War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; The Weapon of Choice; 102; Operation Ivy

I feel impelled to speak today in a language that, in a sense, is new. One which I, who have spent so much of my life in the military profession, would have preferred never to use. That new language is the language of atomic warfare. The atomic age has moved forward at such a pace that every citizen of the world should have some comprehension, at least in comparative terms of the extent of this development, of the utmost significance to every one of us. Clearly, if the peoples of the world are to conduct an intelligence search for peace, they must be armed with the significant facts of today's existence. The atomic age has moved forward at such a pace that every citizen of the world should have some comprehension.

The atomic age has moved forward at such a pace that every citizen of the world should have some comprehension. The atomic age has moved forward at such a pace that every citizen of the world should have some comprehension. The atomic age has moved forward at such a pace that every citizen of the world should have some comprehension. The atomic age has moved forward at such a pace that every citizen of the world should have some comprehension. Welcome aboard the U.S. S.S. As you may or may not know, the S.D. is here is the command ship of Joint Task Force 132. We have minutes to go before the first blast, mic shot of Operation Iron, of 59 minutes not of the exact.

We've been here since daybreak, let we talk last night during the early morning hours. How you can imagine feeling is running pretty high about now, and there's reason for it. If everything goes according to plan, we'll soon see the largest explosion ever set off on the face of the earth. That is the largest that we know of. In the time between our H.R., I'd like to show you around, if I may, and introduce you to some of the people connected with this operation. And in general, peace together the events which have brought us to this point. To start off, I'd like to show you something over here. You realize there are many miles of ocean between us and any we talk at all.

Do you know what's going on back at the Atoll? These antennas are receiving televised signals, and are giving our men here a second by second account of what's happening on Shot Island. The television receivers are in here in the control room. Well, this is it. This is the control room. I'd like to have you meet Mr. Stan Burris, the commander of the Scientific Task Group. Oh, Stan, I wonder if you could tell us something about the operations that go on in this room. I'm sure I'd be glad to. The screen you see in front of you, I'm able us to monitor the timing and firing system. If you look close, you'll see that it is now 55 minutes before H.R., as time clicks off, more and more lights come into operation. This is the one minute light, 30 seconds, 15, 5, 1 through firing. This diagram will give you a general idea of the whole setup. Data from the signals timer is piped over to a display panel.

This kind of display panel is new to atomic test work because of the large number of remote control and metering problems encountered in this operation. For one thing, the master timing and metering apparatus is located next door to the shot cap, rather than being placed some 20 miles away on Perry Island as it's usually done. This close view is possible, of course, because the lens of a television camera, rather than human eyes, is watching events. So that's the floor. From timer on through to display panel, ticked up by a television camera and relayed on out to the estates. A very ingenious arrangement. But what happens if you have to stop the firing mechanism or can you stop it? We can stop it all right if we have to. We have a radio link directly to the firing panel on the shot cap. If we have to stop the shot, we simply push this button. Just a simple flip of the wrist, huh? That's right. But a lot of workers down the drain.

You understand? We don't want to stop this thing, and it's absolutely essential. No, I can understand that. Say, I was out on deck when you fell his return. Well, that is when the firing party returned. What happened out there in shot Island? If you'll excuse me, I suggest you talk to Colonel Longer about that. I have a timing signal coming up. All right. So then, Dick, the firing party's big job is to see the last minute details of arming and firing and to make sure that the shot island is secure. That's the broad brush of it, yes. I have been a member of firing parties before, but this was different somehow. A man standing, as I said, on the outside of the building housing the mic device couldn't help but feel to sense the importance of this moment. Inside, a handful of men were making a final check where arming a device which could be the key to a new hero in atomic weaponry. I don't know just how the other shot, but I felt small when I thought of the experiment being ready inside.

This one test could take us out of the realm of kilotons into the fantastic world of megatons. And then, at each minus six hours, the job was finished. The mic device was on its own and ready. We made the run from shot island down to the acreage of the Estesoft Perry in a fast pressure. Soon after, the Estes made way through the deep entrance between Perry and Jap-Tan Islands, out to a point ten miles southeast of Perry. The round of the area of the test force ships. We finished our job at the cab, came over the side, and here we are. Not long ago at Los Alamos, I was talking to Dr. Alvin C. Graves head of the test division man. He's on board now in Flagblad as the scientific deputy to the test force commander. He's one of the men who can tell us about the thinking behind this operation. The shot island is about over there. That's right. It's generally north and west of us.

For the past half hour, the ship has been headed directly toward the shot island, and will continue to do so until shot time. You know, there's one thing I can't quite put together. That's this business of success or failure. I've heard there's a 50% chance of its failing. This low margin of success wasn't true on the other shots. Was it? No questions. Let me try out the atmosphere. Up until this operation, that is from about 1945 to 1951. The chance of failure has never been more than about 10%. In bus roads, sandstone and greenhouse. We had great confidence in the operation succeeded. We recognized the change in philosophy, however, when Dr. Bradbury spoke to the group of us at Los Alamos. Gentlemen, up to now, the laboratory has had sufficient time to compile information and revise weapon design before a field test of the weapon.

