Function and purpose
This series consists of scientific research reports and planning documents
mostly issued by the (British) Department of Atomic Energy (and later the
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority) - Atomic Weapons Research Establishment
(AWRE), covering the British atomic (or nuclear) tests in Australia between
1952 and 1963. These tests were known as Operations Hurricane, Totem, Mosaic,
Buffalo and Antler, as well as the 'Minor Trials' and the 'Maralinga
Experimental Programme' (including the Kittens, Rats, Tims, Vixen A and Vixen B
series of tests). There are also a small number of reports in this series that
relate to clean up operations and subsequent monitoring of these atomic test
sites in Australia, as well as some conference papers from the Tripartite
Conferences on the Effects of Atomic Weapons in London in November 1955 and
September 1957.
Most reports in this series were originally maintained and controlled by the
Australian Department of Defence, Defence Atomic Control Officer (DACO). The
Commission required access to all reports in this Defence collection as part of
its research covering records on the British nuclear tests in Australia.
Original copies of these reports were sent by Defence to the Commission and
were kept as a separate set within the large number of original records
collected by the Commission. This set of reports was known as the -Z series-,
or 'Z reports', because a -Z- prefix was imposed on the original DACO report
number used to identify individual reports, for the purpose of separately
controlling these reports in the Commission-s ADP (Automatic Data Processing)
system. Copies of reports originating from other sources and not registered in
the DACO system were either given a '999' number with a letter suffix, or a ZB
prefix (see System of arrangement and control and Series history for further
details).
Most reports in this series were published by AWRE and its branches, though
some were published by other British agencies including the Ministry of
Defence, the Ministry of Aviation, the War Office, the Joint School of Nuclear
and Chemical Ground Defence (JSNCGD), and elements of the Ministry of Supply,
particularly the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE).
Authors of the reports came from various branches of the British, Australian
and Canadian armed services, and related British (and some Australian or
Canadian) civilian, defence or atomic research agencies (often sub units of the
Ministry of Supply) including the AWRE; the Atomic Energy Research
Establishment (AERE); the Signals Research and Development Establishment
(SRDE); the Chemical Defence Experimental Establishment (CDEE); the Royal
Aircraft Establishment (RAE); the Armament Research and Development
Establishment (ARDE); and the Admiralty Research Laboratory (ARL).
Using the series
Physical characteristics
Reports in this series came in several standard sizes. Original copies of
reports appear to have been produced in two standard ANSI (American National
Standards Institute) sizes - mostly A (21.6 x 27.9cm) and some B (43.2 x
27.9cm), or rarely in (British) foolscap size (20.3 x 27.8cm). These original
reports were published in distinctly coloured covers depending on the type of
report, indicated by the report number prefix:
AWRE reports:
T - yellow/orange
O - blue
E, H - green
A - pink
AWRE planning documents:
BUFF - buff/yellow
ANTLER - green
MOSAIC, MIN, MEP - blue
ARDE BM (Branch Memoranda) - blue
Photocopied reports in this series either had no formal cover at all, or
were covered by yellow card front and back. These copied reports were mostly A4
size (21.0 x 29.7cm) though a few were foolscap size.
Archives has housed each report in an acid free folder with the Commission's
Z or ZB number marked on the front.
System of arrangement and control
Most reports in this series were originally published by the AWRE in several
series of technical reports specified by a letter prefix, eg -T- (Trials), -E-
(Weapons Effects), -O- (Research), followed by a single number then year of
publication, eg T52/54. Some of these reports have an 'X' suffix, indicating
these reports have been 'expurgated' (downgraded from a GUARD security
classification) or desensitised, for wider distribution at the time of
publication, eg T52/54(X). Pre-operation planning documents for specific atomic
tests in this series were originally controlled by the name of the particular
operation, generally followed by a section number or letter, eg MOSAIC/A,
BUFF/B15 [Buffalo], ANTLER/D, MIN1 [Minor trials] and MEP7 [Maralinga Experimental
Programme]. There are several other original report numbering systems covering
the remainder of this series, originating from a variety of British government
sources. The principal original report number of each report was noted as an
alternative item number in the item level database during Archives' arrangement
and description work in July 1996.
