Manhattan Project
1942
Background Info.
Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi
The scientists working on the project were Albert Einstein, who fled Nazi persecution, and Enrico Fermi, who escaped Fascist Italy, were now living in the United States. They both informed the president of the dangers of atomic technology in the hands of the Axis powers. Fermi traveled to Washington in March to express his concerns on government officials, but few people shared his concern.
Einstein penned a letter to President Roosevelt urging the development of an atomic research program later that year. Roosevelt saw no reason and no utility for such a project, but agreed to proceed. In late 1941, the American effort to design and build an Atomic Bomb had begun, but the code name for it was-The Manhattan Project.
Going Nuclear
Nuclear facilities were built in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and Hanford, Washington. The main assembly plant was built at Los Amos, New Mexico. The total cost for the Manhattan Project was nearly $2 billion dollars. This was spent on research and development of the atomic bomb.
The Manhattan Project employed over 120,000 Americans. Neither the Germans nor the Japanese could learn of the project, causing secrecy to be very important. Roosevelt and Churchill agreed that the Stalin, leader of Russia, would be kept in the dark. Keeping 120,000 people quiet would be impossible, therefore only a small privileged group of scientists and officials knew about the atomic bomb's development. In fact, even Vice President Truman never heard of the Manhattan Project until he became President.
The World Entered a Nuclear Age
On July 16, 1945 at Trinity Site in Alamogordo, New Mexico, it was time to test the world's first atomic bomb. The device was fixed to a 100 foot tall tower, no one was properly prepared for the result.
A blinding flash visible for over 200 miles lit up the sky. A mushroom cloud reached 40,000 feet high, blowing out windows of civilian homes up to 100 miles out. When the mushroom cloud returned to earth it created a half-mile wide crater making sand into glass. In order to keep the secret going, a cover-up story was quickly released, explaining that a huge ammunition dump had exploded in the desert. Soon word reached President Truman in Potsdam, Germany that the project was successful.
Scientists of the Project
More Bombs...
“Fat Man” was the second bomb and was more powerful than the “Little Boy”. It was formed from plutonium, more than 40,000 people died and around 60,000 were badly injured.