Philip J. Dolan
Encyclopedia
Philip J. Dolan graduated in physics
from West Point in 1945, was assigned to the Manhattan Project
, Los Alamos
, in 1948, and received his MSc in physics from the University of Virginia
in 1956. Dolan held U.S. Army posts ranging from 'Instructor in Nuclear Weapons Employment' to 'Nuclear Effects Project Officer'. He later worked for both Lockheed Corporation
and SRI International
.
He is best known as co-author with Samuel Glasstone
of the well-known reference work The Effects of Nuclear Weapons, as well as first editor of the two-part edition of the U.S. Department of Defense’s 1,651 pages 'Secret-Restricted Data' manual, Capabilities of Nuclear Weapons (DNA-EM-1, 1 July 1972).
commented on it in his 1984 book, Weapons and Hope:
The military doctrines summarised in FM 101-31 were valid... when tactical nuclear wars might have been small-scale and truly limited. The handbook represents a sincere attempt to put Oppenheimer’s philosophy of local nuclear defence into practice.
Dr J. Robert Oppenheimer said of this nuclear weapons capabilities question:
I am not qualified, and if I were qualified I would not be allowed, to give a detailed evaluation of the appropriateness of the use of atomic weapons against any or all such (military) targets; but one thing is very clear. It is clear that they can be used only as adjuncts in a military campaign which has some other components, and whose purpose is a military victory. They are not primarily weapons of totality or terror, but weapons used to give combat forces help they would otherwise lack. They are an integral part of military operations. Only when the atomic bomb is recognized as useful insofar as it is an integral part of military operations, will it really be of much help in the fighting of a war, rather than in warning all mankind to avert it. (Quotation: Samuel Cohen
, Shame, 2nd ed., 2005, page 99.)
problems by Dolan and others resulted in the concept of the U.S. ‘Triad’ of nuclear silos
, bombers and submarine
missile
platforms for ‘cross-targeting’ (using different delivery platforms; aircraft, submarines and missiles) and ‘layering’ (using repeated hits by accurate low yield weapons). These tactics limit the risk of failure, and also reduce individual bomb yields, thus preventing any serious collateral damage to nearby civilian areas (heavy fallout
, blast
, or fires). Dolan revealed in the Capabilities of Nuclear Weapons, 1972 (c. 14: p. 1, declassified on 13 February 1989):
One of the primary uses of nuclear weapons would be for the destruction of military field equipment.
Other major targets discussed there are missiles, ships and submarines (although the longest chapter dealt with radiation dose prediction for human beings from the perspective of avoiding collateral damage, Chapter 10 Personnel Casualties is one of the shortest in the manual, containing only 38 out of the 1,651 pages). http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/03/samuel-glasstone-and-philip-j-dolan.html.
The strange title of this second book refers to the discovery that cockroach
es will withstand 67,500 rem
(American variety) or 90,000-105,000 rem (German variety), compared to a human lethal exposure of only about 800 rem http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1996/12-13-1996/bomb.html. One theory which resulted from these observations on insects was that cockroaches, along with some simple plants and bacteria, would be likely to be the only lifeforms to survive a severe nuclear war. This theory was refuted by experience of the very rapid recovery on isolated islands exposed to close-in heavy fallout and other effects from massive hydrogen bombs at the Bikini Atoll
and Eniwetok Atoll, as well as from smaller nuclear weapons in the Nevada Test Site
and Australia (Montebello Islands
, Maralinga and Emu Field
). Full ecological recovery surveys were documented before and after each test series. (For a brief online introduction into some these studies - with specific reference to the ecological effects of the 1.69 megatons Operation Castle
Nectar shot, detonated in 1954 on a barge above the crater of the 10.4 megatons Ivy Mike
thermonuclear test in Eniwetok Atoll - see http://worf.eh.doe.gov/data/ihp1c/0863_a.pdf and http://worf.eh.doe.gov/data/ihp1c/0434_a.pdf.)
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from West Point in 1945, was assigned to the Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
, Los Alamos
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
, in 1948, and received his MSc in physics from the University of Virginia
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia is a public research university located in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States, founded by Thomas Jefferson...
in 1956. Dolan held U.S. Army posts ranging from 'Instructor in Nuclear Weapons Employment' to 'Nuclear Effects Project Officer'. He later worked for both Lockheed Corporation
Lockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
and SRI International
SRI International
SRI International , founded as Stanford Research Institute, is one of the world's largest contract research institutes. Based in Menlo Park, California, the trustees of Stanford University established it in 1946 as a center of innovation to support economic development in the region. It was later...
