CHAPTER 2

SUMMARY OF EXPERIMENTAL PROGRAMS

2.1
2.1.1

TASK UNIT 3, DOD PROGRAMS
Program 1, Blast and Shock

The blast and shock projects on Operation Redwing were planned primarily to obtain data for which there was an urgent need and which could”
not be obtained at NTS. Participation was planned for specific types of
shots in the kiloton yield range as well as the megaton range.

D ’

the air burst of a device

heldthe highest priority for Program 1 participation.

1.1

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All five participating

projects were seriously affected by the gross positioning’error in air zero.

It was planned to obtain free-air data vertically above the burst through a
nonhomogeneous atmosphere out to an overpressure of 1 psi. The shockphotography method of obtaining pressure-distance data to about 10 psi

suffered almost complete loss owing to the placement of air zero far out of

the line of sight of the cameras. Laboratory analysis of the film, supplemented with that from other projects, may produce some data. Data were

—

recorded from parachute-borne canisters placed in a vertical array over

intended air zero in order to document pressure in the range from about
20 out to 1 psi. However, photography is not able at this time to give the
position of the canisters in space, and the method used gives pressure data
corresponding to a somewhat higher yield than the yield estimates now

assigned to the device.

Surface gages, aligned along the reef east of Namu,

did not attain a gradation of range from actual air zero.

Recorded pres-

sure data are bunched in a range of only 5 to 10 psi. At present there is
an anomaly between data recorded by gages located along the reef itself

and those on the man-made islands and Yurochi. Drag gages and dynamicpressure~recording pitot static gages, oriented towards intended GZ, received

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AFWLIH

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