2+

SPECIAL CLOUD TRACKING (WILSON) FLIGETs:

,

a. The first of these flights, Wilson 2, wes directed
by Rad Safe to pre-planned post-shot seerch. This requireé tre
aircraft to remain in a holding pettern treck approxicately 50

miles West of Ground Zero from plus two to plus five hours.
This portion of the track was designed for the purpose of dee
tecting radioactive cloud movements toward Friwetok atoll.
of

BRAVO the meximum activity encountered wes less then 15 cr/hr.

Through a misunderstanding of control procedures, Wilson 2 ovesstayed in the holding pattern. When Rad Safe realized this fect,

CIC wes requested to order him into the previously designated

search sector at once.

The delay, however, resulted in this aire

craft being well behind and to the North of the cloud sescects

thet must nave caused fallout on Rongerik and Rongelap. gt. 155%:
the aircraft reported its maxirur reading during this fligtt. Tris

wes reported es being between 500 and 1000 mr/br approximately

150 nautical miles from Ground Zero at a bearing of 60 desrees.

This and the subsequent deta appeared to verify the forecast cloud
trejectories which incicated the upper cloud segments would leave
ths PPG on an approximate bearing of 70 degrees, thus avoiding

the populated atolls. Wilson 2 sudsequently reported ic-flight
difficulty with the instruments used.
be On thes besis of the results of the Wilson 2 flight
the second tracker, Wilson 3, wes instructed to searct the sass
general area but to proceed further Fast to define the rate of

cloud movement.

gt approximetely 2000M% information was received

indicating the possibility of some contamination in the Ronge>
Rongeleap area. A message was immediately dispatched to T¢ Fi
requesting Wilson 3 to alter his search area in such a manne> as
to cover tne populated erea to the East. Communication delays
prevented Wilson 3 from complying with the request. This plus
the fact that no exact instrument readings (instead a range of
readings) were reported made interpretation of cloud tracking
data difficult.
;
Ce Subsequent wilson flights ( for plus one day) were
cancelled when it appeared that no eir ccntazminetion protier existed at that tims.
/
6.

Sc

7

WEATHE RECONNAISSANCE FLIGETS:

Two Petrel Juliet jeetber reconnaissence flights were
flown on plus one dey. These flights were fica to tae Southang
to the Southeast and indicetec essentially zero air coxcta=-cetscse

2

tal

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