As of now, the situation has changed. We must take risks. Calculate risk is true, but risk nevertheless. According to the presidential directive, we must ascertain if a hydrogen bomb is feasible and do this in the highest possible speed. Here is what I think we must do. We must set up a special staff under Dr. Marshall Holloway reporting directly to my office. He will receive for the theoretical division the theoretical designs of such a system. Heaven fabricated and shift to end a weak talk. There, they will be taken by Dr. Graves and J. Division and testing. It must be recognized that we are taking great chances. The great gamble, but a gamble, while there is a possibility of failure, notice that there is a possibility of great gains. In a weak talk, we will become our theoretical laboratory rather than proven ground. And that's the way it is today. We are taking a gamble. I see that now.

But then the uneasy state of the world puts everything out of gambling basis, I guess. Yes, but not as much of a gamble as you might think. Take that man over there. He and his company have put a great deal of thought into the engineering and design of Mike. Well, see you later. So long, Dr. and thanks a lot. Well, so far we've pieced together quite a bit of this operation. I don't believe you have ever had a good look at our key test islands. The test islands for Mike are located at the top or the northern sector of any weak talk at all. Some 25 miles from Perry and any weak talk, the two base islands of this at all proving grounds. There are three main islands making up the test site. These are Lugelab, Teeter and Bogon. In the early months, a Lugelab was just another small naked island of the atoll. But by mid-summer it began to look like the thing it was selected for. A shot island.

Actually, the cab, so called because it houses the weapon, is not a cab at all but a building set flush to the ground. It has all the earmarks of a common worksheet, but in reality is the laboratory building set on a Pacific atoll. This, as you have probably gathered, is joint operations. All atomic test operations in the Pacific so far have been run under a joint task force kind of set up. Operation Ivy is using the same organizational structure as greenhouse. Four task groups, scientific, Army, Navy, and Air Force. Members of these groups are here now, sifting and coordinating the many details of this joint operation, and passing key information of top sides to the command level. The Army is... The Army is the executive agent on this operation, just as the Air Force was on greenhouse and the Navy on crossroads before that.

At this point in our story, it's necessary to understand the effort behind the collecting of measurement data. Or what good is a test unless we can learn, can profit from the experience. Highly specialized, sometimes costly instruments help scientists bring home this vital data. An outstanding example of such specialization is the use of a helium atmosphere box by the Naval Research Laboratory. The plywood tube, looking like a train of box cars, runs from the shot island across the causeways to a detection station on vulgar, a distance of nearly two miles. In addition to the diagnostic kind of measurement, many studies are being run on the effects expected from a high-order detonation. These projects are being conducted jointly by the AEC and the Department of Defense. As always, there are many questions to be answered.

Classical routine questions and special pertinent questions pertaining to the hydrogen device, Mike. The story of heat or thermal radiation needs continued studying. The ever-interesting history of neutrons will be recorded. A lot of amounts of external neutrons are present and what is their energy distribution. Because of the expected size of the shot, the fallout problem is being extensively analyzed. Each minus five minutes, the shot plane will arrive for several minutes after zero time. Heat can turn flying even until after the wave passes. Our latest routine of the wind solving field. You've been here before, flag-blocked. That's General Clarkson, the Tag Force Commanding Staff, and General One, Chief of Staff. The scientific deputy, Dr. Graves, you've already met. Captain Paul is deputy for naval operations, and general-wise deputy for the Air Force.

As you've gathered, a weather briefing is taking place. I should say another weather briefing. You've probably heard many times before how important the weather picture is in an atomic test operation. Weather can make or break a test shot. That's why you want to know up to the last moment just how you stand with the elements. The problem this time is especially acute because this entire area of the Pacific is subject to radiological fallout. And this area is inhabited by some 20,000 people. Plus, of course, they ship of this task force. That's why the rat-safe officer works hand in glove with the weather officer. Or by the way, to help you understand this problem. These weathermen are covering an area larger than the United States, with 10 weather aircraft and 11 fixed weather stations. To put it mildly, that's quite a territory to cover it.

Let's listen in, shall we? Any chance to shower? Not within the next 48 hours or with the entire marshals. About cloud cover. If you can, let's move in. But if we go off on schedule, there's nothing to bother the operation. Are you satisfied from the radiological standpoint, Commander Manor? Yes, sir. The situation is ideal since the entire fallout pattern is to the north of the inhabited islands. Thank you, Jim. The time is now eight minus two minutes. Okay, I'll set this fast. minus two minutes. Why? You have a grandstand seat here to one of the most momentous events in the history of science. In less than a minute, you will see the most powerful explosion ever witnessed by human eyes. The blast will come out of the horizon just about there. And this is the significance of the moment.

This is the first full-scale test of a hydrogen device. If the reaction goes, where in the thermonuclear era? Or the sake of all of us? And for the sake of our country? I know that you join me in wishing this expedition well. It is now thirty seconds to zero time. All of goggles are turned away. The number of goggles are faced first until ten seconds after the first light. Minus fifteen seconds. Minus ten seconds. Eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. Minus ten seconds.

Minus ten seconds. Minus ten seconds. Minus ten seconds. What this tremendous blast did to the atoll nobody knows. Reentry parties are leaving the rent over now by helicopter. The Navy Task Group commanded by rear admiral Wilkins as the problem of providing the means to reenter shortly after the blast.

To get exposed, film, samples and other scientific dating. Since no landmass is available, the problem is complicated. Reentry must be from a ship. Further, fallout will be very high starting at about n plus one hour. Helicopters must get in quickly and get out again before that hour is up. One survey group is leaving here from the estates. I can't go along but you can and see for yourselves through the eyes of the camera what has happened back on the atoll.