islands, and some elements of TG 7.3. Weather balloons were routinely leased twice daily to check winds aloft, with the releases increasing eight per day prior to a shot. loons was 120,000 feet re[to The maximum height attained by the ball (36.60 km), and they averaged about 85,000 feet (25.91 km). Additional TG 7.3 meteorological support was supplied by weather rbconnaissance observations made every half-hour by P2V-6 aircraft whilefon their security patrols. The Curtiss and the Bairoko reported surface servations hourly and radar wind soundings (rawinsondes) twice daily (Reference 22, pp. M-1l through M~3). All units using balloons to obtain upper wind readings encountered equipment problems. The Curtiss relied on radiosondes as well as rawi sondes to gather meteorological information. Rawinsonde tests determi the winds aloft patterns by radar observation of a balloon. Radiosonda, in contrast, used a balloon-mounted radio transmitter to automatically send meteorological information to a weather station. CTG 7.3 planned for the Curtiss to take hourly surface and twice daily radiosonde readings fore each shot and report at 2200 to CJTF 7. Problems were encountered however, with balloons freezing and bursting before reaching the tropopause. Also, because of the number of shot cancellations resulting fro inauspicious weather, by the fifth shot (YANKEE) the Curtiss had deplet its supply of weather balloons. The consequence of balloons icing and bursting was that critical wind observations were sometimes terminated fore reaching the maximum altitudes where wind patterns were significan (Reference 16, p. 90). Preshot planning forecasts issued at H-48 and H-36 hours consisted wind forecasts for the shot site at 10,000-foot (3.05-km) increments fr the surface to 90,000 feet (27.40 km). Following the selection of a sp cific shot time, forecasts were issued at 24, 12, 8, and 4 hours before H-hour. These forecasts were more detailed: winds were forecast to th nearest 10° and to the knot for each 2,000-foot 114 (0.61-km) increment fro Be-