AFSWP Projects: Event Smoky (Dated Jan 5 1979) (From: Tech Reps. Inc)

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1. Reference your DF, undated, subject as above, requesting review for declassification of Tech. Heps. Inc. document concerning SMOKY {attached). 2. Per your request, the document has no classified information. Dod TRI-C-OC97 (2 cys) unclass. been reviewed and determined to contain

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540 CHAMA, N.E. SUITE 1 ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 87108 PHONE: <5051 266-5678 j 1401 Camino del Mar Del Mar, CA 92014 Attn: Jack L. Sperling Upon Removal of Classified Enclosure This Letter is Unclassific 1 Reference 1. TRI letter, 5 September 1978 to Lt Col H. B. Mowery with SMOKY Technical Projects. 2. JAYCOR letter, December 20, 1978 to TRI with comments and revised SMOKY outline. In the attached revised AFSWP SMOKY draft, the paragraphs have been renumbered, "Objectives" have been changes to "Purposes" and a "Background" section which includes the "need and responsibilities," has been added to each project in compliance with Reference 2, above. General comments concerning the results, are contained in the introductory remarks in Paragraph 1 of the draft. As suggested in your letter, the project descriptions have been re-written and only factual information has been included. Typical installation and recovery operations are included for the appropriate project. Project 5.5 is included in the attached draft even though it was inadvertently omitted from your outline. The Tech. Reps., Inc. list of personnel, attached to Reference 1 above, contains the names of people who were possibly exposed in the SMOKY Event. The list was compiled by examining the Weapon Test Reports of the DOD projects that participated in Operation PLUMBBOB and extracting any names acknowledged therein. The authors of these reports may have acknowledged the help of people who may or may not have participated in the SMOKY Event. There is no guarantee that a person whose name was on the list was at the Nevada Test Site during any critical exposure period. The purpose of the list was to aid Field Command in associating names already on the REECO list with organizations and projects, so that with the aid of other information, exposure history might be developed. The Tech. Reps., Inc. list should not become part of the SMOKY Report. 1 am sending you this draft without having reviewed the "Air Support Group Air Mission Summary for SMOKY Event" Report listed in Reference 2 above, as I will not have access to the AFWL library until next week. If after reviewing the report, it becomes necessary to make changes to the enclosed draft I will con tact you with the appropriate revisions. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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While individual sections, pages, paragraphs, figures and tables are not marked as being classified, this report is classified CONFIDENTIAL pending a DNA classification review of the enclosure. 1 Enclosure - TRI 5 January 1979 AFSWP Projects, Event SMOKY Copies to: Hq DNA, Attn: BA (LTC Hartman B. Mowery) BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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TECH. REPS., INC. AFSWP Project Event SMOKY (°) While the individual sections, pages, paragraphs, figures and tables are not marked as being classified, this report is classifierf4hMMMMMi pending a DNA classification review of BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY 1. Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) The military weapons effects test projects for Operation PLUMBBOB were the responsibility of the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) and were in Programs 1 through 9 (except 7 was not used). AFSWP fielded an extensive array of instruments on 24 events of Operation PLUMBBOB, one of which was Event SMOKY. The project participation varied with each event; however, each project had the same general objective and purpose for each event. Project personnel and supervisory AFSWP staff personnel were continuously engaged at the Nevada Test Site throughout Operation PLUMBBOB in construction, installation, dry run, operations, data recovery, or instrument recovery. Thus it is known that project and AFSWP personnel almost daily could have passed through or worked in measurable low level radiation areas from previous events that bore little relationship to their actual event participation. No specific times of entry into or departure from the radiation exposure areas can be determined. It is not known if anticontamination clothing was worn in each case of entry into the radiation exposure areas or not. The aircraft tested in Shot SMOKY were single seaters and there was no indication in any of the reports as to whether the pilots wore respirators or not. It is not known how mapy personnel handled contaminated samples or material postshot. It is not knowrvif any of the AFSWP personnel violated the Rad-Safe criteria or objectives. The objectives of all projects were at least partially accomplished for Table IV-1 shows the project participation for the various shots of Opera tion PLUMBBOB. Paragraphs 1 through 9 of this appendix provide a summary of the nine AFSWP technical projects that participated on Shot SMOKY. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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Table IV-1. AFSWP project participation on Operation PLUMBBOB. BEST AVAILABLE COPY PmrtiaUy funded and coordinated with DOD; administrated by CETG. