Compiled by Ewa Historian John Bond
NAS Barbers Point Site 95, Building 278 Special Weapons Complex For Atomic Energy Commission and Navy
This is one of the most important buildings in the Cold War Era. It is a National Register eligible structure under several NHPA criteria. The Navy deed of transfer states that it should not be altered or taken down. Almost no one knows about 278’s historic significance.
Building 278 is located within Site 95, a major atomic bomb test and nuclear weapons facility.
278 shows up as the first Site 95 building around 1958. The bomb storage bunkers appear by 1959
Atomic bombs were assembled in 278 to be dropped or detonated at the Pacific bomb test range
1959 coincides with the P-3 Orion Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) program and the 1959 construction of the Patrol Wing HQ, ASWOC and then the SOSUS (SOund SUrveillance System) building. Nearby are remains of the Low Frequency antenna arrays. Much of this has never been documented by the Navy.
Building 278 is mentioned in a declassified report found on the internet (by Googling Building 278)
and this was where the 1962 B-52 "devices" were assembled. The report also says a better assembly building is required in the future...That was why Building 1682 was built.
"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."
"Inadequate aircraft grounding facilities, inadequate crash-fire facilities to meet operational and disaster control requirements at NAS Barbers Point, and incomplete information on EMR hazards at proposed alternate loading area at NAS Barbers Point."
A lot more specific details are also given on loading locations, etc. This whole program spun off a lot of
Big changes on NAS Barbers Point.
Historically this ties in that building 278 was used by the B-52 air drops for Operation Dominic. Now over 60 years old it is a major historic Cold War Era building. Building 1682 became the replacement structure that the Atomic Energy Commission needed for further bomb assembly and tests.
By 1964 the whole Site 95 area is built out as it appears today which was a result of the 1962 test
recommendations.
Nuclear weapons regularly moved through these special double fenced high security gates at NASBP
Information about all of this comes from the Navy BRAC land transfer to DHHL in 2008. It mentions Hawaiian sinkholes and WW-II features but nothing about the diagram on the very last page which shows Site 95 and points at Building 278. Clearly the Navy BRAC did not want to draw any attention to the fact that DHHL was getting a major historic Cold War high security facility that was originally built for the Pacific atomic bomb tests and leased from the navy to the Atomic energy Commission.
See more of still color photos in another document about the 1962 B-52 Bomb Drops from NASBP
More from a declassified report
Inadequate aircraft grounding facilities, inadequate crash-fire facilities to meet operational and disaster
control requirements at NAS Barbers Point, and incomplete information on EMR hazards at proposed
alternate loading area at NAS Barbers Point.
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 bepulled 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. Upon examination of existing operational communications and electronic facilities it was determined that the EMR hazard at the proposed location exceeded the limits established in AF 32-6. Advance information listed only types of transmitting equipment but not total number. The only completely safe location for loading from EMR hazards was the originally proposed loading site on the taxi way north of runway 4L. (This area is just above the circled Area 95. It is also seen in the 1962 still photos of the movie made about the B-52 air drop.)
Building 117 is an historic Navy hangar that was transferred to the Hawaii Army National Guard. The HiANG may not be aware of the historic significance of Building (hangar) 117.
The B-52 bomb was a B-36 atomic bomb. The B-52 drops avoided flying over the local community.
One additional EMR problem was the operation of airborne radar equipment flying over and making
approaches to NAS Barbers Point. This problem was coordinated with local Naval Operations and they
published necessary directives to preclude operation of airborne radar equipment on and over NAS Barbers Point.
A survey revealed that there were no adequate grounding facilities at the B-52 loading site, at the 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 now exist for the B-52 and C-124 operations at NAS Barbers Point.
(1) The B-52 and weapon were at NAS Barbers Point and the C-130 DIE collection stations at Christmas Island. Independent calibration equipment was used at each location to calibrate the individual DME stations. The first five air drops' DME diagnostics were obtained after utilizing this method of calibration.
An analysis of the data collected revealed a poor level of reliability of the system. Subsequent drops
were made only after "live" calibrations were made with the B-52, weapon, and C-130's at
designated calibrated locations at Barbers Point. This greatly increased the reliability of the DME and provided very successful data collection during subsequent air drops.
Below are the actual mission planning notes made by the USAF and AEC scientists
NOTE: The B-52 aircraft used were not from the regular USAF but instead came from a very small unique mission group using some of the very first B-52’s made by Boeing Aircraft Company. The historic B-52 that dropped the atomic bombs in 1962 is now in an air museum in Albuquerque New Mexico.
The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History's historic B-52B Stratofortress s/n 52-0013
The bomb drops in 1946 Operation Crossroads was from “Dave’s Dream”
a B-29 based in the Marianas Islands
