CHAPTER III

Achievements and Nature of Mission Programs
By broad category, Santa Fe Operations conducts programs of research, develop-

. Ment, testing, production, and storage, the results of which are measured by the store of

knowledge valuable to military application and by the utility and numbers of weapons in
stockpile. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the mission achievements of SFO
and to sketch the nature and something of the extent of operations in the Los Alamos and
Sandia areas including nuclearfield tests, and including with relation to stockpile production an indication of the extent of weapons inspection and scheduling activities.

10.

SUMMARY OF DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCTION, AND
STORAGE ACHIEVEMENT

In 1945, only two types of bomb—and only two bombs—wereavailable to the Military.
One of the most important fields of development for national defense was to provide wide
ranges both in yield and in size and weight in order to allow the Military to select bombs
appropriate to the target and to the available delivery vehicles. Another important reason
for reduction in size and weight of bombs was to enable the Military to use a wide variety
of vehicles to carry atomic bombs andto gain greater range of action through reduction in
load.

Progress Made Since 1945 Through Research and Development

DELETED
() producedarangeimplosionbombs now instockpile vary-

méfer from 30 to 60 inches, in weight from 1, 600 to 8,000 pounds, andin yield up
'
not including a smaller sized model in development; and (d} produced a system
of interc angeable cores and bombs so that yield and bomb size can be chosen relatively independently.
I
a
The advantages of flexibility indicated above are difficult to measure numerically, but
are certainly comparable with advantages in increased efficiency of utilization of fissionable
materials. The effects of the latter could have been accomplished by very large expenditures

‘leading to increased production of fissionable materials, those of the former could not have
been attained except through research and development.

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