 kilometers [km]) south of Honolulu, Hawaii. Five more airdrops were detonated in October over the open ocean in the vicinity of Johnston Island, a United States possession 780 nmi (1,445 km) west-southwest of Honolulu.
These tests were conducted for the purpose of weapon development. Five high-altitude bursts (up to 400 km) were lofted by rockets from Johnston Island and were designated the FISHBOWL tests. These tests were for the purpose of studying the effects of nuclear detonations as defensive weapons against ballistic missiles.
In addition, the Navy conducted two nuclear tests in the open ocean on May 4 about 435 nmi (806 km) east of Christmas Island and on May 11, 370 nmi (686 km) southwest of San Diego, California. The first, FRIGATE BIRD, was a missile-launched airburst, a proof test of the Polaris weapon system launched from the submarine USS ETHAN ALLEN (SSBN 608). The second, SWORDFISH, was the test of the Navy ASROC system, a rocket-launched antisubmarine nuclear depth charge.
As in previous test series in the Pacific, a joint military and civilian organization conducted these tests, Joint Task Force Eight (JTF 8). JTF 8 was made up of military personnel from all the services and civilians from the Department of Defense (DoD), the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the U.S. Public Health Service, and contractor organizations. Commander JTF 8 (CJTF 8) was appointed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and reported to the AEC as well as the JCS.
B52 Parking Area Now Hawaii National Guard Facility
Two B52B’s and two C130 were provided by the US Air Force Special Weapons Center from Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico with ramp space provided in front of NASBP Maintenance Hangar Facility No. 117. This multiple-section, multiple-function building was the biggest and one of the most significant structures on the station during World War II. The central function of the station during WW-II was to repair and maintain carrier airplanes and much of the work was done in this building. When later HABS photos were taken it was occupied by an Army CH-47 Chinook group, the 147th Hill Climbers.
B52 Bomb Test Operations And Premature Bomb Release Safeguards - Operation Notes:
The B-52 Aircraft is a long-range strategic bomber powered by eight engines and manned for these test missions by a crew of seven. Either B-52B (number 52-013) or B-52D (number 56-620) will be used for these tests. The primary differences between the B-52B and B-52D are in the airframe configuration and aircraft power distribution systems.
The B-52 will carry the Test Vehicle in the forward bomb bay. The 39/Test Vehicle will be a freefall test shape utilizing the MK-39 ballistic case. Nominal weight will be 7,000 pounds.
Two types of ballistic cases, MK-36 and MK-39, will be used. The 36 Test Vehicles will be dropped with parachute retardation; the 39 Test Vehicles will be dropped free-fall with a MK-28 instrumentation shape as companion. All devices will be detonated above the surface.
A Test Vehicle consists of a ballistic case enclosing a nuclear test device, a special arming and fusing system, the associated instrumentation, and for the Test Vehicle a retardation parachute.
The logistic transportation of Test Vehicles by C130 cargo aircraft. Staging operations will include testing, disassembly, assembly, maintenance, and transportation to the B52 Aircraft. A minimum of two armed guards will be present any time the nuclear device is outside the confines of an approved storage area. Access to the storage area or loaded aircraft will be rigidly restricted.
Implementation of the two-man rule during the test, assembly, and loading operation at Barbers Point is enhanced by the controls planned for the Safing Key Connector Cover. This cover will be locked in place during the original Test Vehicle assembly operation with two padlocks. At Barbers Point, the keys to these two padlocks will be maintained in the custody of two different individuals.
A live bomb terminated prior to release. An aborted run may be followed by either another live run or an aborted mission. The greatest concern is inadvertent and premature malfunctioning of the electrical system, which could lead to a nuclear detonation.
It has been recommended by the Ad Hoc Committee that the T-249 be placed with the DCU-9/A. The DCU-9/A contains a rotary Selector Switch having the positions SAFE, GND, AIR and OFF, a Control Arm having the positions OS and SGA, a red Warning Light, a Test Switch, a-Dim Control, and a Holding Relay.
The DCU-9/A is located at the navigator's station in the production aircraft. In the B-52B and D aircraft used in these tests, the DCU-9/A is located at the weaponeer’s station (EWO's station) because of test mission requirements.
The proposed test operation as defined in this study, and as modified by the following recommendations, will provide an acceptable level of safety enroute to the target area.
During airborne operations the Special Weapons Manual Lock provides a high degree of assurance against premature release. Withholding operation of the Manual Lock Handle until release time minus 60 seconds, aa presently provided by the Concept of Operations, significantly reduces the probability of premature release.
When the Special Weapon Lock has been unlocked and the Test Vehicle prearmed the DCU-9/A any one of three crew members or a specific technical malfunction, can initiate premature prearmed release by actuating the Salvo Release System.
At least two people, each knowledgeable of the task to be performed and familiar with pertinent security directives will be present when access to the nuclear device/nuclear device system is required.
B-52 takeoffs from NAS Barbers Point with a test device onboard should be from runway 22
Overflying inhabited islands enroute to and from the drop area creates a potentially hazardous situation. Enroute flights with a test device aboard, from takeoff to the drop area should not overfly inhabited islands or large concentrations of shipping. The return flight to Barbers Point in the event of an aborted mission, should avoid populated areas to the maximum extent possible. The B-52 drop aircraft will take off from Barbers Point Naval Air Station. Takeoff will be accomplished in the direction of the sea whenever conditions permit.
Mission Aircraft And The Operation Plan – It is Actually Much More Complicated
A 8-52 Aircraft will be used to release the device. In addition to the B-52, there will be two (2-130 Aircraft, two C-54, Aircraft, and one RC-121 Aircraft. The C-130s and C-54s will be used for diagnostic and medical experiments. The C-121 will be Alternate Control Center for the Air Operation Center (AOC) at Christmas Island. The distance from Ground Zero of these arrays will vary from shot to shot. The orbits of the support aircraft are oriented with respect to the
direction of the bomb run.
The directing of the bomb run is determined by surface instrumentation requirements and the direction of the wind in the target area. Takeoff and landing control will be exercised from the
control tower at Barbers Point NAS. Following takeoff, the aircraft will proceed to the operational area under Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) control. 60 miles from the target area boundary, control passes to the JTG8.4 approach control who vectors the aircraft to the target area. Positive identification of the target is a mandatory condition for proceeding with the mission.
Film Processing
It was found that there were no facilities for processing classified color or black and-
white movie film and none had the required security clearance.
Glenn's Color Processing for all color film. Since the studio did not have a facility clearance, it
was necessary to send two or three men into the studio with each batch of film. These men had to follow the film through all stages of processing and be familiar with film processing
techniques.
Restoration of the B-52B Stratofortress plane is under way at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. Delivered to Kirtland Air Force Base in April 1955 directly from the Boeing Company, the plane was assigned to the Air Force Special Weapons Center and used for atomic testing.
The B-52B, now on display, dropped the first hydrogen bomb as part of testing during Operation Red Wing, making it the only Stratofortress in existence to have ever dropped an atomic bomb. The original artwork is going to be painted on the Stratofortress. The artwork includes the Air Force insignia as well as the unit shield for the Special Weapons Center, later redesignated the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center.
