It
altitude performance, such as the F-9L,0 or the F-89C,
To be absolutely
safe, the aircraft should carry no less than two men,
Since six jet
aircraft were needed this time Dr, Graves believed they should be
assigned to the Special Weapons Command because of the necessity of
modifying airplanes for sampling and the need for training crews.
At the same time, he agreed with Colonel Fackler that control of sampling
aircraft should be accomplished from an airborne control center and for
this purpose, he suggested a p-sop, 46
Pursuing these views, Dr. Harold F, Plank, the Los Alamos cloud
sampling expert, visited Colonel Clyde Box, Deputy Chief of Staff for
Operations at the Special-Weapons Command, to discuss possible aircraft,
Colonel Box recommended the F-9L1C aircraft since it carried two men,
had an excellent altitude capacity, good range, and could use the wing
filter tanks developed by the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory.”
Sometime in mid-Jamary 1952, therefore, Colonel Daniel E. Hooks, Chief
of Staff of the Special Weapons Command, prevailed upon Air Force
headquarters for F-9),C samplers,
Two men were essential for sampling
aircraft, he explained, one man to fly the aircraft and the other to
monitor the radiological instruments.
He pointed out the undesirable
aspects of borrowing aircraft for each nuclear test series, modifying
them, and training crews.
Colonel Hooks wrote:
The present plans call for from three to four
continental tests per year which will involve the use.
of the aircraft in actual cloud sampling missions for
approximately one and one-half months during each test,
or from four and one-half to six months per year,
does not allow for any preparation time.
This
The essential
training and refinement of new equipment and procedures
will keep the aircraft fully employed between tests,
9
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