SESSION (July 14, 1954) The Committee met in executive session at 8:10 p.m. were present except Dr. Wigner, All members The others present were the Secretary and Mr. Tomei, The topic of discussion was the aircraft reactor program, in view | Airoraft Nucear Propul~ of: . | (1) The comments in the Chairman's Report of the 40th Meeting (letter Program I. I, Rabi to Lewis L. Strauss, June 35 1954, item 2) to the effect . that the Committee was favorably impressed by the plan to marry the ORNL~Pratt and Whitney programs for the "fireball propulsion mechanism", had heard of the GE and NDA proposals, and suggested a study of the program as a whole to avoid umecessary duplication and to ‘sharpen the objectives, (2) The request in the pre-meeting letter (H. D. Smyth to I. I, Rabi, July 9, 1954) for an elaboration of these comments. Dr. Rabi asked whether he had correctly expressed the Committee's position in (1) and received assurances that he had, Mr. Murphree remarked on some considerations by the Atcmic Energy Panel of the DOD which had also felt a study would be in order, Dr. Rabi asked Dr. von Neumann to set forth his understanding cf » AbtL- tudes of the Air Force current attitudes of the Air Force, in the light of his recent conversa- — sation with Mr.. Zimmerman, head of the Operations Research Section of SAC. , Dr. von Neumann responded with the following remarks. |

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