Formerly "Top Secret" Report from 1951

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>>> Issued 30 October 1951 by the Historical Office, within the Office Chief Chemical Officer, US Army Chemical Corps. Originally "Top Secret," downgraded to "Secret," then "Confidential," and finally declared unclassified on 19 May 1992. This completely unredacted report gives a brief history of the Chemical Corps, then focuses on its role in the Korean War up to September 1951. Obtained and kindly given to The Memory Hole by Susan L. Maret, PhD.

From page 3: "The opening of hostilities in Korea found the Chemical Corps unprepared for war, although there was a nucleus of well-trained personnel and adequate quantities of defensive equipment."

From page 4: "At the end of World War II, the Allies learned the secrets of the new powerful German nerve gases, which are now in production in the United States - and probably in Russia."

From page 5: "General McAuliffe feels that the Chemical Corps, so far, has made two substantial contributions to the fighting in Korea, namely, the supply of napalm and maintenance of napalm facilities for the air and ground forces, and the combat support by the 2d Chemical Mortar Battalion."

From page 10: "The outbreak of war in Korea and the Stevenson Committee's report (Secretary of Defense Ad Hoc Committees on Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Warfare) caused the R and D budget to be increased from $10,000,000 to $30,000,000. The number of persons working on research and development rose from 2,100 in June 1950 to 3,700 in September 1951. The design and construction of new facilities for the production of Chemical Corps agents also received much attention. The largest of these, a pilot plant for the five steps of synthesis of agent GB, was built at Army Chemical Center, Maryland. Work was begun on a production plant for the same agent - the design being based on studies made at the pilot plan and those made by a civilian organization (Universal Oil Products) under government contract."

From page 13: "The field of biological warfare was represented by several items. Agent TX was the first anti-crop pathogen standardized by the Chemical Corps. Normally employed with the M1 agent carrier, it was very effective against cereal crops. Almost ready for standardization was the E73 biological bomb. This missile was a modification of a standard Ordnance item used for the dissemination of pamphlets. For Chemical Corps purposes it was filled with biological agents. A cluster of biological bombs (the M33 cluster) was also developed. The item consists of a nose ejection type of adapter and of eighty-six M114 biological bombs; the M114 bomb was the first biological weapon to be standardized by the Chemical Corps."

From page 14: "A 10-pound chemical bomb, the E54R4, was designed specifically for the dispersion of Agent GB. Having demonstrated satisfactory results in extensive engineering tests, it was almost ready for standardization. Seventy-six of these bombs could be clustered as an adapter, the assembled munition then being known as the E01 Cluster."

From page 30: "During the period covered by this report there was, throughout the army, an increased emphasis on chemical, biological, and radiological warfare."

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