woe ee oe L. ~~ + J-3 Section resolved the problem by arranging alternate solutions. During the period D—3 to D+3 boats were scheduled in writing in advance after consultation with experimental personnel. This was necessary because of the large number of trips involved. Regular passenger and freight runs were made between Parry and Eniwetok Islands and between Parry and Rojoa Islands. Nonscheduled trips were sent as requested to virtually all the other islands of the atoll and to the many lagoon raft, buoy, and barge stations. There was _ considerable nonscheduled traffic between Parry Island and ships anchored in the lagoon for both passengers and freight. At Bikini the surface lift was handled jointly by the H&N boat pool and by the TG 7.3 boat pool, The H&N boat pool maintained an average of nine LCM’s, five LCU’s, and eight DUKW’s in operation, whereas the Navy boat pool maintained an average of sixteen LCM’s, five LCU’s, and eight DUKW’s in operation, Dispatching of all boat trips was accomplished through the HEN Marine Department, to which the Navy boats were assigned daily as required. Requests for trips by the Scientific Group were handled in the same manner as those at Eniwetok, through the J-3 Section. After operations at Bikini became entirely waterborne, all boat trips were dispatched by the B&N boat dispatcher on the USNS Ainsworth who worked in coordination with the Navy boat dispatcher on the USS Belle Grove. Ne The Bikini service provided for regular passenger and freight runs between Eninman and Namu, Aomoen and Enyu, and Namu and Aomoen Islands. Special runs were made to virtually al! other islands of the atoll and to the numerous lagoon raft, buoy, and barge stations. There w-re, in addition, a large numberof trips between ships and the islands and from one ship to arvther. When the camps had been closed and the entire operation became waterborne, there weve regular boat trips among the ships. In addition to the boat-pool craft for common use, there were a number of project boats and beat-pool craft which worked exclusively with certain groups. Among these were the buoy boat and whale boats of Project 1.6 and the specially fitted LCU's and LCM’s for Projects 3.2 and 1.4, respectively. Prior to the shots the Scientific Group requested an average of seven boat trips per day at each atoll. During the period D-3 to D+3, the average number of requests was 14 per day. ™ he Le These figures cover special trips in direct support of scientific work. An average of 14,000 persons per month moved by boat at Eniwetok, and an average of 15,000 persons per month were moved at Bikini, The freight handled at each atoll amounted to an average of 50,000 measured tons per month. These figures include personnel and freight concerned with H&N support as well as direct scientific support. Boat maintenence was performed at Eniwetok by the H&N Marine Department shops. At Bikini work on H&N boats was performed at Eninman Island until . the camp was abandoned, and then it was performed by the USS Belle Grove. All work on the TG 7.3 boats was done by the USS Belle Grove. 3.7.7 Interatol] Surface Lift wy 7 tee en ——y eer eee we The interatoll surface lift was set up to move large amounts of cargo from Eniwetok to Bikini during the early period and to move large amcunts in the reverse direction during the later period, This lift also provided space to move passengers between atolls. Regular runs were made by LST 762 and LST 551 except for a period when LST 551 required repairs anda substitute vessel took her place. These ships alternately made round trips which averaged six days each, The trips were scheduled by the H&N Shipping Department which arranged for all luading and unloading. Scientific materials, trailers, and special shipments were handled by J-4 through H&N shipping personnel. The surface lift moved large quantities of scientific equipment as well as support supplies, An average of 1100 long tons of freight and equipment belonging to TG 7.1 was moved between atolls each month until the first shot day. The figure was considerably reduced after this event. The lift proved to be adequate at all times. During the period when the Eninman Island airstrip was unserviceable, one ship of TG 7.3 sailed each day from both atolls to assist in moving freight and passengers, The type of ship used in these trips ranged from LST’s through Meet tugs to destroyers. The USS Belle Grove made two trips between atolls carrying loaded LCU's in order to move H&N heavy equipment 44