es
Progress During the 1947 to 1950 Period
SFOO planned and began building a vastly expanded plant and organizational struc-
ture large enough to enable Santa Fe Operations to meet its weapon stockpile requirements during the period, and flexible enough to provide for still further expansion in the
future. Los Alamos was made an attractive place to live and a favorable climate was
developed in which scientists could work resultfully.
The geographic breadth of SFO
was extended from New Mexico to the Atlantic Coast and westward to the Marshall
Islands. The five-fold initial assignment was fulfilled.
Physical Plant
The physical plant was expanded materially, being costed on July 1, 1950, at
$174, 000,000.
The inherited development and production facilities at LASL, Sandia
Laboraiory, Salton Sea Test Base, and Inyokern were rejuvenated and extensive new
construction added.
A new plant was built at Burlington, Iowa; extensive new technical
facilities added to a structure leased in Kansas City, Missouri; and facilities added to
Picatinny Arsenal. Eniwetok Atoll was developed as a permanent overseas testing facil-
ity. Los Alamos community was expanded and modernized; community facilities were
provided at Sandia Base; and housing was provided at Salton Sea, Inyokern, and Burlington.
The large White Rock, New Mexico, construction camp was established. One storage site
was improved and expanded, and two were added.
Organization
The SFO field organization was expanded equally. The number of key, operating
contractors was doubled with addition of: Sandia Corporation, to operate Sandia Laboratory; Bendix Aviation, to operation Kansas City; Silas-Mason (through an Army Ord-
nance contract), to operate Burlington; Holmes and Narver, to build and maintain
Eniwetok; and Edgerton, Germeshausen and Grier, to support tests. Under a new
agreement Project Pepper was established at Army Ordnance's Picatinny Arsenal.
SFOO Field Offices were established at Sandia, Kansas City, and Los Angeles, with
offices at Burlington and Rock Island equivalentto field offices.
A headquarters staff was organized by 1948 and its general structure remained
fairly constant.
Recruitment of personnel to staff the expanding organization was a feature of the
period. SFOO-AEC employees increased from mid-1947's 380 to 1,368, of whom 1,115
were in Los Alamos, 41 at other places, and 212 in SFOO Field Offices. Contractor
personnel (excluding military ordnance, construction and design) increased from 4, 840
to 9, 494.
.
Organizational Plan for Mission Operations
ALOO
In order for LASL to concentrate on explosive system research and development,
the ordnance development and stockpile quality assurance responsibilities were trans- .
ferred to Sandia Laboratory and other LASL responsibilities were transferred elsewhere. To provide duality of source and to lessen the production load on LASL, partial
production of nuclear and high explosive components was arranged for in other AEC and
military facilities. Fabrication of plutonium parts was undertaken by General Electric
at Hanford, Washington; fabrication of enriched uranium parts by Carbide and Carbon,
Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and fabrication of initiators by Monsanto, Dayton, Ohio. High
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