CHAPTER I, SECTION 1 The completion of the construction authorized during the transitional period (CASTLE to REDWING) provided a forward base at Bikini well in advance of the build-up phase of this Operation. The completion of warehouses and added fuel tanks at Eniwetok Atoll provided additional storage facilities as well as protection from climatic conditions. Upon completion of the deep water pier, stevedoring operations were facilitated and more reliable fueling services were available at Elmer. The improvement of the Fred airfield, the construction of additional barracks and other miscellaneous items added to the over-all efficiency of the PPG. The Proving Ground plant was in this way made ready for the construction phase of the next Test Operation. SCOPE OF OPERATIONS. The over-all scope of the construction pro- gram for the Operation, which was by then designated REDWING ‘DIXIE, wasfirst out- lined broadly by representatives of the AEC in discussions held in the Contractor's Home Office during the week of 28 February 1955. By letter, dated 4 March 1955, the Deputy Director, Test Division, confirmed this scope of work; the Operation was scheduled to be held in the spring of 1956 with a target date for the first shot as of 1 March 1956. This scope of work included the construction of 200-man temporary camps at Ursula, Yvonne, Tare, and Gene, and a 125-man camp at Fox; the reconstruction of causeways from Gene to Irene; the outfitting of zero barges; and construction of shot towers, recorder, photography, and other stations. These facilities were to serve an Operation involving five tower, two ground, and two barge shots. The Contractor at that time was authorized to initiate design and procurement of the materials for the shot-island camps and to proceed with the design of the scientific stations in accordance with details furnished by the University of California Radiation Laboratory (UCRL), the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL), and the Department of Defense (DOD). Before the test program was finalized, it underwent many changes. On 19 April, the con- cept of the Operation, now designated REDWING, was altered to include five tower, two ground, two barge shots, and two airdrops. On 20 June 1955, information furnished the Con- tractor indicated that there would be only eight shots but that two barges and two towers would be furnished as spares. On 26 July 1955, these spare barges and towers were placed in the program, increasing the number to twelve shots. Other changes took place and by the end of August 1955, the program called for facilities to service an Operation involving 16 shots with provisions for furnishing and equipping two ad- ditional shot barges. Because of this expanded Page 1.4 program, the target date for the first shot was advanced to 1 May 1956. Other changes took place and the test program as finally executed consisted of six barge shots, six tower shots, three ground shots, and two airdrops. To meet the requirements of the test program as finally evolved, the test facilities provided far exceeded those contemplated in the early planning. More than 650 scientific stations were required, of which approximately 75 could be considered major stations from the design or construction viewpoint. A numberof existing stations were rehabilitated and in some cases modified. Many of the stations had close location tolerances as they had to be oriented with respect to other stations with unobstructed lines of sight. Particularly significant was the extent of work undertaken for providing protection against blast or radiation, and for keeping settle- ment of heavily loaded stations within allowable tolerances. Many of the minor stations erected were, individually, simple items of construction but the total required many man-hours ofall categories of personnel. Construction accessory to scientific stations included laying approximately 2,039,500 lineal feet of various sizes of coaxial, telephone, and signal cable both on land and underwater; in- stalling dehumidification units, varying in size from 3930 BTU to 42,800 BTU in 17 different stations; supplying electrical power from the island distribution system, or from approxi- mately 150 small station generators ranging from 10 to 150 KW, many with rigid requirements as to reliability of voltage control; and numerous miscellaneous items. In order to locate the scientific stations that could be properly oriented with respect to detonation points, it was necessary to provide three man-madeislands on the Dog-Charlie reef, an island and two causeways offshore from Yvonne, and an island with a connecting cause- way offshore from Sally. These causeways and islands were of standard design, consisting of rail and timber bulkheads backfilled with beach sand and coral. Five shot-island camps were provided to sustain peak populations as follows: Ursula 288; Gene 189; Yvonne 393; Fox 285; and Tare 227, The existing airstrips at Tilda, Janet, Elmer and Yvonne were rehabilitated and modified. A new airstrip (50’x 1200’) was required on Gene; helicopter landing pads were provided at eleven different sites. Considerable earth moving was necessary to reconstruct the existing causeways: Gene-Helen-Irene, Peter- Roger-Sugar-Tare, Dog-Easy-Fox-George. An effective interatoll communication system of 17 VHF radio circuits was established for both classified and unclassified transmissions of phone and teletype messages, with comcenters at Nan and Elmer, and on the USS Curtiss and USS Ainsworth. Numerous miscellaneous temporary facilities were also required.