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

Select target paragraph3