Gaerne
sidered to be in a reasonably safe position since the perscanel vere
able to get into a well protected ares deep in the bunker, reading

arproxizately 35 ar/hr.

The cload tracking (by WB-29, Wilson 2) during the morning of B

Day indicated no contamination of consequence moving toward Exiwetok
or Ujelang at ten thousand feet. The afternoon upwind aission far File
son 2 was a 30 degree sector ait to 500 KK centered on true bearing of

70° from GZ. During the upwind portion of the clout trackers aissioa,
readings were from 100 to 500 ar/br at ten thousand feet. During the
morning the B Day P2V sweep in front of the cloud ensountere! contamiar

etion early in bis miesion.

This P2v was replaced by ancthe, which

completed the search out to 600 FM,

4 repart was received about 1500 on B Day that the AEC/HYOO instrve

YON.

ment in the banis of the weather detachnent on Rongerix had
gone off
scale. These instruments had a full scale reaiing of 100 ar/kr. The

off-scale report was not viewed with concern since task force ships

were experiencing readings (while steaming south) of sore than 100 ar/
be (The BATROKO going as high as 1.0 r/hr on the flight deck). Com

sidering the distance (133 NM) and a cloud tracker at ebout 195M, 1

March, reporting of zero contamination over Rongerik, it was generally
dbeliewed that Rongerik and the task force ships were caught in a gene~

ral pattern of finely divided (95% less than 5 aicron by cascede is

pacter) particles over « wide area moving EXE to EB.

The weather de-

tachment was advised of this condition. Nevertheless, the AmC/ETOO
Ewajalein Flight ABLE was requested at midnight to be run the fallowing
morning, Kwajalein Flight aBLE pattern covers all Marahell Islanis
north of Kwajalein, and up to Taongi as the northern-post turning point.
Aerial readings taken on the flight are extrapolated to the groan.
About 2000 the task force comander was briefed on the overall sitnation es was known at this time. This included the results of some iz
itial damage and radsafe survey inforsstion taken about noon by belicop-

ter, reports from the sampling aircraft (P-8,, B-36 Peatherweighte and
B-36 Coxtrol), the first twelve hour cloud tracking eission (Wilson 2)

and the first few reports on the B12 to 5/24 hour cloud tracker (Filsos

3).

Tiupwind mission for Wilson 3 was a 30 degree sector out to 500

KY cemfered on true bearing af 65 degrees fros Rongevik, followed by &

m7

vectored mission to 17N 163E to base st Eniwetck. The task force com

nesier was advised that fairly heavy contazination had been encountered
by Filson 2 in the sector portion of bis flight and that one P2¥ aire
ereft bad been contaminated in about the sane region. The task foree

commander was advised that the readings taken at ten thousand fest by

the cloud trackers were thought to be on the order of magnitude of tint

encountered by the task force ships.

Sinse the caly siguificant com

Select target paragraph3