Free Clouds of Deceit by Joan Smith Page B

Australia.
    â€˜The inherent stupidity of an independent test in Australia, when the Americans had such well-developed test sites, had led to long meetings and cables and a final transatlantic dash by Penney,’ says Margaret Gowing. ‘But though the Americans had finally expressed their willingness to help, they had felt bound to impose so many restrictions and conditions under the McMahon Act that the Chiefs of Staff and all the departments concerned had unanimously concluded that the test should be held after all in Australia.’

Chapter Three
Operation Hurricane
    3 October 1952, Monte Bello Islands
    The ‘inherent stupidity’ of testing the first British atom bomb in Australia lay in the huge effort required to prepare such a distant and inhospitable site for the explosion. The Monte Bello Islands could not even provide a supply of water for the number of people involved in the test in one way or another - 1,100 British and Australian personnel as the time for the test drew close.
    Once again, the British had a lot to thank the Australian government for; the Australian armed forces obligingly helped out with several vital tasks. In February 1952, for instance, the No. 5 Airfield Squadron of the Australian air force, the RAAF, constructed a freshwater pipeline on the mainland which brought water to a jetty near the mouth of the Fortescue river. Throughout the entire operation, all the water needed in the Monte Bellos was taken from this jetty by an Australian navy water lighter across the fifty miles to the islands.
    The Royal Navy supplied five ships for the operation, which was given the code name Hurricane. It was carried out under the overall control of a senior naval officer. Ninety-nine scientists travelled by ship to the islands, the majority of them on HMS
Campania,
where relations between the civilians and the navy became decidedly strained. Other scientists, including Penney, were luckier: they flew to Australia in Hastings aircraft and then made the trip from Onslow, on the mainland, to the test site in the Monte Bellos in the Australian ships, HMAS
Hawkesbury
and
Warreen.
    The first two British ships, HMS
Zeebrugge
and HMS
Narvik,
left Portsmouth for the islands on 19 February 1952, one day after the two governments had made their joint announcement of the test in Australia. The two events were not unconnected,as a report compiled by the naval commander after the explosion shows. ‘By the time that Phase I ships were due to leave the United Kingdom, it was apparent that news of the operation could no longer be withheld,’ it says. ‘On 18th February a simultaneous announcement was made by the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and Australia… Although no mention was made of Phase I ships, when they sailed on the following day the press accurately associated them with the expedition.’
    To the satisfaction of the British authorities, the press then jumped to the wrong conclusion about the exact location of the test. ‘The world press gave great prominence to the public announcements and made a general assumption that the trial would take place at Woomera,’ the report goes on. ‘This speculation was useful in assisting to keep secret the true location.’
    Zeebrugge
and
Narvik
were essentially troop ships, whose job was to transport the Royal Engineers to the Monte Bellos to prepare the site. They arrived at the islands more than two months later. HMS
Campania,
the aircraft-carrier which had served as a travelling exhibition during the Festival of Britain a year earlier, was designated command and base ship. On 14 May, Rear-Admiral Arthur Torlesse, the overall commander of Operation Hurricane, hoisted his flag on board
Campania
and a second joint announcement was made to the press. It gave the location of the test, and named Penney and Torlesse as the scientific and military leaders of the operation.
    Campania
sailed on 10 June, with eighty-five Ministry