the priority for re-entry on helicopters was (1) ten 7.4 men to activate the
Enyu Airstrip; (2) five 7.1 men to establish the J-3 Section ashore; (3)
twenty 7.5 megeto begin essential camp services ashore; and (4) seven 7.1
men to man Rad-Safe check points. In all cases, this ship-shore shuttle
was completed before the declaration of Re-entry Hour.
Recovery operations varied from shot to shot and conduct of them was
dependent upon the radiological conditions resulting from the event and upon
the extent of participation.
The greatest participation was on the DOD effects shot, Base amas
D
(Cherokee). A very tight recovery schedule was anticipated for shott day as
the schedule called for a full commitment of all available helicopters between
1200 and 1500 hours. The total absence of detectable contamination, however,
alleviated the demand for helicopters in several ways. First, the need for
empty safety aircraft, which were scheduled for about 50 per cent of the
early missions, was obviated, Second, 60 per cent of the missions devoted
=;
to recovering fallout samples were cancelled because of the obvious fact that
there was nothing to recover. One carefully rehearsed mission to the intended GZ area to recover neutron threshold samples was greatly simplified,
inasmuch as only one recovery team was required rather than two, as had +
been anticipated. Several Cherokee + 1 day missions were accomplished on ~
Cherokee-Day as a result of availability of helicopters.
Recovery missions for MMMMbyere performed morenearly as sched-
uled, with one important exception.
Recoveries scheduled from the Eninman
complex were delayed for one full day because of initially high radiation
readings in the area. Helicopter utilization was at the maximum owing to
the extensive participation on this shot. The number of projects participat-
ing on{Bas about 80 per cent of the number for arep
aTED. on subsequent events was about 50 per cent or less than
Initially, camps on the Bikini Atoll were located on the Romurikku
complex, the Eninman complex, and on Enyu. After the first Bikini event
DEQ the camp on Romurikku was not re-established, so re-entry to
that location was not made on a permanent basis.
Following the second
Bikini eventSEA Eninman camp was not re-established.
Thus,
all subsequent postshot re-entries were made to the camp on Enyu and to
the houseboats.
Once it had been determined that Enyu was not contaminated to a
level which prohibited 24-hour occupancy, general movement of personnel
was initiated. After the re-entry of the USS Catamount (LSD-17) into Enyu
anchorage and the discharge of the LCM’s, scheduled water taxi service was
established. This was generally done by H+7 hours. The LCM’s ona
half-hour schedule provided a continuous ship-to-ship-to-shore circuit.
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AFWLHO
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