Sinha eee Thus, on the morning of D -1 ~- the last day before the shot -- all of the experimental equipment is supposedly ready except for the final loading of cameras, the final setting of the switches, etc. ready for firing, checkouts, The device has been checked out and is All personnel except those needed for final and their support, such as boat operators, heli- copter crews, etc., are evacuated, and the big question is: “What will the weather be like?" At about 8:00 a.m, on D -1, Colonel Bonnet, the Task Force Weather Officer, will bring to Admiral Hanlon an estimate of the weather situation based on data taken at 6:90 a.m. and before, If the situation is clearly desirable, he will “turn the shot on"; that is, declare that we will attempt to fire the next day, If it is clearly undesirable, he will call the shot off; and if it is marginal, he will possibly wait until the mid~ morning formal briefing, at which more data are available, to decide, Obviously, this process, can go for some time. shot. if the weather is unfavorable, During CASTLE, we waited 28 days for one However, good weather usually comes around about once every week or 10 days, Of course, while weather may cancel the high-yield shot, we may be able to fire a low-yleld device at Eniwetok, When a favorable prediction is made, the shot will be "turned on" at about 8:00 a.m, Everyone concerned will be noti- fied and the final film loading and switch checking will begin, At about 10:30 a.m. a complete briefing will be held at which the weather and fall-out patterns will again be discussed, All known ships and air-borne aircraft will have already been advised as to the courses they should take, and a search - 10 - eee Appendix “B”

Select target paragraph3