Operation Ivy
US Atomic Veterans
Dick Condy
Dick Condy sent email about his duty at Operation Ivy.
From: "Dick Condy" rcondy@gte.net
To: "Keith" pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: Operation Ivy
Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2001
Hi Keith...
I was a crew member attached to Navy Patrol Squadron Two (VP-2). We flew P2V
Neptunes and conducted routine patrol missions during the deployment
period. Our squadron was home based at Whidbey Island.
One of our twelve airplanes contained special electronic monitoring
equipment, made especially for this operation.. The one-of-kind special
hardware was considered so priceless by the Navy that they would not allow
it to be flown from Boston (where it was built ) to Kwajalein in the plane
that was to carry it. Rather, the P2V had to fly to Boston, have special
racks installed , compatability tested, and fly with the racks empty to the
Pacific test site. The hardware was shipped separately and presumably safer
, by rail and ship to Kwajalein .
Vividly, I recall an associate, Leon Hebert, and I doing a radio ground
test on that plane the night before the big bang. Inadvertantly,we had the
transmit switches in a wrong position and was unknowingly transmitting our
idle chit-chat radio checks from the radio operators station to the cockpit
all over the entire Kwajalein area. I also recall that we were adequately
informed of our folly very early the following day, November 1, 1952.
Incidently, Leon Heber was the nephew of the then senator Heber from
Louisana.
Best Regards,
Dick Condy
Email: rcondy@gte.net
Keith Whittle
April 22, 2001
[ Operation Ivy ]