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY a. Project 1.8^ Effects of Rough and Sloping Terrain on Airblast Phenomenon The purposes of this project were (1) to determine the effect of rolling, steep slopes, and rough terrain on nuclear blast wave parameters; (2) to investigate the blast damage sustained by drag sensitive targets; and (3) to pro vide blast wave measurements. A data-scarce field of interest in 1957 was that of airblast characteristics over rough terrain. In general, nuclear tests had been on extremely flat terrain at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) and Eniwetok Proving Ground (EPG)., Field tests with HE and tests in the laboratory had shown that rough and sloped terrain had a large effect on the blast phenomena experienced; therefore, an important objective of the PLUMBBOB blast program was to obtain data on the topographical effects on airblast characteristics. In addition, military equipment was exposed on the rough, hilly terrain so that differences from yield-damage-distance relation ships for nonlevel terrain could be established. Terrain study participation was limited to Shot SMOKY, which was located within 1,500 feet of a series of hills and ridges. Results of the terrain study were generally successful. The vehicle damage study indicated that a large degree of protection was given by obstacles having a steep downslope adjacent to the vehicle on the side toward ground zero (GZ). This project was fielded by the Ballistic Research Laboratories and Stanford Five blast lines were instrumented with self-recording and electronic gages. Fifty-one jeeps were placed on three of the blast lines and two M48 tanks were included in the test. Figure IV-1 shows the layout for the blast lines and the vehicles. Figure IV-2 shows the general view of the lines. 1 Condensed from References 1 and 2. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY Figure IV-2. General view of Line 1, looking north toward SMOKY ground zero. Line 2, east of ground zero (rolling terrain); Line 3, northeast of ground zero (slope line); Line 4, north of ground zero (steep slope line); Line 5, northwest of ground zero (mountainous line).

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY The fol1 owing gages were fielded for this project: Gaqes Bliist Line No. Figure IV-3 shows typical gage installations. Instrumentation was placed at 47 different locations on the blast lines. For each of these locations, accurate surveys were made, holes were dug, cement foundations were poured to hold the gages, the gages were installed and the calibration checked. Vehicles were placed at 52 different locations. Postshot an evaluation was made which consisted of an inspec tion of the damages sustained by each vehicle and the recording of the vehicle displacement and orientation. The vehicles and gages were then removed. 2b. Project 1.9 Spectra of Ground Shocks Produced by Nuclear Detonations The purpose of Project 1.9 was to obtain the displacement, velocity and acceleration-shock spectra of ground shocks produced by nuclear devices for use in the design of missile bases and operational equipment when subjected to a similar This project, fielded by the Air Force Ballistic Division participated on Shot SMOKY and four other PLUMBBOB Events. To assist in the design for the Air Force "hard" operational structures for some of its ICBM systems the construction engineers needed information on the frequency distribution of peak 2 Condensed from Reference 3. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY Back slope. Top of crest. Front slope Figure IV-3. Project 1.8 typical gage installations. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY accelerations and displacements in ground shock from a nuclear explosion. Theoretically, this information could be obtained by the analysis of acceleration time records, but there were many practical difficulties associated with the deter mination of the low-frequency components both in the analysis of the ground records and the acceleration measurements. There were also difficulties in interpretation of the statistical scatter and variations of instrument damping on the acceleration measurements. Since, for many design purposes, it was desirable to specify the ground motion in terms of shock spectra, a direct measurement by means of shock gages for a variety of blasts, locations, and soil conditions was indicated. Although there was considerable scatter in the displacement shock spectra, definite trends were indicated. The rate of decrease with frequency was greater for the vertical component than the radial component. The displacements were two to three times higher for the vertical component than for the radial at The scatter was even more pronounced for the velocity and accelera tion spectra, but again trends were noted. In general, the records obtained met the objectives of the experi ment. The data seemed reliable and were in a form useful to design engineers. After surveying, the sequence of installation of gages, when used for measurements in the free field were (1) excavation of a 27-inch to 36-inch cubical hole at the desired pressure range; (2) placement of protective canister (400 pounds total weight) as shown in Figure IV-4; (3) backfill around canister; (4) placement of gage [(130 pounds) as shown in Figure IV-5] in canister; (5) place ment of polished record plates (two per gage); (6) careful placement and bolting of canister lid (rough handling might have excited the gages); and (7) placement of three layers of sandbags over the lid for thermal and nuclear radiation pro BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY Figure IV-4. Typical placement of protective canister. Figure IV-5. Project 1.9 shock spectra gage. