PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED

anc +he USS Ainsworth steamed into Eniwetok lagoon and on 2 March 1954
unloaded all the personnel and the aven (7) H-19 Helicopters of Detachment #1.

All these personnel had been subjected to radiation; hewever,

only a few were equipped with film badges and the dosage of tho majority
of these personnel remains unknown.

The radiation was received because

the two (2) ships, which were steaming at sea after the shot, accidentally
encountered an area of heavy radiation fall-out,

In view of vhe r*.ston

of the helicopter detachment, it was unfortunate that these personnel

received unnecessary radiation while aboard the ship, since this reduced the
allowable dosage which the pilots could accept during the subsequent phascs

of the operation.

On 5 March 1954, it was decided that Detachmert #1

wouid not cetrrn to Site TARE but would be integrated into the Tess Sipport
Unit organization at FRED,

This decision was reached due to the contami-

nation of Site TARE and the decision that all helicopter operations at
Bikini could be handled by the Marine helicopters opernting from the USS
Beiroko,

On the afternoon of 3 March 1954, an H-19 aircraft, attemptirg to

tax. between cnother H-19 and an SA-16, struck the tail of the S/-16 with

one (1) rotor blade causing damge to the SA-*6 rnd the rotor bladc.
oireratt was operated by

The

; who Was preparing to take

off and therefore was a minor aircraft accident.

It, is belioved that the

major cause factor of tho accident was carclessness on the part of the
pilot, coupled with a failure to appreciate the extremely c-ovded condi-

tions existing at FRED,
there was plenty

This pilot had been stationed at Bikin’ whore

of operating space and apparently failed +o realize the

eum
22/3

Select target paragraph3