Operation Castle
1954
Fact Sheet
Public Affairs Office
Washington, D. C. 20305
1 September 1981
1952. MUSE W25 the first device that generated a substantial explosive energy from the Fusion, or Coining, of hydrogen atoms. These explosive devices were developed by the AEC, the civilian agency authorized to perform this activity by the Atomic Energy Acts of l946 and 1954.
The devices were tested as the PPG by a joint military and civilian organization, designated as Joint Task Force 7 (JTF 7). This was a military organization in form, but was populated by military personnel, civil servants, and contractors of the DOD and AEC. The Commander of this force was the appointed representative of the AEC and reported also to the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JC5) and the Commander in Chief, Pacific (CINCPAC). The peak Department of Defense (DOD) numerical strength at CASTE was approximately as follows:
| Uniformed military | 9,800 |
| DOD civil servants | 250 |
| DOD contractors | 60 |
| Total personnel | 10,100 |
Numerous technical experiments were carried out in conjunction with each of the six detonations. These experiments measured the power and efficiency of the devices and attempted to gauge the military effects of the explosions. DOD personnel participated in this test operation as individuals whose duty stations were at the AEC design laboratories, as units performing separate experiments, and as units performing various support roles. The CASTLE operations placed almost all of the Navy support group at Bikini, where its ships provided living space for personnel who were evacuated from the islands for the first test and then could not return to live there because of the potential radiation exposure.
An extensive program was instituted whose objectives were:
l. Maintenance of personnel radiation exposure at the lowest possible level consistent with medical knowledge of radiation effects and the importance of the test series.
Fact Sheet continued page 3
Operation Castle