CHAPTERIl ENGINEERING — CONSTRUCTION SECTION | ENGINEERING Preliminary estimates of scientific requirements available to the Holmes & Narver Engineering Division by January of 1953 indicated that OPERATION CASTLE would be approximately three times greater in magnitude than OPERATION IVY. This concept indicated there would be increases in base camp operational population, resulting in the necessity for restudying total water and power potential; and it established, some months in advance of firm criteria by the Proving Ground’s Using agencies, a scale and direction for important advance planning and scheduling of structures. Certain basic engineering analyses and design relating to access and occupation of Bikini Atoll and to the re-use of Eniwetok Atoll, were at this time well advanced, however, having been initiated in 1952. DESIGN The initial Engineering design work for OPERATION CASTLE was authorized on 15 September 1952. This preliminary work con- sisted of designing and preparing plans with resident forces at Eniwetok Atoll for the construction of a temporary 250-man Bikini camp on Tare, with a mole-type pier and a stabilized ramp, an earth-fill causeway linking all the islands from Tare to Oboe, and a 4500-foot airstrip at Peter-Oboe suitable for C-54 aircraft. In a conference held at Los Alamos on 8 December 1952, the then contemplated scope of the Operation was outlined. At that time, Holmes & Narver was authorized to proceed with the following plans, studies and investigations: (1) Plans and estimates for a test barge ation forecasts, and sensitivity of design by HEN. It was apparent in the early discussions that the University of California Radiation Laboratory (UCRL) would have a prominent part in the test program requirements. Close engineering liaison with UCRL was set up for the transmittal of design criteria as well as preparation of preliminary drawings and costestimates. In November 1952, UCRL desired a separate contract with H&N so as to provide _ smoother operation with respect to planning. On 15 January 1953, AEC advised both UCRL and HEN to undertake the work under Contract 20. At that same time both parties were authorized to deal directly with each other for pre- liminary planning. In March, LASL (J-6) placed a liaison representative at UCRL and all! H&N work was then cleared through him. The original scope of UCRL activities included: 1. Pipelines. Two 8 5/8” O. D. vacuum pipe arrays for diagnostic purposes - one 10,000 feet long consisting of two pipes, and the other, also 10,000 feet long, consisting of six pipes. As a consequence of a later substitution for the UCRL tower experiment, a third pipe array was ultimately included in the program. As the criteria developed, the following changes were approved. a. One two-pipe array, 2800 feet long b. One two-pipe array, 5600 feet long c. One twelve-pipe array, 7500 feet long outfitting pier at site Elmer; (2) studies of availability and cost of barges to be used as test platforms; (3) study of requirements for the 2. Towers. One test tower 200 feet high and two line-of-sight collimator towers. These towers were subsequently deleted. (5) Bikini wave and anchorage study; and (6) 3. Detector Station. Three expendable detector stations with travelling cranes. re-use of Flora area; (4) electrical power study; subsurface investigations for footing and found- ations on both atolls. As the requirements for scientific facilities developed, it became important to maintain close engineering liaison between H&N, the AEC Divisions, and the Using Scientific Agencies. This served not only to expedite the mutual effort and the essential mutual understanding of the problems involved, but also contributed favorably to the distribution of work load and priorities of effort, procurement and mobiliz- 4. Blockhouses. Three recording blockhouses of which only one required completely new facilities. IVY Station 200 and GREENHOUSE Stations 132 and 1326 were to be reactivated and re-used. In the final program, IVY Station 200 was not re-used and an additional blockhouse was required. In January the preliminary requirements for Edgerton, Germeshausen & Grier, Inc. (EG& Page 2-1