Medical Aspects of Chemical Warfare (2008) - The Black Vault

History of Chemical Warfarea chemical attack of Japan. Mustard gas, phosgene,and tabun were shipped back to the United Statesto be punched, drained, and used to fill Americanordnance rounds. 116 It was subsequently determinedthat US shells were unsuitable for tabun, but German10.5-cm projectiles could be used in US howitzers(105-mm) with worn tubes because German shellswere slightly wider than US 105-mm shells. 117 In theend, Japan surrendered after nuclear bombs weredropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and chemicalwarfare in the Pacific was averted.Although neither Germany nor Japan chose to initiatechemical warfare with the United States, the CWSspent the war training troops; designing chemical,incendiary, smoke, explosive, and flame weapons andprotective equipment; and planning for a chemicalwar. In addition to the M2 4.2-in chemical mortar, 4,28,118the CWS possessed 75-mm, 105-mm, and 155-mmchemical rounds filled with mustard or lewisite. TheUS Air Force had 100-lb mustard agent bombs; 500-lbphosgene or cyanogen chloride bombs; and 1,000-lbphosgene, cyanogen chloride, or hydrocyanic acidbombs. In addition, the new M33 spray tank couldhold 750 to 1,120 lb of mustard agent or lewisite.None of these chemical weapons was used on thebattlefield during the war, 4,119,120 but the prepositioningof chemical weapons in forward areas resulted in onemajor disaster and several near mishaps. The disasteroccurred December 2, 1943, when the SS John Harvey,loaded with 2,000 M47A1 mustard agent bombs, wasdestroyed during a German air raid at Bari Harbor,Italy. The only members of the crew who were awareof the chemical munitions were killed in the raid.As a result of the ship’s destruction, mustard agentcontaminated the water in the harbor and causedmore than 600 casualties, in addition to those killedor injured in the actual attack. The harbor clean-uptook 3 weeks and required large quantities of lime asa decontaminant. 121Demobilization and the Creation of the ChemicalCorpsThe Army began demobilization activities almostimmediately after the president proclaimed the endof hostilities. By early 1946 the CWS was effectivelydemobilized and its military strength approached prewarlevels. One observer commented, “Gas warfare isobsolete! Yes, like the cavalry and horsedrawn artillery,it is outmoded, archaic, and of historical interest only.This is the atomic age!” 124(p3)However, CWS chief Major General Porter advocatedfor the CWS before an Army board consideringpostwar organization, resulting in the permanencylong sought by the chemical program: a corps designation.The Army finally agreed that the CWS, alongwith the other technical services, should continue itsexistence as a distinct entity in the peacetime Army.On August 2, 1946, Public Law 607 changed the nameof the CWS to the “Chemical Corps.” 125After World War II, as Western defense becameincreasingly based on the threatened use of nuclearweapons, the Chemical Corps’ mission expanded toinclude radiological protection as well as chemicaland biological research and development. At the sameUS Lessons LearnedAfter the war, the phrase “had the United Statesbeen prepared for war in 1939, there would not havebeen a war” 122(p24) was taken as a self-evident truth.The CWS needed to be a permanent organization thatconcentrated on training, research and development,and chemical warfare preparedness. This same lesson,from a slightly different angle, was reflected in thewords of Under Secretary of War Kenneth C Royall tothe chemical warfare specialists: “The better job youdo the less likely it is that you will have to put to actualuse the products of your work.” 123(p41)Fig. 2-36. Decontamination of captured chemical stockpiles.A 250 KC (chemical cylinder) phosgene bomb as it drops intoa water tank, where the phosgene is neutralized by hydrolization.The bomb has been vented prior to decontamination,and the phosgene vapor can be seen escaping into the air.Schierling, Germany. May 1946.Photograph: Courtesy of Chemical and Biological DefenseCommand Historical Research and Response Team, AberdeenProving Ground, Md.53