Shot Simon, a Test of the Upshot-Knothole Series 25 April 1953

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PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY A Test of the United States Atmospheric Nuclear Weapons Tests Nuclear Test Personnel Review Prepared by the Defense Nuclear Agency as Executive Agency for the Department of Defense PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY Destroy this report when it is no longer needed. Do not return to sender. PLEASE NOTIFY THE DEFENSE NUCLEAR AGENCY, 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 PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY SECURITY CLASSIFICATION of THIS PAGE (When Data Entered) REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE READ INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE COMPLETING FORM Z. GOVT ACCESSION NO. 3. RECIPIENT’S CATALOG NUMBER A Test of the UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE Series 5. TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED 6. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMBER Jeannie Massie, Carl Maag, Stephen Rohrer, 0. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBERf®) 9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT, TASK AREA fit WORK UNIT NUMBERS 11. CONTROLLING OFFICE NAME AND ADDRESS Defense Nuclear Agency 13. NUMBER OF PAGES 1 Sa. DECLASSI FI CATION/DOWN GRADING Approved for public release; distribution unlimited. ! 17. DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT (of the abstract entered In Block 20, If different from Report) 10. SUPPLEMENT ARY NOTES For sale by National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia This work was sponsored by the Defense Nuclear Agency under RDT&E RMSS Code 19. KEY WORDS (Continue on reverae side if necessary and identify by block number) SIMON Volunteer Officer Observers Program UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE Orientation and Indoctrination Program Exercise Desert Rock V Operational Helicopter Test Tactical Troop Maneuver Program Nevada Proving Ground This report describes the activities performed by doD personnel both civilian and military, at SHOT SIMON, the seventh nuclear test in the UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE atmospheric nuclear weapons testing series. SIMON had an expected yield of 35 kilotons, but its actual yield was 43 kilotons. The test was conducted on 25 April 1953 and involved participants from Exercise Desert Rock V, AFSWP, AFSWC, and the AEC test groups. The Tactical Troop Maneuver involved about 2,450 Army personnel. The Volunteer Observer Program had eight participants: seven from the Army and one from the Navy. I JAM 73 1473 EDITION OF I MOV SS IS OBSOLETE PRIVACY ACT MATERIALrRE<M&VEDiON OF THIS PAGE (When Date Entered) BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGEfltTlan Data Entered) PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY 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 listed in block 7. BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED 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 United States 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. Of these, approximately 90,000 were present at the atmospheric nuclear weapons tests conducted at the Nevada Proving Ground (NPG),* northwest of Las 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 PLUMBBOB, the series of atmospheric 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 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests. In late 1977, DOD began a study to provide data to both the Center for Disease Control and the Veterans Administration on potential exposures to ionizing radiation among its military and civilian personnel who participated in the atmospheric nuclear weapons tests. DOD organized an effort to: • Identify DOD personnel who had taken part in the atmospheric nuclear weapons tests ♦Renamed the Nevada Test Site in 1955. +The Center for Disease Control, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (now the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services). PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED 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 SIMON is based on the military and technical documents associated with the atmospheric nuclear weapons test event. METHODS AND SOURCES USED TO PREPARE THIS VOLUME Many of the documents pertaining specifically to DOD involvement during Shot SIMON, the seventh event of the UPSHOTKNOTHOLE Series, were found in the Defense Nuclear Agency Technical Library, the Department of Energy Nevada Operations Office, the Los Alamos National Laboratory,* and the Modern Military Branch of the National Archives. In most cases, the surviving historical documentation of activities conducted at Shot SIMON addresses test specifications and technical information, rather than personnel data. The available historical documentation sometimes has inconsistencies in vital facts. Efforts have been made to resolve these inconsistencies wherever possible, or otherwise to bring them to the attention of the reader. For several of the Exercise Desert Rock and test organiza tion projects discussed in this volume, the only documents available are the Sixth Army Desert Rock operation orders and the These sources detail the plans developed by DOD and AEC personnel prior to the UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE Series. It is not known if all of privacy act Material removed BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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the projects addressed in these planning documents were conducted exactly as planned. Although some of the after-action documents, such as the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project weapons test reports, summarize the projects performed during the UPSHOTKNOTHOLE Series, they do not always supply shot-specific infor mation. In the absence of shot-specific after-action reports, projects are described according to the way they were planned. The references indicate whether the description of activities is based on the schedule of events, operation orders, or after To facilitate use of references, this volume uses weapons test report titles for each project. All yield information presented in this report is taken from the Department of Energy, Announced United States Nuclear Tests, July 1945 through 1979 (NVO-209). Other data on the tests, concerning fallout patterns, meteorological conditions, and cloud dimensions, are taken from DNA 1251-1, Compilation of Local Fallout Data from Test Detonations 1945-1962, volume 1, except in instances where more specific information is available elsewhere. ORGANIZATION AND CONTENT OF OPERATION UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE REPORTS This volume details participation by DOD personnel in Shot SIMON, the seventh detonation of the Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE atmospheric nuclear weapons testing series. Four other publica tions address DOD activities during the UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE Series: PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY pheric Nuclear Weapons Tests, 1953 • Shot volume: Shots ANNIE to RAY, the First Five • Shot volume: Shot BADGER • Shot volume: Shots ENCORE to CLIMAX, the Final volumes addressing the test events of Operation UPSHOT have been designed to complement one another. The PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY series volume describes those dimensions of Operation UPSHOTKNOTHOLE that apply to the series as a whole, such as historical background, organizational relationships, and radiological safety procedures. In addition, that volume discusses the overall objectives of the operation, describes the geographic layout of the NPG, and contains a bibliography of works consulted in the preparation of all five Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE reports. The single-shot volumes describe DOD participation in Shots BADGER and SIMON, and the multi-shot volumes combine shotspecific descriptions of the other nuclear events of the UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE Series. The shot and multi-shot volumes list only the sources referenced in each text. Descriptions of activities concerning any particular shot in the UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE 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 Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE volume. This volume is divided into four chapters: an introduction, two chapters on DOD activities, and a final chapter on radiation protection. It examines the activities of DOD personnel before, during, and after the SIMON event, focusing on their movements relative to the radiological environment. The procedures designed to ensure personnel safety, including exposure records indicating the effectiveness of those procedures, are discussed in chapter 4 whenever that information is available. The information in this report is supplemented by the Reference Manual: Background Materials for the CONUS Volumes. The Reference Manual summarizes the basics of radiation physics, radiation health concepts, exposure criteria, and measurement techniques, as well as listing acronyms and terms used in the reports documenting the test events in the continental United privacy act Material removed BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS......................................... 6 LIST OF TABLES............................................... 6 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS .......................... 7 1.1 Department of Defense Participation at Shot 1.2 Radiation Protection Procedures duringShot SIMON. . 14 2 EXERCISE DESERT ROCK V OPERATIONS AT SHOT SIMON ......... 16 2. 1 Camp Desert Rock Personnel............................. 17 2.2 Orientation and Indoctrination.......... ........... 18 2.3 Volunteer Officer Observers............................. 21 2.4 Tactical Troop Maneuvers ............................ 23 2.5 Operational Helicopter Tests ........................ 27 2.6 Damage Effects Evaluation............................... 28 3 JOINT TEST ORGANIZATION OPERATIONS AT SHOT SIMON.........32 3.1 Military Effects Group Projects........................ 32 3.2 Weapons Development Group Projects ................. 49 3.3 Civil Effects Group Projects ........................ 49 3.4 Air Force Special Weapons CenterActivities............. 50 3.4.2 Sample Courier Missions ...................... 53 3.4.4 Aerial Surveys of Terrain .................... 53 4 RADIATION PROTECTION AT SHOT SIMON...........................54 4.1 Desert Rock Radiation ProtectionProcedures............ 