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Project 112 was a biological and chemical weapon experimentation project conducted by the United States Department of Defense from 1962 to 1973.
The project started under John F. Kennedy's administration, and was authorized by his Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, as part of a total review of the US military. The name "Project 112" refers to this project's number in the 150 project review process authorized by McNamara. Funding and staff were contributed by every branch of the U.S. armed services and intelligence agencies—a euphemism for the Office of Technical Services of the Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Science & Technology. Canada and the United Kingdom also participated in some Project 112 activities.[1]
Project 112 primarily concerned the use of aerosols to disseminate biological and chemical agents that could produce "controlled temporary incapacitation" (CTI). The test program would be conducted on a large scale at "extracontinental test sites" in the Central and South Pacific[2] and Alaska in conjunction with Britain, Canada and Australia.
At least 50 trials were conducted; of these at least 18 tests involved simulants of biological agents (such as BG), and at least 14 involved chemical agents including sarin and VX, but also tear gas and other simulants.[1] Test sites included Porton Down (UK), Ralston (Canada) and at least 13 US warships; the shipborne trials were collectively known as Shipboard Hazard and Defense—SHAD.[1] The project was coordinated from Deseret Test Center, Utah.
As of 2005[update], publicly available information on Project 112 remains incomplete.[1]
- ^ a b c d Jeanne Guillemin (2005). Biological Weapons: From The Invention Of State-Sponsored Programs To Contemporary Bioterrorism. Columbia University Press. pp. 109–110. ISBN 978-0-231-12942-8.
- ^ Ed Regis (15 November 1999). The Biology of Doom: The History of America's Secret Germ Warfare Project. Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 978-0-8050-5764-5.