Thorough and close control of all phases of the airlift problems
from the initial requests for priority assignment through the monitoring
aspects of receiving, handling, and eventual relaying to the Jobsite of
advance flight information by routine teletype was worked out and incorporated in Holmes & Narver procedures. The backlog of vitally needed

shipments was cleared in the first week of operation of the new expedit-

ing office, and when additional airlift space became available shortly
thereafter, the volume of monthly air freight shipments jumped to ten
times the previous amounts until the final days just prior to test time,
This monitoring system included stations at transfer points at
Hickam Field in Hawaii and at Kwajalein Island and was highly efficient
in keeping accurate track of all shipments, in addition to eliminating
holdover delays that had totaled as high as thirteen days at a single
transfer terminal. The results of this expediting program were so effective that H & N were asked by the University of California Director
of Procurement at its Los Alamos Office to include all 3,1 program air
shipments under this monitoring plan.

As the operational period approached and as the experimental features of the Project developed, the need for additional air cargo allocation increased. Fortunately, the MATS system was able to meet this
demand and the H & N average monthly shipments for the months of January

to April 1951, inclusive, amounted to 25,688 pounds, or about 856 pounds

per day.

In utilizing military transocean air facilities, it was necessary
that cargo be export—packed in strict accordance with joint Army-NavyAir Force packing specifications designed for safety and accessibility

and ease of handling in airlift.

Most of the items shipped by this

method were of a highly urgent nature and were ordered from manufacturers
and vendors located throughout the entire United States. Original plans
to have these items export-packed and shipped directly to the Aerial
Port of Embarkation by the vendor had to be modified to a large extent.
Many vendors lacked the facilities and experience to meet the necessar-

ily strict military expert packing specifications.

Those who were so

equipped imposedexhorbitant charges for performing this service.

A subcontract was made in September 1949, with an experienced

export-packing firm in Oakland, California, to alleviate these con-

ditions.

H & N shipments which were designated for shipment by air

were received, checked, export-packed, and delivered by this sub-

contractor to the MATS terminal at Fairfield-Suisan, California, for
transshipment.
The need for a system of marking the cargo of the various military
services and Government agencies became apparent; therefore, each package destined for Eniwetok was marked in the following manner:

Holmes & Narver cargo
Military Services cargo

Task Group 3.1 cargo

14-14

Blue X
Orange X

Green X

Select target paragraph3