Reports received by the Commission from or through the Department of Defence
retained their DACO number (see Series history - Provenance) and were given a
'Z' prefix, comprising reports numbered Z1b to Z562a. The Commission did not
physically renumber these reports with the Z prefix.
Further reports transferred to the Commission by other agencies and not
registered within the DACO system were allocated the number 999 with a Z prefix
and a letter suffix, comprising report numbers Z999A to Z999P. Most of these
reports were labelled by the Commission with a black marker, sometimes on the
covering folder, or on a post-it note stuck to the front of the report.
More reports were also sent directly to the Commission by the AWRE and those
not already registered were allocated a single number with a ZB prefix in the
range ZB1 to ZB59. The Commission identified and labelled these reports with a
rectangular white sticker on the front cover with the ZB number written in
biro, except for reports ZB57, ZB58 and ZB59 which do not have the
characteristic white sticker.
During Archives' arrangement and description work in 1998, additional
photocopied reports were found in this series that had not been registered with
a DACO number nor had been registered by the Commission. These reports were
added to the end of the ZB prefix sequence and numbered [ZB60] to [ZB65].
A separate set of report photocopies (see Series history - Custodial
history), previously controlled by their AWRE report number, was intersorted by
Archives in 1999 into the main sequence of the reports and controlled by their
Z DACO number, followed by a -COPY- suffix where needed.
Relationships with other records
Copies of many reports in this series can be found in the Commission's other
series of original records (A6456) and exhibits presented before the Commission
(A6455). There are also about 40 atomic research reports in these two series
that do not occur in this series.
Finding aids
All items in this series in the custody of Archives as at July 1996 have
been entered into the item level database, ANGAM II.
Access conditions
More than three quarters of reports in this series are marked 'UK Unclassified'
(as at 30 June 1987) and may be made available to the public. Items that have
any other security classification may require detailed access examination under
s35 of the Archives Act 1983.
Series history
Provenance
Numbered copies of atomic research reports relating to the British atomic
tests in Australia were issued by AWRE and sent to the Australian government
during the 1950s and 1960s. In August 1980, the Department of Defence began to
centrally locate and catalogue copies of those reports held in Australia for
which it was responsible. By August 1984, approximately 425 separate reports
had been found and registered with a DACO single number in the range 1 to 561.
Where multiple copies of a report had been located, each copy was registered
with a letter suffix, eg 111a, 111b, 111c etc, for up to 9 copies (a to i) -
further multiple copies catalogued were generally recorded as destroyed.
Evidently, Defence registered three reports twice (up to August 1984) - 78
& 265, 79 & 251 and 80 & 274. A number of registered documents and
reports (about 50 as at August 1984) were subsequently removed from this
collection because they did not relate to the British nuclear weapon tests held
in Australia, but rather dealt with a range of general scientific and
explosives research matters conducted by AWRE dating from the early 1960s. The
Commission did not access these removed reports.
The Department of Defence, Defence Atomic Control Officer supplied single
original copies of the remaining catalogued reports in its collection to the
Commission between October 1984 and July 1985, apart from five reports it could
not locate:
DACO No: 123 Report: 158/2/57
Title: Proposals for Antler Trial [possibly an old defence file]
DACO No: 302 Report: DAWPN 15
Title: Neutron-Induced Radioactivity
[This report was written off by Defence on 8 November 1984]
DACO No: 303 Report: AWPN 33 (Copy 1)
Title: Ministry of Aviation - vulnerability and lethality work in the nuclear
field by the UK - K D Poole, April 1960
DACO No: 408 Report: T2/62
Title: Project Orpheus - phases A and C: design and assembly of explosive
charges
[This report was written off by Defence on 8 November 1984]
DACO No: 550 Report: ARDE BM S9/11/56 copy 1 and copy 2
Title: Operation Buffalo - layout of target response items - O R Ottaway and J
C Burns
Reports received and registered by the Commission were numbered Z1B to
Z562A, with gaps in the DACO number sequence, totalling 367 different reports.
