ANOTHER BOMB TEST

Greymouth Evening Star, 31 July 1946, Page 8

ANOTHER BOMB TEST

PLANNING FOR DEEP-WATER

BURST

x SCIENTISTS’ PREDICTION

' ( - BIKINI, July 30. Vice-Admiral W. H. P. Blandy has announced that Seabees have been assigned to -prepare moroing -lines for his “Test Charlie,” which is a, deepwater atom bomb burst tentatively planned for next spring. Earlier it was reported that neither the Chiefs of Staff, the Evaluation Board, nor the civilian Evaluation Commission had reached any conclusion as a‘group on the proposal for a deep-water atom bomb test. The decision would be made in Washington.

Some scientists contend that a deep-water blast would prove more damaging to a fleet than last week’s shallow sub-surface test. The first scientific estimate of the last test indicated that waves pushed up near the centre of the explosion certainly reached 60ft, and probably went as high as 90ft. ■ Battleship Sinks

The Associated Press correspondent at Bikini reports that the Japanese battleship Nagato sank last night. _ It remained so dangerously radioactive that no one could approach within 100 feet. ‘ The look-outs aboard the Mount McKinley missed the Nagato at dawn to-day. She was last sighted heeling and heaving to starboard last night. The military correspondent of f the New York Times, Hanson Baldwin, aboard the Appalachian, reports that the surface of the water in the target area has cooled off somewhat but deep sub-surface masses which contaminated the water have begun welling up in new areas of the lagoon, and some radioactive water has spread beyond Bikini’s coral reef into the open sea. However, nearly all the target ships are “hotter”, than the water surrounding .them, and so far only seven have been boarded. Two submarines, which were submerged during the test and surfaced later, were towed to shoal waters. There is no indication that stronghulled submarines received serious damage. The Associated Press correspondent says that a tour of the lagoon showed continuous dangerous radioactivity aboard all but seven ships. Streams of water are being played on some “hot” ships in an attempt to wash away radioactive particles, but it may be several days before they can be boarded safely because the sun baked the particles into the decks and fittings two days before the washings began. Meanwhile the first close-up photographs of the. rising water column show a hole shaped like a cave in the base of a cliff. It was about the position of the sunken Arkansas, which was probably entirely inside the atomic waterspout. Atomic Power “Warships; might be powered with atomic energy within five years, and their hulls; would be toughened to withstand atom bombs better,” said Rear-Admiral Edward Cochrane, Chief of the Bureau of Ships. He added, however, that it was improbable that extensive expensive alterations will be tried until the results of the Bikin test were ‘thoroughly known. “The Saratoga is at present upright on the bottom of the lagoon, sitting on. most, of the evidence wanted from her,” said RearAdmiral Cochrane. “However, I -am highly gratified at the resistance the ships have shown. It is notable that the later ships resisted the bomb better than the older ones.’” Rear-Admiral Cochrane said the bomb was exploded at a depth based on the average depth of harbours throughout the world to determine what damage could be expected in most ports. Captain Logan McKee, of the Bureau of Ships, said: “We have lots of ideas c.n atom-powered submarines.”