auaS document con.
Sony No. L208 42.
pera
- RUTTEN TRI
DOCUNINT NO. LUT wLe
72288
‘75th Arc-Mic 4. Timing of Operation CASTLE
“Meeting
eel
UES
oe
Mr, Deat and General Fields pointed out that for
technical reasons 1t would probably be necessary to postpone
\
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co ISAT 121805
Operation CASTLE from the fall of.
F-AL53 until early 1954.
Postponing the test of onCE until early 1954 would
make 1t possible to test three deliverable megaton or higher
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\thermonuclear weapons.
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If the postponement is approved,
os Alaplos will develop three different thermonuclear weapons
:
.
hich would give us 4 greater certainty of having a deliver~
&
able weapon than if one weapon is backed in the fall to the
~exclusion of the other two.
‘This would be the case if the
test must be held in late 1953
General Fields added
that the likelihood of having a deliverable thermonuclear
weapon early in 1954 is greater, in his opinion, if three
different types are developed simultaneously and tested
in early 1954 than if one weapon is developed exclusively and
tested in 1953.
The alternate types of devices to be tested
and the various problems in their development were discussed.
General Bunker asked why it would not be possible to
test one device
1954,
4n the fall and the other two in early
Captain Hayward said that the only device which will
possibly be ready in anything approachingdeliverable form
ee
by the fall of 1953 would be the
“aw
which LASL
at this time feels has the least probability of success of the
atare
alternate courses.
If the]
oa
s backed to the ex-
clusion of the others it would mean a delay of six months
before the other types could be tested.
An additional
eek
reason for not testing a deliverable form of the
etl
a
late 1953 1s the desirability of utilizingthe
xesulte of Operation UPSHOT in the development of these soy
weapons.
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