nna Completed Physical Plant 7, 1947 1950 — 1953 $41, 000, 000 $174, 154, 760 $471, 415, 104 DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN FOR WEAPONS OPERATIONS Relieving LASL of Inert Development, Production,and Other Functions In 1947, Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory was the developer, tester, and producer of atomic weapons with a very small total of inert component assembly being performed atits Sandia Branch, Los Alamos was then performing a considerable total of management functions, all technical functions, nearly all production functions, field testing, and was providing both quality assurance and stockpile surveillance. An immediate objective was to stabilize and strengthen the Los Alamosactivity, in part by relieving Los Alamosof all possible functions not associated directly with its essential mission of explosive system research and development. By mid-1953, this objective had been almost entirely accomplished, with transfers of responsibility as follows; For nuclear component fabrication and assembly, to a complex of other AEC and SFO installations centering in Rocky Flats plant. bow For high explosives fabrication and assembly, to other SFO plants, For detonator fabrication, being transferred to a military arsenal, For inert component research, development, testing, fabrication and assembly, to SFO and an industrial complex centering in Sandia Laboratory, For stockpile surveillance, to Sandia Laboratory under LASL standards. For some phases of test responsibilities, to Sandia, SFOO and others. By mid-1952, plans had been completed for a sound nuclear component organization centering in Los Alamos as the developmental laboratory and in Rocky Flats as the pro- duction agency. These plans were activated as Rocky Flats became operational, Developed to meet implosion-type requirements, the organization could serve equally for gun-type and thermonuclear-type components. SeparatingInert Component Development from Production ALvO It was obvious in late 1951 that other, non-nuclear implosion-type operations were not as well-planned. Sandia Laboratory was’in much the same position as LASL had been a few years earlier, being so heavily loaded with production and production-related responsi- bilities that it could not concentrate on research and development, Los Alamos wasstill spending too much time on supervision and inspection of high explosives production. The most simplified chart of the production organization was a very complex mazeoflines. DOLFARD 31 36