The Commission received an additional number of copied reports through the
Department of Resources and Energy (DRE), discovered to have been directly
provided to DRE by the BDRSS (British Defence Research and Supply Staff) and
not through the Department of Defence. Those copied reports that had not been
registered by DACO were given a dummy report number of 999, and identified by a
single letter suffix, registered and numbered by the Commission, Z999A to Z999P
(without gaps in this sequence). Report Z999A was found to be a duplicate of
Z523A and was put with report Z523A. The number Z999A was then deleted from the
Commission's recordkeeping system as a control number in February 1985. Report
Z999O was not transferred to Archives, does not appear in the Commission's
register for this series and nor has Archives been able to find it cross
referenced elsewhere in the records of the Commission. It is not clear what
report Z999O was or what happened to it without an exhaustive search of the
Commission's entire records.
During and following the Commission hearings in the United Kingdom, the AWRE
supplied photocopies of atomic research reports directly to the Commission.
These were subsequently registered by the Commission in series A6455 and A6456
as well as this series. Most of these copied reports not previously received
from the Department of Defence were registered by the Commission into this
series and given a ZB prefix, numbered with a single number, commencing with
ZB1 and ending with ZB59. Approximately 40 such copied reports now in A6455 and
A6456 do not have a corresponding copy in the 'master' set of reports held in
this series. Also, 12 copied reports registered by the Commission in the ZB
sequence had previously been registered by Defence (and appear in the Z
sequence as well).
Custodial history
The Commission's 'Z' series was transferred to Archives' custody in November
and December 1985. Archives temporarily loaned these reports to the Department
of Defence, Defence Atomic Control Officer in January 1986 for the purpose of
preparing the series for release to the public. Each report had applied to its
covers the most recently determined security classification as advised by the
British government and Defence also removed seven reports from the Commission
set which the British government had determined were not related to the conduct
of the nuclear tests in Australia. The reports removed from this series at this
time were:
DACO No: 110c (Copy no 40); Report: E4/57
Title: The Effects of Shielding a Building From Atomic Blast by Another of the
Same Size and Shape. May 1957. Winifred E Worsfold.
DACO No: 207c (Copy no 33); Report: O-1/59
Title: A Self-Contained Electronic Blast Pressure Recorder Using an Inductive
Transducer Recording on Magnetic Tape. April 1959. W G P Lamb.
DACO No: 249b (Copy no 115); Report: E5/57
Title: Investigation of the Static Strength and Resistance to Air Blast of
1/10th Scale Trench Shelter Roof Slabs. July 1957. T P O'Brien and Pepita
Pirrie.
DACO No: 271b (Copy no 53); Report: E8/56
Title: Investigation of the Effect of Blast Loading on the Damage Sustained by
1/10th Scale Reinforced Concrete Panels. January 1957. T P O'Brien and Pepita
Pirrie.
DACO No: 272b (Copy no 32); Report: E2/57
Title: Investigation of the damage sustained by 1/10th scale reinforced
concrete surface shelters due to air blast. April 1957. T P O'Brien and D M
Carter.
DACO No: 297a (Copy no 1); Report: JSN & CGD 4/60
Title: Protection Against the Heat from Nuclear Weapons - A Hand Protector.
June 1960. J L Birch.
DACO No: 556 (Copy no 89-); Report: O-39/69
Title: A Fallout Prediction System for Western Europe. July 1969. A Robson.
A further 100 reports, controlled by their AWRE report number, were received
by Archives from BDRSS in November 1986. These reports were photocopies supplied
to the Commission by the British government during the Commission hearings and
were apparently sourced from originals held by the British Government since the
copy numbers do not correspond to any of the reports catalogued by the
Australian Department of Defence, Defence Atomic Control Officer.
The Department of Defence returned the Commission's set of reports to
Archives in July 1987, having destroyed some photocopies of reports, the
originals of which are now in this series, or otherwise thought to be located
elsewhere in the records collected by the Commission.
There exist several discrepancies between what was originally transferred to
the Commission by Defence and other agencies, what was transferred to Archives
by the Commission and what was subsequently returned to Archives from the
Department of Defence. A few of these discrepancies are due to errors in the
recordkeeping system of the Commission - some items were registered with an
incorrect copy suffix letter, and many items do not appear to have been
registered by the Commission, though Commission correspondence suggests such
reports were received by the Commission from Defence. Other errors appear to be
the result of Defence's reconciliation of the Commission's set of reports
between January 1986 and July 1987. For example, some original reports now in
this series were earlier controlled as part of series A6456 by the Commission -
these alternative item numbers were subsequently noted by Archives in the item
level database; a small number of reports had the suffix 'a' applied to their
DACO number after the Commission had been abolished; some reports now in this
series do not appear to have been identified as being transferred to the
Commission by Defence, or to the Archives by the Commission: evidently Defence
placed these reports into this series when a gap was found in the sequence;
and, in some cases where a photocopy of a report was received by the
Commission, an original copy of the same report appears to have been
subsequently substituted by Defence into this series.