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY Two canisters were affixed to the floor of a German shelter area by means of anchor bolts and were surrounded by a minimum of three thicknesses Five shock gages and protecting canisters were used on Shot SMOKY. The natural frequencies of the spring-mass systems were approximately 3, 10, 20, 40, 80, 120, 160, 200, 250, and 300 cycles per second. The gages were placed at the 116 psi overpressure location. Two gages were inside a shelter and three gages were on the surface. The records were recovered postshot and the canister and gages removed for use on other events. c- Project 2.3 Neutron Flux from Selected Nuclear Devices The purpose was to measure the neutron flux versus ground range for the nuclear device and to determine the effect of terrain on the neutron flux. Neutron flux and spectra measurements, from which neutron dose was calculated, were made during Shots FRANKLIN, LASSEN, WILSON, PRISCILLA, OWENS, JOHN, SMOKY, and LAPLACE. There had been considerable data on initial radiation collected during test operations prior to PLUMBBOB. However, with the development of weapons having new configurations and different internal shielding characteristics, it was desirable to obtain further information. The introduction of the MB-1 air-to-air missile as an integral weapon of the Air Defense Command also created problems concerning the safety of crews involved in the delivery of this weapon. Of particular importance was the nuclearradiation dose, a factor that could be the controlling parameter in establishing the delivery techniques. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY Prior to Operation PLUMBBOB, the extrapolation of surface nuclearradiation measurements to aircraft altitudes was being done on the basis of some rather gross assumptions because of the absence of data on the variation of radia tion with altitude. Of prime importance, therefore, was the determination of the effect of the air-ground interface on neutron and gamma radiation. For Shot SMOKY, the neutron flux, spectra, and dose data, obtained on the three terrain lines, were inconclusive because of the unknown effects of the complex diagnostic shielding surrounding the device. Furthermore, some data were lost because of late instrumentation recovery, which was made necessary by the heavy fallout that occurred over the instrument array following this shot. This project was fielded by the U.S. Army Chemical Warfare Laboratories. Project 2.3 and The Civil Effects Test Group (CETG) Project 39.5 collaborated on this shot. Three cable lines were installed along various azimuths to obtain information relative to terrain effects on neutron flux. One control line was installed south from ground zero along level terrain. The second line was installed north from ground zero over a 500-foot hill and down the back side. A third line extended northeast from ground zero The three lines were instrumented with neutron detectors sup plemented by chemical dosimeters, (for integrated gamma dose measurements) germanium dosimeters. National Bureau of Standards film packs, and a group of punch-through voltage transistor dosimeters. These transistor dosimeters were used in connection with a study by the Pilotless Aircraft Division of the Boeing Airplane Company to investigate the possible future utilization of these instruments as neutron dosimeters. Three hundred instruments were placed at 39 different locations on the three cable lines. Because of the high fallout contamination, it was impossible to recover some of the detectors until H+72 hours. At this late time, gamma decays BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY Figure IV-6. Topographical view of Project 2.3 station locations, BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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BEST AVAILABLE COPY were taken for each sample. These decay curves were extrapolated to H+20 hours by superposition of the calibration decay curve. Postshot the 3 cables were pulled out of the surrounding high radiation field by tractor and truck while personnel were unfastening the detectors from the cables. The detectors were then returned to the laboratory trailer, located near the control point, where the samples were removed from the holders d. Project 5.3 Infl ight 5tructural Response of the FJ-4 Aircraft to The purposes of this project were to: (1) measure thermal and blast response of the FJ-4 aircraft to nuclear explosion effects; (2) correlate experimental response data with analytical predictions to confirm the delivery capability of the FJ-4 aircraft; and (3) obtain data to improve the methods of predicting the blast response of sweptwing aircraft. The basic overall objective of the PLUMBBOB aircraft-effect studies was to extend the scope of presently available data in line with specific service requirements. Definition of aircraft safe-del ivery criteria for nuclear weapons were fundamental to all the aircraft projects. Considerable data were available from past operations; in conjunction with analytical methods developed, it enabled prediction of weapon effect inputs and aircraft response under a variety of conditions. The test data indicated that blast inputs and aircraft skin-tem perature rise for …