Operation Teapot
US Atomic Veterans
Jack Spikes
Jack contacted us by email about his participation during the Castle and Teapot atomic tests.
From: jbspikes@bellsouth.net
To: pdxavets@aracnet.com
Subject: Operation Castle Participation
Date: Sun, 5 July 1998
I sent an e-mail earlier on my participation in Operation Castle in the
Pacific. I guess I should mention that I also participated in all 14
shots in Operation Teapot in Nevada. Although not nearly so powerful as
the tests in the Pacific, they were none-the-less scary, because they were
closer to home.
As for Teapot - My memory is not as strong on that series as it is on
Castle. The magnitude was a lot smaller. However, as a member of the Air
Force 4926th Test Squadron, Atomic, my duties were similar to those on
Castle. I was a nuclear technician, and on this test series, I was a
member of the disaster team. Fortunately, we had no disasters, so I did
not have to test my courage trying to go in and remove a nuclear component
from a misfire! The rest of the time, we calibrated radiation detection
instruments for the sampler aircraft and installed them on the planes. We
also maintained the sampling equipment on board the aircraft. The air
sampler aircraft were modified jet fighters, which flew through the atomic
cloud following a shot, a took air samples to be packaged and shipped to
Los Alamos for analysis. Removing the radioactive filters and packaging
them for Los Alamos was the job of our filter recovery crew - a five-member
crew of which I was a member. This was the team that was so highly
publicized as the only one of its kind in the Air Force. I still have
copies of the articles from the Air Force Times and some of the area
newspapers, which included a picture of our team. I will see if I can find
a way to get a copy to you. I think you will find it interesting.
For the Teapot series, the 4926th was stationed at Indian Springs AFB,
Nevada, about 60 miles west of Las Vegas. The bright side of this activity
was that, as with all nuclear testing, each shot schedule was largely
dependent upon the weather, primarily the direction of the prevailing
winds. If the forecast was bad for several days, we usually got a couple
of days off to go play in Las Vegas. Of course, we had to get back in time
to re-calibrate our instruments and sampler equipment, and get installed
and tested in the aircraft. Our primary responsibility was to make sure
that everlything worked right to protect the pilot. You know, we got the
publicity, but those sampler pilots were the guys who had guts! They had
to fly through something which was a real danger, and still largely an
unknown at that time. Most of them were seasoned combat pilots from WW II
and/or Korea, and acted like it was just another day's work.
Best of Luck to you guys.
Jack Spikes
Email: jbspikes@bellsouth.net
Keith Whittle
July 5, 1998
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