™ handled and dispatchedin the airlift service. All requests for the use of helicopters, whether on regular flights or for special missions, were handled through the J-3 Section, which controlled the dispatch of the helicopters through a central H&N dispatcher, who handled the arrival and departures of passengers and cargo. A separate radio net for the dispatcher greatly facilitated the flow of traffic, which during the peak period in February hit a rate of about 3000 helicopter passengers per week, fjee With the loss of the land base at Eninman Island __jthis picture was altered somewhat. All helicopter flights became special missions which, in most cases, were requested and laid on the previous night. The requests were normally submitted by project leaders and Task Unit Commanders to the J-3 Section on the USS Estes who relayed them to the J-3 rep- resentative on the USS Bairoko. The consolidated requests were then submitted to the ship’s Operations Officer, and the schedule for the following day’s missions was drawn up. In addition to these, there were perhaps again as many requests for transportation submitted during the day; therefore one day’s operation might consist of the dispatching of as many as 40 helicopter missions, many of which represented combined missions. The Eniwetok intra-atoll airlift employed three types of aircraft: the L-13 liaison aircraft, the H-13 two-seated helicopter, and the H-19 helicopter. The L-13 was used to transport passengers to the four islands having landing strips where an H-13 would be available to shuttle passengers to nearby installations. The H-19 was used for lifting groups of people and heavy equipment directly to their destinations. For this service, TG 7.4 provided five L-13, four H-19, ard two H-13 aircraft which were controlled from the Parry airstrip by the Operations Officers of TG 7.4. This number of available aircraft fluctuated sc that occasionally there was a shortage of H-19’s which scmewhat hampered the operation. 3.7.4 Interatoll Airlift The Bikini-Eniwetok airlift was operated by TG 7.4 as a scheduled airline over the 180 nautical miles between the two atolls, Four C-47 aircraft were avaiinbie to provide four rcundtrip flights daily, which were ample to handle the normal traffic lc: 4 through January and February. Two PBM aircraft were also available for augmenting the interatol! airlift. Requests for space aboard the flights were submitted to the J-3 Section at either Bikini or Eniwetok, which made the necessary arrangements with the H&N dispatcher for the handling and manifesting of passengers. During a representative week-in February there were 300 TG 7.1 passengers carried between the atolls, along with about 25,000 Ib of priority cargo axranged for by the J-4 Section, ~_———4 With the Bikini airstrip out of commission| the PBMaircraft were used to provide limited airlift between the atolls. The cheppy waters of the lagoon and the inherent difficulty of handling small boats for the transfer of passengers creatly limited their use, however, and the C-47 lift was reinstituted when the radiation levels permiticd reentry to the airstrip. In viewof the fact that the C-47 aircraft were utilized for flights other than thase between Bikini and Eniwetok, the schedule of four flights per day was difficult to matotuin fur an extended period, Therefore, if the same number of fights are required on a future «eration, more transport aircraft should be available. 2.7.5 Motor-vehicle Transportation Two main motor pools for general- and special-purpose vehicles were established on Oct. 30, 1953, one at Parry Island and the other at Eninman Tsland, These pools becamethe control points for the utilization of all vehicles on the respective atolls. All maintenance and repair of the vehicles of TG 7.1 were accomplished by H&N, Their dispatching was a function of the J-3 Transportation Officer, who assigned velLicies on a pervemanent or daily basis to the varicus units of TG 7.1 acewrding terreviogsly cafablished Licular requirements. Daily dispatching was practiced fur all vel cies nrdar to utilize them most efficiently, 42