MARALINGA TEST

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27999, 20 June 1956, Page 13

MARALINGA TEST

Troops To Be In Forward Area (Rec. 11.30 p.m.) MARALINGA (South Australian Desert), June 19. One hundred and fifty specially •elected British troops will act as “guinea pigs” in the forthcoming atomic tests at the' new proving range in the South Australian desen, the Federal Supply Minister (Mr Howard Beale) announced today. Mr Beale, who was giving a press conference to the firsrt group of newspapermen—British and Australian —to be allowed to make a conducted tour of the new BritishAustralian project, was talking at a point about 10 miles from the selected testing site. He said the British troops would not be exposed to any danger. “They are being indoctrinated into what can be expected after an atomic explosion occurs.” Mr Beale said Canadian troops would also be in the area to observe, to measure and to assist. He added that there would be no test of atomic warheads in Australia. Mr Beale said the present series of tests at the Montebellos had been most useful to the British-Australian atomic weapons programme. Australian scientists, servicemen and specialist workmen had made important contributions by their cooperation with Britain’s atomic scientists and others conducting the tests. Safety Committee The safety committee, consisting of five of Australia’s most distinguished physicists, was at the Montebellos for each test. The same safety precautions would be taken in future tests to ensure that there was no danger to life on the Australian mainland or to aircraft.

Nearly 2000 men. working in shifts 24 hours a day, are bulldozing their way through the sand dunes and spinifex on the project, which Mr Beale said, had cost £5 million. This included an 8000 ft runway. Dr. W. H. Wheeler, head of the British Ministry of Supply in Australia, said most of the construction work should be finished by the end of July. The forward area, where the test will be conducted, was barred to the newspapermen today. As their airliner came in to land, security men closed the curtains so they could not see certain “objects.” Whisky Story “Wishful Recollection” (Rec. 10 p.m.) LONDON. June 19. The Polish chef who told a London Court last week that he was given 72 bottles of whisky under the national health service was indulging in “wishful recollection,’’ the Health Minister (Mr R. H. Turton) told the House of Commons today. The Minister said that only 40 and a-half bottles of whisky were used for the whole of Roehampton Hospital during the seven months the man, Alojzy Gradek. was in there, the “Daily Mail” reported.

Twenty-nine minutes after the blast, the cloud was in the shape of a blacksmith’s anvil, perfectly flat on top and with cne side pointing away to the north. Elevation readings indicated that the top of the cloud levelled off at about four miles.

The press was excluded from today’s test, but it was known that everything except the weather factor had been in readiness for the test for a week. On several mornings it looked as if conditions would be favourable, but at the last moment they fell short of ideal and the explosion was deferred.

The explosion, which took place today at 12.14 p.m., was officially announced as a successful test of an atomic device. The announcement said the explosion ended the present series of Montebello atomic tests.

Scientific records were being collected for accurate evaluation and all safety precautions were in operation, the statement added. Fourth British Test

The explosion was Britain’s fourth test of atomic weapons in Australia and was staged not far from the tower on which the third device was detonated on May 16. From their observation ship last month, the press parly could see an even higher tower against the skyline, seemingly destined to be vaporised within a split second of today’s blast. There were an estimated 2000 eye witnesses and participants in the successful test. They comprised members of the United Kingdom armed services, scientists, technicians and observers from the Admiralty. War Office, the Air Ministry, the Supply Ministry, the Home Office, the Works Ministry and the Atomic Energy Authority. There were also units from the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force, Australian scientists and service chiefs. The scientific director was Mr Charles Albert Adams, chief of research at Britain’s atomic research establishment at Aldermaston. The operational commander. Commodore Hugh Martell. R.N., gave the signal to fire.

The timing of his signal was dictated by the decision of the special panel of Australian scientists who decided the moment when the test could be made with complete safety from danger of a radioactive fallout on the Australian mainland. They reach Ri their decision from weather data supplied over a period of hours by aircraft patrols and hundreds of land weather stations in and out of Australia.

The Royal Air Force task force commander, Group Captain S. W. B. Menaul. had his Canberra jet bombers ready to fly through the atomic cloud to take samples of radioactive particles. It was expected that the Canberras would fly the samples directly from the explosion area to Pearce Airport, near Perth, for the speediest scientific examination, ano the neutralising of the aircraft and crews.

It is unlikely that there will be an official announcement giving the precise description, type and purpose of the device exploded. As in last month’s test, the speculation is that it is a trigger for Britain’s H-bomb to be exploded on Christmas Island, an atomic warhead for setting off an enemy H-bomb before it could reach the objective, or an atomic warhead for a guided missile to be exploded at Maralinga in the South Australian desert later this year.