contractors,
The XW-7/Corporal received six successful flight
tests at White Sands, New Mexico, and the warhead installation
was released to production on August 28,
1952,. looking toward
initial delivery to stockpile in June 1953.
The XW-5/Regulus
received a first flight test in August and a second in November
at the Naval Air Missile Testing Center, Point Mugu, California,
The XW-7/Honest John was first tested in November 1952 at white
Sands, New Mexico, and the first test of the XW-5/Matador is
scheduled for December 1952,
35.
AEC work on adapting assemblies to werhead use in
missiles and rockets is centered at Sandia Laboratory.
A large
outdoor centrifuge at Sandia and a rocket-propelled sled moving on
a track, at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, are being used to
Simulate the high accelerations encountered in rocket
propelled
devices.
DOE ARCHIVES
Initiator Development
36.
New concepts are being studied that might increase the
yield of inplosion weapons and also reduce present costly initia-~
tor requirements,
Among these are the external initiator, tested
at Nevada in June 1952.
Sone success was achieved with the exter-
nai tbetatron initiator, altnough the period of delay in initiating
the nuclear reaction in this particular test shot wes not as great -
as desired, with the result that the increase in yield was less
than 4s believed possible by this method.
Studies are teing made
of the feasibility of achieving similer effects throuzh mcea@ificaLt ee
ER
Rem EER tt Atae
.
FO
28
of