Mount McKinley (AGC 7) - Naval Cruise Book

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FOREWORD ln the months that followed the use of the Atomic Bomb over two large Japanese cities, people of all ages and all nations pondered over the reported birth of the Atomic Age. wondered at the extent of the Atom 'Bomb's devastating powers, and questioned the many and contradictory estimates of the Bomb's energy and force. Soon after the defeat of Japan, a meeting was held behind locked doors and a large scale test of Atomic Power against ships and other materials of warfare discussed. From this meeting grew an organization that ulti- mately consisted of forty-two thousand of- ficers and men and more than two hundred ships of all types, known as Joint Task Force One. It was decided that this task force, under the command of Vice Admiral William l-l. P. Blandy, would conduct actual tests of the Atomic Bomb against ships under three specifiedlconditions: detonation in the air, in shallow water and finally in deep water. A small atoll in the Marshall Islands was chosen as an ideal site for the Tests because it was isolated and because the prevailing winds and weather conditions were favorable. A commission of officers was. flown to visit the small group of people living on Bikini Atoll. The plan was explained and a proposal made that the Navy be permitted to move the people and all their possessions to a larger and more favorably located island of the group, Rongerik, one hundred and fifty miles south of Bikini. The natives agreed to sacrifice their ancestral home for the sake of science and world peace. .After several months, during which the lagoon was made navigable for large ships, the island cleared and recreational facilities established for thousands of men, the target, ships arrived and were joined by cargo ships and transports, which brought personnel to prepare for the Tests. The morning of May Eighth, Nineteen Forty-six, the U.S.S. Mt. McKinley, Flagship of JTF-I, sailed through the Golden Gate and put to sea bound for Bikini by way of Pearl l'larbor and Kwajalein, a naval base in the Marshall Islands. Aboard were Admiral Blandyrand the majority of his large staff. The Mighty Mac dropped anchor in Bikini Lagoon on June Second and at once became the center of activity for .the entire Task Force. Conferences were heldl of such mag- nitude that frequently there were more than fifty small boats lying off the Mt. McKinley's gangways. The force labored one month in preparation for the first Test scheduled for July first. The communication facilities of the Flagship were utilized to the limit of their capacity before and during the Tests. The Mt. McKinley's CIC also played a major part in the operations, controlling all aircraft during' and after the Bursts. I T Secretary of the Navy Forrestal came aboard to witness the first Test, which was observed from a position 'ten miles on the windward side of the atoll, as was the second Test one month later. ' On August Tenth, the Mt. McKinley de- parted Bikini Lagoon for the United States. ln Oakland, California, the staff of Joint Task Force One boarded a train for Wash- ington, D.C., where months of study and evaluation of data followed. This cruise album is a brief pictorialstory of what occurred at Bikini: itlis a partial record of events witnessed by thousands of men in those history making moments that marked, a new age. . i 'N CREDITS PHOTOGRAPHY -Joint Task Force One Staff Photographers COMPILATION S. L. Katten, Ens., USNR S. Talnadge, Cl'iSClk, USN X

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9 . 6.5, K er .,.. I . - . . , , .,. , . , . I1 Captain Wayne N. Gamet Commanding Officer Relinquished command August Ninth I946 ..,',,,r . , ff- L , , Il' ' Captain Frederick L. Riddle Commanding Officer Commander Charles C. Herscy Executive Officer Relieved. August Tlwirtieth, I946 Commander Albert L. Gebelin ' Executive Officer