| Operation Peppermint | |
|---|---|
| Part of World War II | |
| Planned by | European Theater of Operations United States Army (ETOUSA) |
| Objective | To counter the danger that the Germans might disrupt theNormandy landings with radioactive poisons |
| Date | April 1944 |
| Outcome | Not required |
Operation Peppermint was the codename given duringWorld War II to preparations by theManhattan Project and theEuropean Theater of Operations United States Army (ETOUSA) to counter the danger that the Germans might disrupt the June 1944Normandy landings with radioactive poisons.
In response, theMetallurgical Laboratory inChicago and theVictoreen Instrument Company inCleveland developed portable radiation detection devices suitable for use in the field. In 1944,Major GeneralLeslie R. Groves, Jr., director of the Manhattan Project, sentMajor Arthur V. Peterson to briefGeneralDwight D. Eisenhower and his senior staff officers at theSupreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF).
In response, ETOUSA initiated Operation Peppermint. Special equipment was prepared. Eleven survey meters and aGeiger counter were shipped to England in early 1944, along with 1,500 film packets, which were used to measure radiation exposure. Another 25 survey meters, 5 Geiger counters and 1,500 film packets were held in storage in the United States, but in readiness to be shipped by air with the highest priority.Chemical Warfare Service teams were trained in its use, andSignal Corps personnel in its maintenance. The equipment was held in readiness, but the preparations were not needed, because the Germans had not developed such weapons.
When theManhattan Project assumed responsibility for the development ofnuclear weapons in September 1942, it also assumed responsibility for the development of suitable countermeasures. At the time, the threat posed by theGerman nuclear energy project was taken very seriously.[1][2] Consideration was given to issuing a public warning of the danger of a German nuclear attack on the United States, but the director of the Manhattan Project,Brigadier GeneralLeslie R. Groves, Jr., considered the likelihood of this to be sufficiently remote that he rejected the notion of taking so drastic a step.[3]
A subcommittee of theS-1 Executive Committee, chaired byJames B. Conant, and consisting of himself,Arthur Compton andHarold Urey, was appointed to look into the issue, and it similarly assessed the danger as low, but still sufficient to warrant taking some precautions. A program was initiated by theMetallurgical Laboratory inChicago and theVictoreen Instrument Company inCleveland to develop radiation detection devices suitable for use in the field. Some 48 portable detection meters were built in 1943, half of which were capable of detecting 0 to 10roentgens per day, while the other half could detect from 0 to 100 roentgens per day. Instruments sets were stored at Manhattan District offices inBoston, Chicago,New York City,San Francisco andWashington, D.C., and the area engineer and some other officers were instructed in their use. A special team of scientists was created at the Metallurgical Laboratory who could respond to any reports of the use of nuclear weapons orradioactive poisons.[1]
It was considered more likely that Germany might employ such weapons against the United Kingdom, so four officers from theEuropean Theater of Operations United States Army (ETOUSA) including the G-3 Brigadier General George S. Eyster were summoned to Chicago, where they were given a top secret briefing by the Manhattan District's Chicago area engineer,MajorArthur V. Peterson. They were told about possible forms such an attack might take, and what the effects and symptoms of them were, and they were given survey instruments and shown how to use them. They were enjoined to tell other officers in the theater to report unexplained fogging of film or illnesses with symptoms corresponding to the effects ofradiation sickness.[4][2][5]
As the date for theNormandy landings (codenamedOperation Overlord) drew near in early 1944, Groves considered that risk was sufficient to send an officer to brief the Supreme CommanderGeneralDwight D. Eisenhower of the possible use of radioactive poisons, particularlyplutonium andfission products that might be created in theirnuclear reactors.[6] On 8 April 1944, Peterson reported to theSupreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) and met with Eisenhower, his chief of staff,Lieutenant GeneralWalter Bedell Smith, assistant chief of staff (G-2) (Intelligence),Major GeneralJohn Whiteley, and his assistant chief of staff (G-3) (Operations),Major GeneralHarold R. Bull.[7]
They considered creating an Allied plan to counter the danger, but Whiteley said that he would have to consult with the British command before this could be approved. Colonel G. S. Eyster from G-3 was then ordered to prepare an American plan, under the codename Operation Peppermint.[7] Further briefings were given toAdmiralHarold Stark, and Lieutenant GeneralsCarl Spaatz andJohn C. H. Lee, and Eisenhower also wrote toLieutenant GeneralHastings Ismay, the chief of staff of theprime minister of the United Kingdom,Winston Churchill to inform theBritish Chiefs of Staff, but no British or American commanders actually participating in Operation Overlord were informed.[8] The British subsequently adopted a similar plan to Operation Peppermint, and SHAEF assumed responsibility for coordinating the British and American efforts. Scientific assistance was provided by theCavendish Laboratory.[7]
Operation Peppermint provided for:
Under Operation Peppermint, orders went out for medical personnel to report the details of any fogging or blackening of photographic orX-ray film, and medical officers were ordered to report diseases of unknownetiology involving fatigue,nausea,leukopenia orerythema.[10] Eleven survey meters and aGeiger counter were shipped to England in early 1944, along with 1,500 film packets,[11] which were used to measure radiation exposure.[11] Another 25 survey meters, 5 Geiger counters and 1,500 film packets were held in storage in the United States, but in readiness to be shipped by air with the highest priority.[9] Peterson instructedChemical Warfare Service personnel in the use of the equipment, andSignal Corps personnel in its maintenance.[10]
In the weeks leading up toD-Day, full-scale rehearsals of Operation Peppermint were carried out in order to test the plan and the equipment. Ground and aerial surveys were also carried out to detect the presence of radioactive substances in troop concentration areas, and at sites in the United Kingdom that had been bombed, but none were detected.[9]
The Germans had not developed, and did not employ radioactive poisons, so Operation Peppermint was never put into effect. AfterVE-Day, the equipment and all the documents relating to Operation Peppermint were collected, returned to the United States, and handed over to the Manhattan Project.[9] However, the effort put into developing portable radiation detection equipment was not wasted. Survey teams from the Manhattan Project used the equipment to assess thefallout from theTrinity nuclear test,[12] thebombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,[13] andOperation Crossroads, during which 10,000 film badges were used.[14]
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