of a Surface Detonated Nuclear Explosion” (WT-922,,
Bureau of Ordnance, Department of the Navy, Jar-s

teriilly increased, and the reliability of crater-

prediction methods formulated therefrom was im~
proved. Based on the crater data from this project,

Murphy, LCDR, USN, Project Officer.

as well as a considerable amount of high-explosive
and other nuclear crater data, the handbook “Cruatering

From Atomic Weapons,’’ AFSWP-514, dated 29 June

1956, was Subsequently preparcd.

The specific objective was to determine the effets
of a surface detonated nuclear device on u pianteu
sea minefield. Operational considerations limited
participatiun of the project to Shot +4.

The sea minefield in this test was laid in seven
rows disposed at ranges from 2,000 to 13,900 fect

Project 3.3 ‘Blast Effecta on the Tree Stand”
(WT-921), U. S. Forest Service; W. L. Fons, Proj-

from site zero.

ect Officer.

level Mk 6-0 mines in Row 4, the mines 50! a given

The objectives were to:

Except for Row 6 and twu surface-

row were laid on the bottom and were linked together

(1) determine blast dam-

by 230 feet of doubled 1'4-inch cable exteading '2-

age to trees in terms of stand breakaye, branch
breakage, and defoliation, where effects are influenced

tween mines.

Each string so formed was anchored

by their location in a natural tree stand; (2) determine

by a 2,000-pound cast-iron block attached to wie string

the effects of natural forest coverage on attcnuation

by 1,000 feet of doubled cable.

Heavy woorcien bhucys

‘were used to mark the locations of the anchor blocks.

of the shock wave, in terms of peak overpressure

and peak dynamic pressure; and (3) obtain individual
tree-breakage data in the region of long positive-

In Row 6 the mines were moored individually at depths

of 30, 50, and 125 feet.
Postshot recovery was done by reeling in the

phase duration, in order to substantiate the basis

for breakage anu blow-down prediction.

strings of each row.

In some instances this proc: lure

resulted in case damage to the mines.

The availability of the natural tree stands in rela-

tion to detonation sites and expecte] yields limited
this project to observations of natural tree stands on
Uncie, Victor, and William Islands >f Bikini Atcll.
Participation wag originally planned cntly for Shot 3,
but data was also obtained from Shot 1 becauseof its
unexpectedly high yield.

The moorce

mines in Row 6 and the string of Row 1 were lost ini
never reccvered. In addition, mines closest to site
zero that were recovered about 24 hours after snot
time were radioactive, with an exposure rate of i0

r/hr.
Although only a limited number of mines were ex-

posed, it was concluded that a surface-detcnated nu-

The principal tree types available for observation
were: (1) Pisenia, a tree resembling the American
beech tree; (2) Coconut Paim; (3) Tournefurtia, a

clear weapon was not an efficient method for run Jicid
clearance.
,

broadleaf species of large shrub-type which were
chiefly under cover in Pisonia and Palm groves; and

Project 3.5 “Blast Effect on Miscellaneous Siruc-

(4) Scaevola, a large, low, green bush-type species.

tures”(WT-901), Armed Forces Special Weapons

Project; Wayne J. Christensen, LCDR, CEC, US>,

Instrumentation consisted of snubber tree gages

Project Officer.

(a simple device for measuring maximum tree deflec-

tion), a limited numberof self-recorcing, static,
overpressure-versus-time and dynamic-pressureversus-time gages installed by Project 1.2b, and
extensive preshot and postshot photography. Static-

The objective was to documcnt damage inflicted by

Shot 1 on structures that had been crected fer utilitarian purposes in connection with the test operations.

This project was not in the original program, Dut the
unexpected structural damage which resulted from
Shot 1—with its yield of 15 Mt approximately ‘hree

breakage tests cf representative trees were also

made prior to the shot.
The distances involved were from 62,000 to 76,000

feet from ground zero for the inadvertent participation
on Shot 1 and from 3,000 to 31,800 feet for Shot 3.
Ground-level pressure measurements 2,000 feet into
a tree stand substantiated the Upshot-Knothole conclusion of no attenuation in peak overpressure. Since

for the first time natural tree stands were subjected

to a nuclear blast, the breakage prediction on Amer-

ican and European broadleaf tree stands can now be
made with a fair degree of confilence. Observed
damage from two devices of different yields compare

times that predicted—-warranted documentation of all
the data possible about structural blas: damage from
high-yield detonations.
It became evident from this survey that the effective letha] range to a light wood-frame building wag
amazingly great for a high-yield nuclear binst. This
type of structure was damaged severely beyond a
range of 14.5 miles. Even reinforced-concrete
shelter-type structures as far as 4-mile range which
were exposed directly to the blast were vulnerable.

The islands of Oboe and Tare were thesite of a
camp for approximately 1,000 persons, the shipping
center for all inter- and intra-atoll shipping, the

favorably with TM 23-200 (Reference 7) isodamage

curves prepared for broadleaf stands. Damage in
broadleaf stands is principally limb breakage and de-~
foliation, with occasional breakage of the main stem

base for all construction operations in the atoll, the
site for one of the later detonations of the test series,
and the site of an air strip with minimum aircraft

or uprooting.

servicing facilities.

Project 3.4 “Sea Minefield Neutralization by Means
112

It had been intended to continue

to base operations on this island up to the last shot,

Select target paragraph3