Shot Bee a Test of the Teapot Series 22 March 1955

Page 1

BEST AVAILABLE COPY A test of the United States Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Tests Nuclear Test Personnel Review PUBLIC READING ROOM Please Do Not Remove' Prepared by the Defense Nuclear Agency as Executive Agency for the Department of Defense BEST AVAILABLE COPY

Page 2

BEST AVAILABLE COPY ___Destroy this report when it needed. Do not return to PLEASE NOTIFY THE DEFENSE ATTN: STTI, WASHINGTON, D.C. 20305, IF YOUR ADDRESS IS INCORRECT, IF YOU WISH TO BE DELETED FROM THE DISTRIBUTION LIST, OR IF THE ADDRESSEE IS NO LONGER EMPLOYED BY ‘ .p BEST AVAILABLE COPY

Page 3

BEST AVAILABLE COPY SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE rWTien O«lo Entered) REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE READ INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE COMPLETING FORM 2. GOVT ACCESSION NO. 3. RECIPIENT'S CATALOG NUMBER A TEST OF THE TEAPOT SERIES 5. TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED 6. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMBER Carl Maag, Martha Wilkinson, Stephen Rohrer 8. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBERfa) 9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS H). PROGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT. TASK AREA & WORK UNIT NUMBERS 11. CONTROLLING OFFICE NAME AND ADDRESS Defense Nuclear Agency 13. NUMBER OF PAGES 14. MONITORING AGENCY NAME » ADORESSflf dltlerenl from Controlling Office) IS. SECURITY CLASS, (of thla report) 17. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT (of the abstract antarad In Block 20, if different from Report) Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. la. supplementary notes This work sponsored by the Defense Nuclear Agency under RDT&E RMSS Code Information Service, Springfield, VA 22161 19. KEY WORDS (Continue on tmveree aide it nccooaory and identity by block number) BEE Nevada Test Site Marine Brigade Exercise AFSWC Exercise Desert Rock VI This report describes the activities of more than 3,000 DOD personnel, both military and civilian, in Shot BEE, the sixth nuclear test in the TEAPOT atmospheric nuclear weapons testing series. The test was conducted on 22 March 1955 and involved participants from Exercise Desert Rock VI, AFSWP, AFSWC, and the AEC Test Groups. The Marine Brigade Exercise troop test involveu 2,271 Marines and was the largest single project conducted during Operation TEAPOT.

Page 4

BEST AVAILABLE COPY SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGEfHTian Data Bn tend) The Defense Nuclear Agency Action Officer, Lt. Col. H. L. Reese, USAF, under whom this work was done, wishes to acknowledge the research and editing contribution of numerous reviewers in the military services and other organizations in addition to those writers listed in block 7. OF THIS PAGECttfisn Data Entered)

Page 5

BEST AVAILABLE COPY Between 1945 and 1962, the United States Government, through the Manhattan Engineer District and its successor agency, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), conducted 235 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests at sites in the southwestern U.S. and in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. In all, an estimated 220,000 Department of Defense (DOD) participants, both military and civilian, were present at the tests. Approximately 90,000 of these participants were present at the nuclear weapons tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) northwest of Las Vegas, In 1977, 15 years after the last above-ground weapons test, the Center for Disease Control* noted a possible leukemia cluster among a small group of soldiers present at Shot SMOKY, one weapons related test of Operation PLUMBB0B, the series of nuclear weapons tests conducted in 1957. Since that initial report by the Center for Disease Control, the Veterans Administration has received a number of claims for medical benefits from former military personnel who believe their health may have been affected by their participation in the nuclear weapons tests. In late 1977, DOD began a study that provided data to both the Center for Disease Control and the Veterans Administration on possible exposures to ionizing radiation among its military and civilian personnel who participated in the atmospheric nuclear weapons tests 15 to 30 years earlier. DOD organized an effort • Identify DOD personnel who had taken part in the atmospheric nuclear weapons tests *The Center for Disease Control is an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (formerly the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare). BEST AVAILABLE COPY

Page 6

BEST AVAILABLE COPY • Determine the extent of the participants' exposure to ionizing radiation • Provide public disclosure of information concerning participation by DOD personnel in the atmospheric nuclear weapons tests. This report on Shot BEE is based on the historical record of military and technical documents associated with each of the nuclear weapons tests. Many of the documents pertaining specifically to DOD involvement during Shot BEE were found in the Defense Nuclear Agency Technical Library, the National Archives, the Department of Energy Nevada Operations Office, and the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL). In some cases, the surviving historical documentation of activities conducted at Shot BEE addresses test specifications and technical information, rather than the personnel data critical to the study undertaken by the Defense Nuclear Agency. Moreover, instances have arisen in which available historical documentation has revealed inconsistencies in vital factual data, such as the number of DOD participants in a certain project at a given shot, or their locations and assignments at a given time. These inconsistencies in data usually occur between two or more documents, but occasionally appear within the same document. Efforts have been made to resolve these data inconsistencies wherever possible, or to otherwise bring them to the attention of An important example of such discrepancies is the documentation dealing with air operations at Operation TEAPOT. Several postshot and post-series documents were analyzed to determine the nature and extent of these air activities, Technical Air Operations {'WT-1206'). The Operational Summary provides an overview of all activities conducted during the testing, primarily those of AFSWP. Technical Air Operations, BEST AVAILABLE COPY

