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PART ltl, CHAPTERS 8 and 9
inspected, airshipped to Johnston Island, and
placed in operation 10 days prior to the User’s
deadline.

MOTION PICTURE SERVICES
8.24

Coincident with camp activation, TG 7.5
operated six open-air theaters during the
build-up and operational phases of HARDTACK. Theaters at Sites Elmer and Nan were
equipped with arc projectors, and those at the
smaller camps and aboard scientific houseboats
were equipped with lamp-type projectors. Films
~ were rented from the Armed Forces Motion Pic‘ ture Service to provide a free showing of regular
- or cinemascope feature movies seven nights a
week. The theater at Site Elmer was extremely
overcrowded and interfered with night softball,
tennis, and handball activities. Plans have been

made to relocate the present theater andtocon-

+

struct an additional theater beforeanother
operation. Also, arc-type projection equipment
been obtained to replace all lamp-type projection equipment.

TELEVISION STATION
8.25

WXLE-TV operates as an Armed Forces
Television Station and is operated and
maintained by TG 7.5. The facility consists of
a combined studio and transmitter station in
Building 488, Site Elmer. The station operates

from 1730 to 2255 hours daily and from 1330 to

2255 hours on Sundays and holidays. Coverage
of the Sites Fred-Elmer-David area is excellent.
This station, as presently located, interferes with
official communications services, and plans are
being madeto construct new studios at the south
end of Site Elmer to accommodate the television
as well as the amateur radio station.

CHAPTER 9
TRANSPORTATION

9.1

All water transportation within the EPG
was provided by TG 7.5, with the support
of TG 7.3. LSD’s under the control of CTG 7.3
were used extensively during the Operation.
Two LST’s and MV ALOTO provided shuttle
service between Bikini and Eniwetok Atolls,
while intra-atoll water transportation was accomplished by means of LCU’s, LCM’s, and
DUKW’s.
9.2

The addition of Johnston Island required
a major effort from both Eniwetok and
Honolulu for the movement of construction
equipment and materials. The major part of the
freight movement from Honolulu was accomplished by barge. Ships larger than an LST
could not enter Johnston Harbor; therefore, all
direct-lift cargo from the Mainland was stevedored outside the lagoon and brought in by
barge. It was possible to beach LST’s after the
removal of coral heads in the channel and the
construction of an LST landing ramp. A major
increase in the support provided other Task

Groups was made possible by the addition of
the MV ALOTO to the permanent craft at
Eniwetok. Its presence in the EPG allowed con-

tinuous construction support by both LST’s at
widely separated areas, such as Wotho and

Nauru Atolls. If it were not for the support provided between Eniwetok and Bikini Atolls
by the MV ALOTO,construction at such distant
locations as Nauru Atoll might well have fallen
behind schedule because of a lack of surface
craft. Inclement weather and other factors frequently delayed construction at the off-atoll
sites, and this delay might have adversely affect-

ed the scientific program at Eniwetok and Bikini
Atolls had the ALOTO not been available.
9.3

In an attempt to solve the complicated
requirements for air support of all Task
Groups, an Air Priorities Agent, based at Site
Fred, was established under a JTF-Seven Operations order, to control and coordinate with
TG 7.4 all aircraft dispatching within the EPG.
Each Task Group provided a Transportation
Control Agent for coordination with the APA.
All aircraft were scheduled from Site Fred, with
the exception of liaison aircraft on D—1 and on
shot days. Due to the greatly increased volume
of traffic from Site Elmer on these days, it was
agreed that traffic control would be handled
from thatsite.
9.4

The unanticipated extension of the
HARDTACKprogram posed major problems in the maintenance of ships at the EPG.It
was necessary to release one of the LST’s to Pearl
Harbor for repairs during the most critical part
of the move to Johnston Island. Repairs re-

quired 10 days and resulted in the absence of
the LST from the EPG for more than 30 days.
An LSD wasalso absent for an extended period
for repairs at Pearl Harbor.
9.5

Inter- and intra-atoll shipping was under
the control of CTG 7.5. Jobsite procedures to prevent duplication of shipment
and to account for all materials shipped from
one island to another were revised to include
the experience gained during Operation REDWING. CTG 7.5 and CTG 7.1 observed the
methods provided by H&N Jobsite Procedure

PE

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