CHAPTER 5.23 ' AIRSTRIPS For Operation Greenhouse it was necessary to rehabilitate, rebuild, or relocate existing airstrips and to build new strips on several islands. The main airstrip on Eniwetok Island served for the large passenger and transport planes as well as for drone planes to be used in the experiment, Other strips, particularly on the experiment islands, served more limited purposes, i.e., for liaison planes for intra-island transportation. ENIWETOK AIRSTRIP The original length of the airstrip on Eniwetok Island was 6,400 feet, but operational needs demanded that it be extended, The possibility of an increase to 8,000 feet was considered, but to accomplish this would have required construction to the edge of the reef on the ocean side and intro~ duced severe stabilization problems. As a consequence, it was decided at a meeting of representatives of AEC, JTF-3, TG3.2 and TG.4 that the © cost of extending the strip out on the reef would be excessive, The strip was rotated two degrees counter clockwise and extended as far as possible without building on the reef and the result was a 7,000 foot strip, The new positions of the rotated strip were stabilized and sprinkled with water- diluted Bitumls. Because the length was less than that desired for drone plane oper~ ations, the plans also called for the construction of a substantial pro-~ tective earthwork berm along the north 2,000 feet and around the north end of the runway and for the installatian of twelve 1/2-inch steel ar- resting cables stretched at 50 foot intervals across the northerly 600 feet of the runway and anchored to 24 massive reinforced concrete dead~ men set along the strip margin. Plans did not contemplate any paving of this runway nor any paving on the warmup apron, However, at the request of the Air Foree, H&N was authorized to plan and construct 50,000 square yards of paving for the Eniwetok runway and 12,500 square yards for the warmup apron. tails of paving design are given in Chapter 5.22 of this volume. De- The runway axis, as rotated 2 degrees, had a bearing of N 62° E, which was as close to the direction of prevailing winds (N 70° E) as was possible on this island. PARRY AIRSTRIP The existing airstrip on Parry had been determined to be poorly ori-~ ented and a new strip was designed, This runway is 1,200 feet long, and its axis is oriented N 700 E, in the direction of the prevailing winds. The runway was not paved, but it was treated with available sub-standard cement and compacted. 5-294