The Archives' arrangement and description work in 1998 confirmed that 23
reports were missing from this series (apart from those removed on the advice
of the British government noted above) since their transfer from the Commission
in 1985 but was able to track down other copies of these reports now held in
series A6455 and/or A6456 for all except two reports:
Z296A Report: JSN&CGD 6/60 (Joint School of Nuclear and Chemical Ground
Defence note) (Copy 1)
Title: A Plain Man's guide to the hazard from beta burns to the skin, July
1960, by Squadron Leader J L Birch, Royal Air Force and Major D W B Williams,
Royal Engineers - United Kingdom Ministry of Defence
Archives noted this report as missing in December 1985 following the initial
transfer of the series from the Commission in November 1985. The Commission was
subsequently unable to locate this report prior to closing down in December
1985. Defence was unable to find it in either A6455 or A6456 and confirmed that
this report was missing in June 1986.
ZB32 Report: 'AMR/March 1957' (Admiralty)
Title: Operation Buffalo - report on visit to Maralinga to study aircraft
decontamination techniques.
Archives noted this report as missing in December 1987 following a check of
the contents of the entire series after the return of the records from Defence.
Archives' arrangement and description work in 1998 confirmed the item was
missing but was subsequently unable to discover a copy in either A6455 or
A6456.
Quantity in agency custody
Unknown quantities of original and photocopied copies of atomic research
reports and planning documents, from which this series originates, are held by
(as at June 1999):
CA 46, Department of Defence [III], Central Office - Finance and Inspector-General
Program, Inspector-General Division, Defence Security Branch
CA 8617, Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Central Office -
Coal and Minerals Industries Division, Minerals Access and Rehabilitation
Branch
Disposal history
The reports received from the Commission in November and December 1985 were
given a sentence under GDA10/35.1.1(b) - retain permanently. The copied reports
received from BDRSS in November 1986 were given a sentence for eventual
destruction under GDA10/35.1.1(a) with a note saying these copies were to be
kept until all legal action against the Commonwealth had been finalised.
Following Archives' arrangement and description work on this series in 1996,
all records of this series in Archives' custody were re-sentenced under
GDA14/37.1.2 - retain permanently - because it was clear that many reports
separately transferred by BDRSS in November 1986 were permanent records, having
the characteristic white rectangular sticker identification label (see System
of arrangement and control), or not otherwise existing in the set of reports
earlier transferred by the Commission. It was also clear that many reports
sighted by the Commission were copies of reports which were later substituted
with original reports by Defence (see Custodial history). Without complete,
unambiguous evidence about what reports the Commission sighted and registered
into their recordkeeping system, whether these reports were photocopies, which
government agency sent these copies to the Commission, whether the Commission
required that a master set of reports (whether photocopies or original copies)
should be kept in this series if copies also existed in series A6455 (Exhibits)
and or A6456 (original records), and what copies of reports Defence
subsequently destroyed in 1987, Archives' consequently viewed it necessary for
the whole contents of this series in custody to be retained permanently.
Sources
NAA: A750, 1987/717
NAA: A3437, A1985/997; A1986/11; A1986/428
NAA: A6452, HK43 Parts 1, and 3; HK45; HK46 Parts 1, 2, 3 and A; HK63 Parts
1 and 2; HK93
NAA: A6456, R10/7
NAA: A8490, A6454
Federation of American Scientists - Nuclear Resources - Nuclear Forces Guide
- United Kingdom - Agencies - Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) - last updated
9 July 1998 5:11:08 pm - www.fas.org/nuke/guide/uk/agency/awe.htm
Federation of American Scientists - Nuclear Resources - High Energy Weapons
Archive - Nuclear Weapons Frequently Asked Questions, by Carry Sublette,
Section 7.0 Nuclear Weapon Nations and Arsenals, version 2.19, 20 February
1999, section 7.2.3 Declared States - Britain - www.fas.org/nuke/hew/Nwfaq/Nfaq7.html#uk