140. Editorial Note
From May 5 to July 22, the United States conducted Operation Redwing, a nuclear test series at Bikini and Enewetok Atolls in the Marshall Islands. During this testing period 17 shots were detonated, 6 at Bikini and 11 at Enewetok. The test series was organized under Joint Task Force 7 composed of several thousand scientific, military (Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines), and civilian contract personnel. The commander of Joint Task Force 7 was Admiral B. Hall Hanlon.
Numerous weapons test reports, scientific studies on radiation and fallout, operations plans, histories and final reports of individual task units, task groups, and the task force are located in the Defense Nuclear Agency Technical Library, Alexandria, Virginia, and in the Washington National Records Center, Defense Nuclear Agency Records, RG 374: Lot 59 A 1673, Lot 61 A 1433, and Lot 61 A 1740.
In response to a request from President Eisenhower, a statement prepared by executive branch officials and released by the White House on October 23 summarized the United States testing program, [Page 393] fallout from the tests, and long-range detection of the detonation of nuclear weapons. It is printed in Department of State Bulletin, November 5, 1956, pages 706–708.