‘There are certainly indications that the McMillan-Eisenhower meeting. in the / late winter or early spring of 59 had the British proposing that we (the West) offer a controlled test ban agreement with a temporary mordtorium on certain nuclear tests at Geneiva and the various agencies were providing the President with their most justifiable stands on how to handle such a position so that Eisenhower could decide what to do. After Defense, AEC, CIA, and Killian had worked on this along with State, Herter sent a memo to the President.on 23 April concluding "that proposing an extended uncontrolled moritorium on high altitude, outer space and underground tests, even “af the Soviets agreed to negotiate a controlled suspension of atmospheric tests, is an undesirable course of action at the present time. Such a proposal would under cut our basic principal of effective control, and would be unlikély to. increase Soviet interest and serious negociations. L Memoranda beginning in Dec. of 1958, shortly after the moratorium began, CV indicate that JIF-7 personnel are investigating with the Navy support personnel, the possibility of utilizing LSD ships containing LCU barge type ships for conducting an open sea test operation. Apparently the LCU's would contain the devices or at least the targets and would be carried to open sea using the LSD. Further correspondence indicates that the Navy was planning to | transfer six LCU's to the Commander of Task Group 7.3 per correspondence in Feb. 59. Also. correspondence in. Apr. 59 indicates the feasibility |studies being done which would allow the gun mounts on the LSD type ships to be used in conjunction with the Mark 56 radar on the LSD to aim varicus types of diagnostic instrumentation equipment at the LCU at the time of detonation | . for open seas testing and diagnostic coverage.