Operation Redwing
1956
US Atomic Veterans
Keith Kassel
During Operation Redwing I was stationed aboard the USS Catamount
LSD-17. AT the time I was a fairly new Ensign and was in charge of the
Captain's office and an underway watch officer.
The Catamount's mission was to initially provide logistical support in
the construction and eventual removal of weather stations through out the
Marshall Islands. During the tests the mission was to provide
transportation for personnel, equipment and assembled H-Bombs between
Eniwetok and Bikini.
The USS Catamount arrived in the Pacific Proving Ground at Eniwetok on
February 2, 1956 with CTG 7.3 Boat Pool and their equipment aboard. One
week later we embarked 50 civilian employees of the Holmes and Narver
Construction Company and their heavy equipment and began the task of
building 4 remote weather stations. First stop, Wotho Atoll, Marshall
Islands. There was no place to anchor so for the 10 days to two weeks it
took to build a station the Catamount would just steam back and forth at 4
knots off of the atoll. Talk about boring, the monotony drove everybody
crazy.
This routine continued through the months of March and April as we built
weather stations on Ujelang and Utirik Atolls in the Marshalls and
Kapingamarangi Atoll in the Caroline Islands. Kapingamarangi was only 50
miles from the equator so one night we steamed south and crossed it. The
next day, of course, was occupied with the initiation into King Neptune's
Court.
In May the tests began and I remember all of the weather delays, knowing
that each delay extended our time away from home.
When Bikini was evacuated for a test we would take aboard scientists and
other civilians for the over night trip. The tests can only be
characterized as spectacular
and are well described by others on this web site.
I will say that the colors in the fireball were magnificant, changing
from orange and red to blues and even purple. I recall very clearly how
the night would turn to day from horizon to horizon and how you could hear
the rumble and feel the heat of the blast even from 30 miles away.
It was not well known but there were Russian submarines in the area
monitoring the tests. Occasionally the destyroyer and anti-sub helicopters
would sorte from Bikini Lagoon and patrol outside after a submarine alert.
On several occasions the Catamount transported assembled bombs from
Eniwetok to Bikini. The bombs would be accompanied aboard by a platoon of
armed marines. The overnight trip to Bikini was then made at general
quarters and escorted by a destroyer and anti-submarine patrol plane. All
precautions to prevent the hijacking of an H-Bomb.
Since the Catamount was at sea so much of the time recreation took place
between assignments. We went through our initial drawing of movies in the
first month so we were eager to trade with anybody for anything.
Other forms of recreation were beer parties on Japtan Island at Eniwetok
and beer and softball on Enu at Bikini. A "big night out" was the famous
T-Bone steak at the Eniwetok Officer's Club and a bottle of sparkling
burgundy.
At the conclusion of the tests we watched the rest of CTF 7 leave the
PPG knowing that we still had to go back and remove all of the weather
stations we had built in the spring. Finally in mid September the
Catamount arrived back home in San Diego. The work was interesting but the
boredom and time away from "normal living" was hard to handle.
Keith Kassel
kkassel@pop.mindspring.com
--Keith Whittle
April 28, 1998
Operation Redwing