Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, National Security Policy; Arms Control and Disarmament, Volume III

177. Letter From the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission (McCone) to President Eisenhower⁰

Washington, August 28, 1958.

Dear Mr. President: On January 29, 1958 the former Chairman of the Commission wrote informing you of our plans for nuclear testing for calendar year 1958 and requested authority to expend the nuclear materials necessary for the test activity.¹ The major effort envisioned at that time was Operation Hardtack to be conducted in the Pacific beginning in April. Hardtack was initiated on April 28 and after a certain number of firings was further extended to include additional shots which were approved by you on June 13, 1958.

In addition to Operation Hardtack, our 1958 plans included a number of safety tests to be conducted as needed throughout the calendar year, and a short series of low yield devices to be fired underground at the Nevada Test Site during October and November 1958. On June 13, 1958 you approved these firings, and preparation for the Fall series is well under way.

In light of the anticipated test suspension, the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Defense have reviewed weapons development requirements. In this review it was determined that certain test shots, which could be fired by October 31, 1958 would be essential to the advancement of our weapons technology. On August 22, I informed you orally of our capabilities in this regard, and on August 27 we discussed the matter further.²

In keeping with these discussions, our present plans include nine nuclear detonations at the Nevada Test Site. Six of the shots proposed had been previously planned for the Fall 1958 series. The attachment³ indicates the approximate dates of the firings, the conditions under which the shots would be fired, the expected yield and the expected contribution to our weapons program. It should be noted that five of the Nevada shots are sub-kiloton and the largest is 20 kilotons. We shall review further this list during the forthcoming week to see whether certain other small yield detonations at Nevada should be added to, or substituted for, those listed. In addition to these nuclear firings we plan to conduct up to seven “one-point” safety tests underground at Nevada during the same period to establish that no significant nuclear reaction would result if the devices concerned were detonated accidentally.

The attached letter from the Department of Defense to the Atomic Energy Commission outlines the Department of Defense requirement for this series of tests.⁴ As you will recall, in our discussion of August 27, it was determined that the proposed high-yield, follow-on ICBM test at the Eniwetok Proving Ground requested by the DoD should be eliminated and this change has been arranged by us.

We request that you approve the conduct of the tests as outlined above.⁵ We shall consider the Nevada firings as a second phase of Hardtack and make an announcement of the firings at the earliest appropriate time. The special nuclear materials authorized for expenditure by your endorsement of June 13, 1958 to our letter of June 12, 1958 will be sufficient to cover the tests conducted thus far in 1958 together with the other tests herein described.

Respectfully yours,⁶

0. Source: Eisenhower Library, White House Office Files, Project Clean Up, Presidential Actions—Atomic. Secret; Restricted Data.
1. Not found.
2. No other records of these discussions have been found.
3. See the Supplement.
4. Dated August 23; see the Supplement.
5. A note on the source text indicates that Eisenhower approved this recommendation on August 29.
6. Printed from an unsigned copy. A note on the source text indicates that the original letter was given to General Starbird of the AEC.