for the various scheduled shots. 3.9 OPERATIONS AFLOAT ~~ ee he property that could be evacuated at one time. Subsequent to the evacuation of material following only normal expected activity was encountered in connection with evacuation Headquarters, TG 7.1, was transferred to the USS Estes on February 28, With the advent of fall-out and damage to the Eninman comple it became necessary to maintain TG 7.1 Headquarters on the USS Estes for the remainder of the Bikini Operation, which included all but the last shot, and to conduct operations from afloat, The Bikini phase of the operation involved a total cf five vessels, each with a special task. The USS Estes was the command ship fitted out for the control of aircraft used in tests. The USS Curtiss was especially suited for the support of the shot barges and classified material, whereas the USNS Ainsworth housed the bulk of the experimental and support personnel. The USS Bairoko and the USS Belle Grove provided helicopter and bcat support, respectively; in addition the USS Belle Grove transported the shot barges from Eniwetok to Bikini Atoll. Be- sides these major vessels, there were a total of five ATF’s, two LST’s, four DDE’s, cne PC, OR & Ai we & 6+ o- sme s and assorted special-purpose craft involved in support of lagoon experiments. Operationally, the majority of the planning for each day’s activities originated abcard the LS Estes wiere the Cucamanders of the Task Units and representatives of service organi:.*lons were located, These plans were organized into missions which were then relayed to ‘:.tar the USS Bairoko or the USNS Ainsworth, depending upon the type of support required for cach mission, The J-3 represer.tative aboard the USS Bairoko, in turn, worked out a schedule of flights to meet these demands and present the requirements to the Operations Officer who coordinated the schedule with other requests and dispatched the flights. In practice the two individuals cooperated in making up the schedule so that the most efficient use of helicopters could be real- ized in view of the demands placed on the USS Bairoko by other agencies. The importance of giving highest priority to the requirements of the experimenters was understood by the Operations Officers. Boat requests were relayed to the J-3 representative on the USNS Ainsworth, who presented them to a boat panel comprised of representatives of TG 7.3 and 7.5 who allocated boats to meet these requests, Again, the requirements of the Scientific Group were given first privrity. The only real difficulty with the operation came out of the delay inherent in the operation of boats in the choppy lagoon waters. The operation was greatly facilitated by the communications systems between the vessels, which consisted of the 10-, 30-, or 60-watt Motorola transmitters and receivers and the “Joshua” circuit, an HF voice link between the USS Estes and Parry Island Headquartersof TG 7.1. A ship-based operation of the magnitude of Castle would seam to be feasible only if the instruinentation of experiments is complete prior toa the shot phase. The activities necessary to keep up the stations; rework them between shots; and support all the numerous service activities such as power generators, timing and firing stations, and other nonexperimental but vital installations were sufficient to tax the capabilities of the fleet available for Castle. Boat operation is in itself a hazardous occupation in the rough water of Bikini lagoon, limiting the amount of traffic and loads necessary at the onset of such an operation. An important factor in operating afloat is the psychological approach of personnel to the business of running a complex operation in what at first seems to be a vacuum of isoiation, This can be alleviated in the future by sending representatives of the TG 7.1 staff to the vessels early in the operation so that they may become acquainted with the ship’s company and the ynysical conditions and locations of their office space. This may save much confusion on future operations, 48