PART
CHAPTER 1.
1.1
II SCIENTIFIC
ACCOUNT
GENERAL OBJECTIVES AND TECHNICAL
CONCLUSIONS
GENERAL OBJECTIVES
The objectives of Operation CASTLE were threefold: first, to fire six
or seven experimental devices (the firing o
J was contingent upon the
results of
- six of which were to be in the megaton range and three
of which were to be proof tests of emergency capability weapons; second, to
obtain the diagnostic information on these devices necessary to evaluate
properly their performance in case of either success or failure; and third,
to obtain effects information on devices in the megaton region. At the beginning of CASTLE, three devices had been given an emergency capability
status, meaning that they had been designed as potential deliverable weapons.
They werq
—_
_.
eo
From the results of CASTLE the scope of the emergency capability program
would be largely determined.
At thebeginning oftheOperation,the following seven.devices were sched-
uled:
\(refer to Table 1). The first five of these were designea
“by the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory, the last two by the University of
California Radiation Laboratory atLivermore. During the Operation, observations were made which allowed changes in the devices and even removed
some from the schedule (refer to Table 2). The first two fired,
ai meer
_. gave yields considerably above those expected and led to a concomes
.
age
oO
clusion that af
{was practical for stockpiling purposes. Since this
type device is appreciably simpler to use than af
Alamos shot, }
what revised,
j the Los
\wasremoved from the schedule anda second, some-
inserted in its place. The success of the,
hot also indicated’
~
a
REPELADLBEE OESNahs AO1S EIT NEAON SeeTETSAEO
cease
The surprisingly low yield of)
the third shot fired, combined with the success of the diagnostic measurements associated with that
shot, led to a belief that thé;
.whot would not be profitable and therefore that shot was cancelled, Thus the Operation concluded with
the firing
-_—
.
.
of six shotss4
Te
By0
PET
STChpassathaeena 9 OALtaraeRO
fin’fhat order.
*
wl
SARI
19