55 4.1.1 Radiation Protection for the Tactical Troop Maneuver and the Observers................ 55 4.1.2 Radiation Protection for the Volunteer PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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TABLE OF CONTENTS (Continued) 4.1.3 Radiation Protection for the Operational 4.2 Joint Test Organization Radiation 4.2.4 Plotting and Briefing........................... 61 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1- 1 Location of Shot SIMON in the NevadaProving Ground . . 10 2- 1 Locations of SIMON Ground Zero, Trenches, and Route of Ma-rch.......................................... 20 2- 2 Operational Helicopter Tests at Shot SIMON................29 3- 1 Navy Drone Element on a Practice Run for Project 5.1 4- 1 Initial Survey for Shot SIMON, 25 April 1953, 4-2 Resurvey for Shot SIMON, 25 April 1953, LIST OF TABLES 2-1 Exercise Desert Rock V Activities at ShotSIMON .... 16 2- 2 Home Stations of Personnel Participating in the Tactical Maneuver at Shot SIMON ;.........................24 3- 1 Test Group Projects with Department of Defense 3-2 AFSWC Air Mission Support, Shot SIMON ................... 51 PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY privacy act Material removed BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY The following abbreviations and acronyms are used in this volume Atomic Energy Commission Air Force Base Air Force Special Weapons Center Armed Forces Special Weapons Project Battalion Combat Team Department of Defense Edgerton, Germeshausen, and Grier, Incorporated Federal Civil Defense Administration Human Resources Research Office Indirect Bomb Damage Assessment Joint Test Organization Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Nevada Proving Ground roentgens per hour Strategic Air Command Universal Transverse Mercator PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY AEC TEST SERIES: HEIGHT OF BURST: To evaluate the nuclear yield, blast, thermal and radiological phenomena produced by this To evaluate military equipment, tactics, and doctrine and to provide training for troops in a tactical maneuver involving a nuclear At shot-time, the winds at surface level were north-northwest at five knots. At all levels above 10,000 feet, the wind was from the west. At 40,000 feet, it was at 48 knots. The surface temperature was 11.7°C, the relative humidity was 26 percent, and the pressure was SIMON had a yield considerably greater than predicted. Onsite fallout occurred mostly to the east of ground zero. In other directions, intensities greater than 0.1 R/h (at the time of the initial survey completed at 0730 hours) were confined to an area extending two kilometers from ground zero. Intensities greater than 1.0 R/h were within a twokilometer radius of ground zero. Exercise Desert Rock V participants, including the Helicopter Atomic Test Unit from the 2d Marine Corps Provisional Atomic Exercise Brigade; Armed Forces Special Weapons Project; Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, Air Force Special Weapons Center; contractors. PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY Shot SIMON was detonated at 0430 hours Pacific Standard Time on 25 April 1953 at the Nevada Proving Ground, the Atomic Energy Commission continental nuclear test site located northwest of Las Vegas. It was the seventh test of Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE, a series of 11 atmospheric nuclear weapons tests conducted from 17 March to 4 June 1953. Shot SIMON was fired on a 300-foot steel tower in Area 1 of Yucca Flat, UTM coordinates 798009,* nearly 50 kilometers+ from Camp Mercury and Camp Desert Rock. Figure 1-1 shows the location of the SIMON detonation in relation to the other ten events of Operation UPSHOT-KNOTHOLE. The detonation had a yield equivalent to 43 kilotons of TNT, considerably greater than the predicted yield of 35 kilotons. The top of the cloud resulting from Shot SIMON rose to an altitude of 44,000 feet.** At 40,000 feet, the wind was from the west at 48 knots. Radioactive fallout occurred on the main access road and at several stations in Yucca Flat, which prevented early instrument-recovery operations. Offsite, fallout on U.S. 91 and 93 north of Glendale, Nevada, was such that the Test Director ordered roadblocks to be established on these highways. This was the first time any of the continental tests had required *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 so designated is the southwest corner of an area 100 meters square. Throughout this report, surface distances are given in metric units. The metric conversion factors include: 1 meter = 3.28 feet; 1 meter = 1.09 yards; and 1 kilometer = 0.62 miles. **Altitudes are measured from mean sea level, while measured 'from the ground. All vertical distances are given in PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED BEST AVAILABLE COPY News Nob Yucca Figure 1-1: LOCATION OF SHOT SIMON IN THE NEVADA PROVING GROUND privacy Acf Material removed BEST AVAILABLE COPY

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roadblocks off the NPG to monitor vehicles for radioactive The SIMON device was developed for the Atomic Energy Commission by the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, one of two AEC nuclear weapons development laboratories. The device was experimental, and its detonation was designed to permit evaluation of the yield, blast, thermal, …