an bik woo Sta hed wae hee » ee besaaeaE Sie ie ide bie: cheeses tie vepe deES Se cae ig Se tihaaad,teh Sith Wah ise Ne Oe ea ’ Chapter. 8 RECOMMENDATIONS It is believed that the basic plan used during Castle is the correct one to use and that improvements can be achieved through careful attention to details rather than by drastically altering the method of operation. 8.1 ALTITUDE The best data were obtained by the RB—36 installation, flying at 40,000 feet altitude. The superiority of these results is attributable aliaost entirely to the high altitude, and it is recommendedthat every effort be made to use high-flying platforms wherever possible. This recommendation applies to operations in Nevada as well as in the Pacific-—there is much to be gained in operating above the atomic clouds. 8.2 SUPPLEMENTARY DATA The collection of subsidiary data——without which the photographs are merely pic- tures, not scientific data— should be made automatically. Personnel efficiency declines rapidly as altitude increases, and the probability of error or complete loss of ‘informa~ tion becomes prohibitively large. The crew membershaveto fly the plane and, naturally, carry their routine jobs out-even at the expenseof the scientific mission. This is not a criticism, but rather a fact that needs recognition: The program. should provide auto~ matic means of recording every bit of information it needs without relying on the crew. Among the data to be so recorded are: aircraft position, altitude, course, attitude, air- ‘speed, and groundspeed; also, the camera parameters such as aiming, timing, aperture, and shutter settings. Much of this information could be recorded by voice on a tape recorder. It should be emphasized, however, that it is better to photograph instruments than to have a man read them and relay the data to the tape, while working on other jobs at the sarne time. It follows that such data as plane's position might be obtainable morereliably from the ground than from the plane itself; but if it is done from the plane, the instruments and the terrain directly below, if necessaxy, should be photographed, rather than relying on a person who has other duties. 8.3 PHOTOGRAPHIC CONTROL Judgment is sometimes impaired while working at high altitudes, and the picture~ interval program should not be placed at the discretion of the operator. The professional photographer is often inclined to take more photographs than have been specified. The cameras are usually loaded with morefilm than is needed, and the operator shoots it all. In two cases during the Castle operation, this caused the loss of otherwise good data; but in a third case, it must be admitted, information was obtained which would not have resulted from the specified program. (However, the information is of value to ' Project 1.1 rather than 9.1.) It is clear that the photographer must be freed of as many manual duties as pessible. He should not have too many cameras to operate, the controla should be simple, and 39 SECRET ee retina eee eee cee eecetee me ncaa re hate Set as 7