Page 7

BEST AVAILABLE COPY however, is a more specific document, chronicling in detail the air operations of DOD personnel. Discrepancies as to numbers of aircraft actually participating in any single event exist between these two documents and other TEAPOT documents. When possible, these discrepancies were resolved through additional research. In those cases for which further research failed to resolve the problem, the Technical Air Operations report, WT-1206, was used because it deals specifically with air operations at TEAPOT and therefore is considered the more reliable document for determin ing the extent and nature of air operations. CONTENTS OF TEAPOT REPORTS This volume details participation by DOD personnel in Shot BEE, the sixth detonation of the Operation TEAPOT nuclear weapons testing series. Four other publications address DOD activities during the TEAPOT Series: • Series Volume: Operation TEAPOT, Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Tests, 1955 • Multi-shot Volume: Shots WASP through HORNET, the First Five TEAPOT Tests • Shot Volume: Shot APPLE 2 • Multi-shot Volume: Shots ESS through MET and Shot ZUCCHINI, the Final TEAPOT All volumes addressing the test events of Operation TEAPOT have been designed for use with one another. The Series volume contains information that applies to those dimensions of Opera tion TEAPOT that transcend specific events, such as historical background, organizational relationships, and radiological safety procedures. In addition, the Series volume contains a biblio graphy of works consulted in the preparation of all five Opera tion TEAPOT reports. The two single-shot volumes describe DOD participation in Shots BEE and APPLE 2, respectively. These two events have been bound separately because they included signifi cant Exercise Desert Rock maneuvers involving large numbers of BEST AVAILABLE COPY

Page 8

BEST AVAILABLE COPY DOD people. Each multi-shot volume combines shot-specific descriptions for several nuclear events. The shot and multi-shot volumes contain bibliographies of only those sources referenced in each text. Descriptions of activities concerning any partic ular shot in the TEAPOT Series, whether the shot is addressed in a single-shot volume or in a multi-shot volume, should be supplemented by the general organizational and radiological safety information contained in the TEAPOT Series volume. The information in this report is supplemented by the Reference Manual: Background Materials for the CONUS Volumes. This volume summarizes information on radiation physics, radiation health concepts, exposure criteria, and measurement techniques, and lists acronyms and a glossary of terms used in the DOD reports addressing test events in the continental U.S. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

Page 9

BEST AVAILABLE COPY TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS...................................... 6 LIST OF TABLES............................................ 6 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ........................ 7 SHOT BEE SYNOPSIS.......................................... 8 1 INTRODUCTION TO SHOT BEE 1.1 Setting and Characteristics of the BEE Detonation. . 10 1.2 Department of Defense Scientific, Operational Training, and Support Activities at Shot BEE .... 12 1.3 Exercise Desert Rock Activities at Shot BEE........ 14 1.4 Organization of the Shot BEE Volume................ 16 2 EXERCISE DESERT ROCK VI OPERATIONS AT SHOT BEE 2.1 Troop Orientation and Indoctrination Projects at Shot BEE.................................18 2.2 Troop Tests at Shot BEE............................ 19 2.3 Technical Service Projects at Shot BEE............ 30 3 JOINT TEST ORGANIZATION OPERATIONS AT SHOT BEE 3.1 Field Command Military Effects Group Projects at Shot BEE.......................................... 33 3.2 Department of Defense Participation in Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Test Group Projects at Shot BEE.......................................... 42 3.3 University of California Radiation Laboratory 3.4 Department of Defense Participation in Civil Effects Test Group Projects at Shot BEE.............. 43 3.5 DOD Operational Training Projects at Shot BEE. ... 44 3.6 Air Force Special Weapons Center Activities at Shot BEE.......................................... 46 4 RADIATION PROTECTION AT SHOT BEE 4.1 Desert Rock Radiation Protection Activities at Shot BEE.......................................... 51 BEST AVAILABLE COPY

Page 10

BEST AVAILABLE COPY TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) 4.2 Joint Test Organization Radiation Protection Activities at Shot BEE.............................. 52 4.2.2 Logistical Data for RadiationSafety 4.2.4 Recovery and Re-entry Procedures.............. 58 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1- 1 Location of Shot BEE in Nevada Test Site, in Relation to other Shots in TEAPOT Series...................... 11 2- 1 Project 41.6, Marine Brigade Exercise................ 25 4-1 Initial Survey for Shot BEE, 22 March 1955, 0540 to 4-2 Resurvey for Shot BEE, 24 March 1955, 1026 to 4-3 Resurvey for Shot BEE, 25 March 1955, 1026 to 4-4 Resurvey for Shot BEE, 28 March 1955, 1115 to LIST OF TABLES 2- 1 Exercise Desert Rock VI Projects, Shot BEE.......... 17 3- 1 Field Command Military Effects Group Projects, 3-2 Test Group Projects with DOD Personnel Involvement, 3-3 DOD Operational Training Projects, Shot BEE.......... 45 3-4 AFSWC Air Mission Support, SHOT BEE.................. 47 BEST AVAILABLE COPY