.
He is best known as co-author with Samuel Glasstone
Samuel Glasstone
Samuel Glasstone authored 40 popular textbooks on physical chemistry, reaction rates, nuclear weapons effects, nuclear reactor engineering, Mars, space sciences, the environmental effects of nuclear energy and nuclear testing...
of the well-known reference work The Effects of Nuclear Weapons, as well as first editor of the two-part edition of the U.S. Department of Defense’s 1,651 pages 'Secret-Restricted Data' manual, Capabilities of Nuclear Weapons (DNA-EM-1, 1 July 1972).
Controversial publication
Dolan also compiled the famous and controversial U.S. Army Field Manual, Nuclear Weapons Employment, FM 101-31, in 1963. Professor Freeman DysonFreeman Dyson
Freeman John Dyson FRS is a British-born American theoretical physicist and mathematician, famous for his work in quantum field theory, solid-state physics, astronomy and nuclear engineering. Dyson is a member of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists...
commented on it in his 1984 book, Weapons and Hope:
The military doctrines summarised in FM 101-31 were valid... when tactical nuclear wars might have been small-scale and truly limited. The handbook represents a sincere attempt to put Oppenheimer’s philosophy of local nuclear defence into practice.
Dr J. Robert Oppenheimer said of this nuclear weapons capabilities question:
I am not qualified, and if I were qualified I would not be allowed, to give a detailed evaluation of the appropriateness of the use of atomic weapons against any or all such (military) targets; but one thing is very clear. It is clear that they can be used only as adjuncts in a military campaign which has some other components, and whose purpose is a military victory. They are not primarily weapons of totality or terror, but weapons used to give combat forces help they would otherwise lack. They are an integral part of military operations. Only when the atomic bomb is recognized as useful insofar as it is an integral part of military operations, will it really be of much help in the fighting of a war, rather than in warning all mankind to avert it. (Quotation: Samuel Cohen
Samuel Cohen
Samuel Theodore Cohen was an American physicist who invented the W70 warhead, more popularly known as the neutron bomb.-Biography:...
, Shame, 2nd ed., 2005, page 99.)
Cold War deterrence and flexible nuclear capabilities
A detailed study of the collateral damageCollateral damage
Collateral damage is damage to people or property that is unintended or incidental to the intended outcome. The phrase is prevalently used as an euphemism for civilian casualties of a military action.-Etymology:...
problems by Dolan and others resulted in the concept of the U.S. ‘Triad’ of nuclear silos
Silos
Silos is the plural of silo, a farm structure, typically cylindrical, in which fodder or forage is kept.Silos may also refer to:* Santo Domingo de Silos Abbey, famous for Romanesque carvings and recordings of Gregorian chant...
, bombers and submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
missile
Missile
Though a missile may be any thrown or launched object, it colloquially almost always refers to a self-propelled guided weapon system.-Etymology:The word missile comes from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send"...
platforms for ‘cross-targeting’ (using different delivery platforms; aircraft, submarines and missiles) and ‘layering’ (using repeated hits by accurate low yield weapons). These tactics limit the risk of failure, and also reduce individual bomb yields, thus preventing any serious collateral damage to nearby civilian areas (heavy fallout
Fallout
Fallout or nuclear fallout is the residual radiation hazard from a nuclear explosion.Fallout may also refer to:*Fallout , a 1997 post-apocalyptic computer role-playing game released by Interplay Entertainment...
, blast
Explosion
An explosion is a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner, usually with the generation of high temperatures and the release of gases. An explosion creates a shock wave. If the shock wave is a supersonic detonation, then the source of the blast is called a "high explosive"...
, or fires). Dolan revealed in the Capabilities of Nuclear Weapons, 1972 (c. 14: p. 1, declassified on 13 February 1989):
One of the primary uses of nuclear weapons would be for the destruction of military field equipment.
Other major targets discussed there are missiles, ships and submarines (although the longest chapter dealt with radiation dose prediction for human beings from the perspective of avoiding collateral damage, Chapter 10 Personnel Casualties is one of the shortest in the manual, containing only 38 out of the 1,651 pages). http://glasstone.blogspot.com/2006/03/samuel-glasstone-and-philip-j-dolan.html.
