2 



EARLY PROBLEMS 



Even before Joint Task Force One had been 

 created, major problems were being tackled by the 

 Army and Navy groups most interested. 



Choice of site was one of the biggest problems. Any 

 number of relatively near-at-hand sites in the Atlantic, 

 the Caribbean, and the nearer parts of the Pacific satis- 

 fied many of the requirements, but none of these 

 satisfied all of the requirements. What was needed was : 



A protected anchorage at least six miles in 

 diameter. (It must contain not only the enor- 

 mous target fleet but also the even larger sup- 

 porting fleet.) 



A site which was uninhabited, or nearly so. 

 (All inhabitants would have to be evacuated.) 



A location at least 300 miles distant from the 

 nearest city. (Radioactive materials released 

 in the air might menace persons scores of 

 miles to leeward.) 



A location within 1000 miles of a B-29 base. 

 (The airburst bomb was to be delivered by a 

 B-29 bombing plane.) 



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