Page 11

BEST AVAILABLE COPY LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS The following abbreviations and acronyms are used in this Atomic Energy Commission Air Force Base Air Force Special Weapons Center Armed Forces Special Weapons Project Civil Effects Test Group Continental United States Department of Defense Directorate Weapons Effects Tests Edgerton , Germeshausen, and Grier Federal Civil Defense Administration Indirect Bomb Damage Assessment Joint Test Organization Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Nevada Test Site Office, Chief of Army Field Forces Reynolds Electrical and Engineering Company University of California Radiation Laboratory United States Air Force Universal Transverse Mercator Third Marine Cgrps Provisional Atomic Exercise BEST AVAILABLE COPY

Page 12

BEST AVAILABLE COPY Purpose of Test: AEC TEST SERIES: HEIGHT OF BURST: Desert Rock VI Test of newly designed device for possible inclusion in U.S. arsenal. (1) To field a demonstration test of a brigade assault on objectives in the area of a (2) To perform AFSWP military effects experiments to measure the effects of a nuclear weapon on military equipment, material, structures, and ordnance (3) To provide DOD personnel an opportunity to observe a nuclear detonation and to become familiar with its effects (4) To evaluate military equipment and At shot-time, temperature at shot height was 4.5°C; pressure at 860 millibars; surface wind calm and 39 knots from the west-northwest at Ground intensities of 10 R/h were detected around ground zero during the initial survey, taken from 0540 to 0640 hours on shot-day. Lighter fallout, between 0.01 R/h and 0.1 R/h, extended more than 2,500 meters east of ground Exercise Desert Rock participants, Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, Air Force Special Weapons Center and other Air Force personnel, Test Manager's Organization, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, University of California Radiation Laboratory, Federal Civil Defense Administration, contractors, DOD BEST AVAILABLE COPY

Page 13

BEST AVAILABLE COPY INTRODUCTION TO SHOT BEE Shot BEE was a test of a nuclear device with a yield of eight kilotons conducted at 0505 hours on 22 March 1955, at the Nevada Test Site (NTS), the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) continental nuclear test site located northwest of Las Vegas, Nevada (14). BEE was the sixth test of Operation TEAPOT, a series of 14 nuclear weapons tests and one non-nuclear test performed at the NTS between 18 February and 15 May 1955. The nuclear device detonated at Shot BEE was developed and built for the AEC by the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL), one of two AEC nuclear weapons development laboratories. The primary objective of BEE was to test a newly designed device for possible inclusion in the U.S. arsenal. Scientific experiments were conducted to evaluate the nuclear yield and the blast, thermal, and radiation phenomena produced by this device. Sixteen of these projects were conducted by LASL, and two were conducted by the University of California Radiation Laboratory (UCRL), the second AEC nuclear weapons development laboratory. Twenty-two military effects projects were conducted by the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) of the Department of Defense (DOD). These projects were conducted by the AFSWP Field Command Military Effects Group to evaluate the utility of the device for military applications, and to investigate additional specifications for future nuclear weapons development. A number of other activities related to the conditions and phenomena produced by a nuclear detonation were also conducted at the BEE event. Four operational training projects were con ducted by the Air Force and the Marine Corps to test equipment and to familiarize personnel with the effects of a nuclear BEST AVAILABLE COPY

Page 14

BEST AVAILABLE COPY detonation. The Federal Civil Defense Administration (FCDA) conducted 11 projects to assess the effects of nuclear detona tions on civilian populations and to evaluate Civil Defense emergency preparedness plans. DOD participation in these projects was limited to two projects. The armed services fielded eight projects to evaluate military equipment and tactics as part of Exercise Desert Rock VI. In one troop test project, the Marine Corps fielded a demonstration test of a brigade assault on objectives in the area of nuclear detonation. The tactical exercise of the Third Marine Corps Provisional Atomic Exercise Brigade (3d MCPAEB), involving 2,271 Marines, included helicopter airlifts of assault troops, tactical air support, and air resupply. This was the largest single activity during Operation TEAPOT. 1.1 SETTING AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BEE DETONATION The nuclear device tested at Shot BEE was positioned in a cab atop a 500-foot steel tower at UTM coordinates S67056* in Area 7 of Yucca Flat. Figure 1-1 shows the location of the BEE At the time of the BEE detonation, the sky was clear, the temperature at shot height was 4.5 degrees Celsius, and the pressure was 860 millibars. The wind was calm at the surface, 18 knots from the west-northwest at 10,000 feet, 43 knots from the ^Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinates are used in this report. The first three digits refer to a point on an east-west axis, and the second three refer to a point on a north-south axis. The point …