F. = a The basic principles upon which the concept of operation wes develo included dividing the real estate in the best manner possible to re mutual interactions between the programs of individual agencies. T assignment of testing areas by agency was also based on the assumpt: that no yield greate:’ than 5 megatons should be fired at Eniwetok. Weather and Geography \ | Taongi Atoll is located approximitely at latitude 168°, 5SO0°E, and longit 14°, 40°n, 285 miles voortheast of Bikini Atoll and 32h miles south-south of Wake Island. The surface winds at Taongi are slightly more northerly five to six degrees, and their average velocity is higher in that there fewer days during the year (as compared to Bikini or Eniwetok) when the face winds drop below five knots. The atoll is a lunar shaped crescent approximately ten miles long and fo miles wide at its maximm width. A chord joining the tips of the cresce) lies along a NNW-SSE direction and approximtely norml to the wind. Th: lagoon is totally landlocked except for a very narrow channel in the lees reef. Narrow, long sand islands lie along the southeastern side of the « running in the approximeste direction of northeast to southwest. masses span a distance of some eight miles, These lr Fallout Because of the unique position of Taongi, situated northwest of Bikini, t useable firing sector from the fallout standpoint is much greater than at either Bikini or Enivetok. This is only true if one accepts as a concept operation at Taongi the basic principle of treating the Toongi islands as inaccessible due to fallout radiation levels after the first large shot, vhich would be the proposed plan of cperation. ' Cost of Developing Taongi Atoll Ancther of the important factors bearing on the feasibility of the use of Vacnogi is the dollar cost for initial ertry and establishment of whatever beachhead and minimal facilities are necessary to fire large yield shots i the area, Logistics and Support The magnitude of logistics support costadded to the costs of Item 5 above must be evaluated against those real savings of operational time which accrue through employment of triple atoll operations versus dual atoll operations. T. COPIED/DOE LANL RC Cless A Test Consideration