mess on board the Bairoko and to operate the helicopter lift system from
the carrier.
Seventeen personnel from HMR-362 received exposures of more
than 3.9 R (with a maximum of 5.5 R)
because of the heavy fallout the
Bairoko encountered after shot BRAVO.
Consequently, CTG 7.3 recommended
that these individuals be given an MPE waiver to avoid impairing continued
operations.
The Consolidated List for vVC-3 includes only five of the nine pilots;
enlisted maintenance personnel are not shown.
personnel,
It is assumed that these
if badged, were included in some other list, perhaps the
Bairoko's list.
However, their duty stations would have been with the six
F4U aircraft at Enewetak after shot BRAVO.
Table 23, which provides ac-
cumulated radiological exposure of TG 7.3 personnel by ships and units as
of 22 March 1954, shows VC-3 with 20 personnel.
lowest category, 0.0 to 0.999 R.
All personnel are in the
VC-3 ground personnel could be expected
to have radiological exposures similar to or lower than the Air Force
ground personnel, who also operated out of the Enewetak air facility.
There is no record of VC-3 flight missions into areas of potential radiological exposure.
Task Unit 7.3.3 (Patrol Plane Unit)
This unit consisted of Patrol Squadron VP-29 with twelve P2V-6 Neptune
aircraft, a P2V-5 Neptune assigned to Project 6.4, a P4Y~2 Privateer aircraft assigned to Project 1.4, and two specially configured PBM-5A Mariner
aircraft.
The patrol squadron was based at the Naval Air Station (NAS),
Kwajalein, for the duration of CASTLE.
The other four aircraft operated
from the Enewetak Island airstrip at Fnewetak Atoll.
VP-29 flew security sweeps of the PPG danger area to warn away transient shipping and aircraft prior to shots.
The squadron also flew ra-
diological reconnaissance missions in the northern Marshall Islands in
support of the AEC's World Wide Fallout Monitoring Program (see Table 68).
VP-29 assisted in locating Project 2.5a fallout~collector buoys.
PBMS, operating under the control of TG 7.4
The two
(Air Force), were specially
Oe,
351