CHAPTER XII SUITABLE SAMPLING AIRCRAFT With the advent of megaton weapons manned cloud sampling became next to impossible in the upper portion of the clouds. problem was one of limited altitude capability. The fundamental Since the days of Operation RANGER, cloud tracking and manned sampling was an Air Force responsibility. The first such exercise included three B-29 aircraft which carried film and filter sampler containers and results were such that plans moved ahead to include manned aircraft for all samples .> And for the early kiloton-yield devices almost any mltiengined: bomber or jet aircraft fighter reached the necessary altitude and by using planes with various ranges, the Air Force was able to sample a cloudthoroughly, Early sampling aircraft were the B-29, WB-50,T-33, B-25, and F-8hG, They came from Strategic Air Command and were specially fitted, the B-l7 came into use along with the featherweight 3-366! Later But with the larger devices, none of these aircraft, with the exception of the B-36, had the capability of sampling anything but the stem of the cloud and Los Alamos scientists did not believe that the stem yielded a true indication of the content of the cloud? Studies of aircraft were initiated to determine characteristics and potential for cloud sampling. But, Major General John S, Mills, Commander, Air Force Special_Weapons Center, on 23 December 1953, became impatient ~ with "channels" and wrote to Brigadier General J, Stanley Holtner, Air Force Flight Test Center, "Apparently some misunderstanding is delaying official transmittal of my request to you. Our need for an early fix on the capabilities of the B-57 airplane is generated by Atomic Energy Commission 2h2 nao SWEH -2-003h pl