eee ee a -\ 1.1 BACKGROUND with the recent advances in the development of hich yield nuclear weapons, it has ocecome increasinzly imcortant to consider the effects of the wearon upon the delivery aircraft. Capatilities of present operational tomcirdtent aircraft, as now mown, will not permit the delivery of wearons above certain sizes; the limit yieid is generally based upon, allowable thermal cr olast damare to the delivery airecrzft, although in specifi. instances other wearon effects could be controlling. The maximum size thet can ce safely delivered by a particular aircraft depends to a sreat extent upon the delivery technioue emrloyed., because of the major role assiened to 3+36 aircraft in the over-all war plan, a know hedge of tie maximum delivery carabilities of this type aircraft is of primary interest. accordinsely, in Operation IVY where there occurred the first test of a nuclear device of megaton vield, an instrumented B-26 aircraft was exrosed to obtain thermal and clast response data that could be used for the verification or modification of existing analytical techricues employed to correiate aircraft response with thermal and blast forcins functions. The tiast induced isads ottained during the two IVY snots were too low to orcvide adecuate verification of the blast load theory at loads approachin.,, the maximum capabilities of the aircraft. in addition, the response deta from IVY showed thet the aft fuselaze and errennare of the b-35 aircraft vere wore vulrer-ble thon hud previcusly . "g ..a cee ag tns ‘gC eee ene beer, reca-mized. In view of the above, it was deemed advisable to instrument further the empennaze of the 5-26 aircral$ and to re-expose it in Oreration CPSHCT@cNCTHOCLS at a hicher inrut lewel. leg ey poe INTRODUCTION we . ee, eer. one Me ee oat eae, e. ae eae, MMB wT, CHAPTER 1 OBVECTIVE The objective of this investiration was to supriemer.t data obtained in IVY on the vlast response of a 5-36 aircraft flyinz in the vicinity of a nuciear detonation. The data will ce utilized to substantiate the clast/load theory exrloyed to correlate aircraft resronse with blast input. The ultimate outective is the ceterminetisn of the maximum delivery capacilities of the 5-36 aircraft, 15