TABLE 2,2 -— Summary of Sea rhase Operation
T

Buoys

Operation

Rehearsal

Snot 1

Shot 2

Prepeved
for
Test

No. of Buoys Laid

Buoys

lst
2nd
3rd
Recovered]
|Attempt |Attempt|Attempt

12

60

6C

1

none

6

-

-

uw

u

15

-

|Buoys|Cumulative
Lost}

Losses

4

7

ll
(all from

23

36

2
19
16
4

38
57
73
77

9

6

7

13

3rd

Additional
Eniwetok

Drift Test
Shot 4
Shot 5
Shot 6
L

laying)
4
40
20
5

4
26
uw
4

=
6
-

-

2
7
4
0

4s summarized in Table 2,2, For the sea phase 114 buoys were laid; of
these 77 were lost. Of the 37 recovered, 10 were damaged beyond repair
and 17 required a major overhaul.
The conditions under which the shot participation in the sea
phase were made are best illustr-ted by Shot 4, Here placement and
recovery of the buoys were done under the direction of CTG 7.3 and his
staff with the advice and assistance of a project representative. Control was maintained through the Combat Information Center (CIC) aboard
the command ship, Us Curtiss, All necessary communication facilities
were made available. Information on planting progress was relayed
regularly to the CIC where it was immediately plotted. On the advice of
the staff aeroiogist, late changes were effected in the array corresponding to shifts in wind patterns which would affect fallout. The first
deferment was a 24<-hr delay of the shot after all laying operations had
ceased, The ships involved were directed to proceed to favorable positions tc commence placement of additional buoys. with the second deferment announced before additional buoys were laid and it being an indefinite delay of the shot, recovery operations were started immediately.
Using a standard CIC system of coordinated aircraft and surface search,
radar fixes were rapidly obtained on 11 of the 26 ouoys amd recovery
ships were directed to pick up positions. Buoys were located by homing
on the radio signal transmitted from each. After recovery of seven buoys,
the search was discontinued and the ships were ordered to Eniwetok to
prepare for the next test scheduled there 48 hr later,
On the busis of this experience along with recovery from Shots
l and 2, it was concluded that the buoys and associated equipment per-

formed satisfactorily.

Although rough seas interfered to a great extent

in the sea phase operations, fallout from most of the shots could have

been collected fairly satisfactorily had the shot schedule been firm,
The combination of deferments and rough seas resulted in the loss of
30

Select target paragraph3