Unclassified publications
Philip J. Dolan contributed substantial discussions to two openly published books during the 1980s:- Characteristics of the Nuclear Radiation Environment Produced by Several Types of Disasters, Summary Volume, published as Appendix A to the April 27-29, 1981 National Council on Radiation Protection and MeasurementsNational Council on Radiation Protection and MeasurementsThe National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements is a U.S. organization. It has a congressional charter under Title 36 of the United States Code, but this does not imply it has any sort of oversight or supervision from Congress; it is not a government entity.This text appears on the...
Symposium on the Control of Exposure of the Public to Ionizing Radiation in the Event of Accident or Attack http://www.ncrponline.org/Publications/Symposium_Proc/1_1981_SymProceedings.html
- Jack C. Greene & Daniel J. Strom (Editors), Would the Insects Inherit the Earth and Other Subjects of Concern to Those Who Worry About Nuclear War, Pergamon Press, London, 1988, 78pp http://www.amazon.com/dp/0080359701
The strange title of this second book refers to the discovery that cockroach
Cockroach
Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations...
es will withstand 67,500 rem
Röntgen equivalent man
Named after Wilhelm Röntgen , the roentgen equivalent in man or rem is a unit of radiation dose equivalent...
(American variety) or 90,000-105,000 rem (German variety), compared to a human lethal exposure of only about 800 rem http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1996/12-13-1996/bomb.html. One theory which resulted from these observations on insects was that cockroaches, along with some simple plants and bacteria, would be likely to be the only lifeforms to survive a severe nuclear war. This theory was refuted by experience of the very rapid recovery on isolated islands exposed to close-in heavy fallout and other effects from massive hydrogen bombs at the Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll, listed as a World Heritage Site, in the Micronesian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands....
and Eniwetok Atoll, as well as from smaller nuclear weapons in the Nevada Test Site
Nevada Test Site
The Nevada National Security Site , previously the Nevada Test Site , is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas...
and Australia (Montebello Islands
Montebello Islands
The Montebello Islands, also known as the Monte Bello Islands, are an archipelago of around 174 small islands lying north of Barrow Island and off the Pilbara coast of north-western Australia. Montebello is Italian for "beautiful mountain"...
, Maralinga and Emu Field
Emu Field
Emu Field is located in the desert of South Australia, at . Variously known as Emu Field, Emu Junction or Emu, it was the site of the Operation Totem pair of nuclear tests conducted by the British government in October 1953.The site was surveyed by Len Beadell in 1952...
). Full ecological recovery surveys were documented before and after each test series. (For a brief online introduction into some these studies - with specific reference to the ecological effects of the 1.69 megatons Operation Castle
Operation Castle
Operation Castle was a United States series of high-energy nuclear tests by Joint Task Force SEVEN at Bikini Atoll beginning in March 1954...
Nectar shot, detonated in 1954 on a barge above the crater of the 10.4 megatons Ivy Mike
Ivy Mike
Ivy Mike was the codename given to the first United States test of a thermonuclear weapon, in which a major part of the explosive yield came from nuclear fusion. It was detonated on November 1, 1952 by the United States at on Enewetak, an atoll in the Pacific Ocean, as part of Operation Ivy...
thermonuclear test in Eniwetok Atoll - see http://worf.eh.doe.gov/data/ihp1c/0863_a.pdf and http://worf.eh.doe.gov/data/ihp1c/0434_a.pdf.)
External links
- Background information about Philip J. Dolan's defense publications, some of which are classified
- Online edition of The Effects of Nuclear Weapons
- http://www.jagcnet.army.mil/JAGCNETINTERNET/HOMEPAGES/AC/MILITARYLAWREVIEW.NSF/20a66345129fe3d885256e5b00571830/ac8bb0554f62b90485256e5b00583511/$FILE/MLR%2027-100-30%2019651001.pdfDepartment of the Army Pamphlet 27-100-30, Military Law Review vol. 30, U.S. Army, October 1965, pp 1-42: article by Captain Fred Bright, Jr., Nuclear Weapons as a Lawful Means of Warfare (citing Dolan's FM 101-31 and reviewing the legality of nuclear warfare).]