The Coalition Between Italy And Germany

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

When Hitler rose to power many Jews began to flee from German rule, and due to their Anti-Semitic values. Hitler was planning on creating genocide as a "solution" to non-Aryan races. (Gonzalez 29).

In 1940, Japan was on a conquest for Southeast Asia, however they were cut short on supplies when America put an embargo on materials such as gasoline and scrap metal. America was aware of their plans to invade and control Southeast Asia; however, they were not aware of the consequences that the embargo would have on themselves. On December 7, 1941, a flock of Japanese War planes secretly left Japan and were planning to drop bombs on Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor was a base that contained warships and air planes that were used by the United States Pacific Fleet to deal with and resolve conflicts in the Pacific Ocean. Over 2,000 Americans lost their lives and much of the United States Pacific Fleet damaged. America declared on Japan the very next day, with Great Britain, Canada, and China following in its footsteps. Then Germany and Italy declared war on the United States, thus causing America’s arrival into World War II. America looked towards weapons of mass destructions to use against Germany and end World War II. In a secret mission known as the Manhattan Project, this subterfuge of mass destruction would be built.http://repo-nt.tcc.virginia.edu/classes/tcc313/200rprojs/manhattan/fermi.gifhttps://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSltFhj9M0McEJiuGUWbENmFtDeuCWlZvv39mwJrBNUHb83raCmYA

Among those who disembarked from their homes are brilliant scientists such as Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi. While Fermi was experimenting with neutrons and how they react when they are shot through different atoms, he realized something especially bizarre with Uranium atoms. However; science had not modernized far enough for him to understand he was actually splitting the Uranium atom. In 1938, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Physics, which was just what he needed to escape from Mussolini’s anti-Semitic grasp to Sweden with his family. From there he would then board a boat to take cover in America. While Fermi was in Sweden to accept his award, he met with Niels Bohr. Niels Bohr, a scientist in atomic research, and his colleagues Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch developed a theory to the mystery of the missing weight in the uranium cells. They had used Einstein’s theory that matter could be changed into energy, to explain that the missing mass of the uranium atom had been transferred into energy. They named the splitting of uranium atoms, "fission." If they were able to capture this energy, they could withhold massive amounts of energy. The next question would be how they would use this energy.https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRVSYMDFjBAJHmQG38RwJ05Q2ERclkXdf2Sy3NW9rt-1E--v0Ob

Fermi wanted to test out the chain-reaction theory that he had conjured up. He had created a "primitive nuclear reactor" that contained layers of graphite cubes. They would be composed into a sphere 26 feet tall and 26 feet wide from the center. Every layer of graphite blocking would contain uranium that would be used for the creating the fission. The uranium neutrons once split would be slowed down by the graphite, therefore causing more nuclei to split. In each layer there also were cadmium-coated steel rods. The Cadmium would then intake the uranium nuclei causing the rods too come in and out in accordance to the reactor. (Gonzalez 38). Scientists knew that this would cause harmful radiation; however, they had no idea how much radiation would be created. They decided to test it in an isolated racquet court in the University of Chicago. There they tested and created a self sustaining reaction. The next question would be how they would use this energy.

In 1941, there was a secret pact to continue cooperation on the bomb project between England and America. Churchill and Roosevelt created a pact known as the Quebec Agreement which stated that the atomic bomb would not be used against the other, a mutual agreement on when the bomb would be used on another country, information about the making of the bomb would not be released unless both countries agreed, and lastly after the war the U.S. had sole privilege to the technology of the bomb that resulted in joint research (Beyer 59).http://www.neh.gov/files/humanities/articles/2012_0506_images_32_allies_chrchill_roosevelt.jpg

With the impending crisis ahead, Roosevelt’s Advisory Committee on Uranium advised that a "nuclear weapon might be made ‘in time to influence the outcome of the present war’" (Gonzalez 33). Roosevelt ordered the Army Corps of Engineers to work on the project.

Niels Bohr, a leading scientist and Nobel Prize winner, made a case that after the war there should be a controlling factor on nuclear energy and cooperation between governments, otherwise there could be "‘a menace to human security’" (Beyer 60). However, Churchill wanted only Britain and the U.S. to have the power of nuclear weapons so they could control other countries with their "big sticks" (Beyer 61). They did not want to work with other countries such as Russia, because they did not trust them.http://cphpost.dk/sites/default/files/styles/400x300/public/Niels-Bohr,-1950_web.jpg

The naming of the Manhattan Project came from the new district in New York City, created by Colonel J. C. Marshall, called Manhattan District. The Manhattan District was originally, and in a sense, covertly disguised as a place to "develop substitute materials," that would later become the atomic bomb (Gonzalez 33).

The project would remain a secret. There could not be any knowledge reaching Germany that America was planning to build a nuclear device of mass destruction, otherwise the Germans could try and build the bomb first.

At the same time, Lawrence and J. Robert Oppenheimer learned by studying fission, that it could make a weapon of mass destruction. As they were experimenting with fission on different elements at the University of California, they found that the plutonium atom could also conduct fission.

Marshall opened up a laboratory in Chicago University for all the expert physicists in the University of Chicago disguised as a Metallurgical Laboratory. Extraordinary scientists such as Albert Einstein, Fermi, Szilard, and Wigner were all working together to create the perfect weapon.

Some obstacles they would face were how they would supply the uranium and plutonium needed to create the bomb. The bomb needed a distinct and rare type of uranium called U-235. The Manhattan Project decided on two ways to separate U-235 from U-238. The first was electromagnetic separation, where the uranium was turned into a gas; the gas then became ionized and then was shot through a magnetic field. Whilst going through the magnetic field, the less dense U-235 trailed a more acutely curved path than the U-238. The two isotopes terminated their journeys in two separate locations. The second was gaseous diffusion, where the gas was impelled across a sequence of "porous barriers with millions of submicroscopic openings per square inch." The gas molecules with U-235 ran through the barriers at a higher consistency than those with U-238. The gas would then be passed through multiple barriers, resulting in concentration of U-235 to be significantly greater (Smith).

Marshall was replaced on September 23, 1942 by Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves. Groves designed the Pentagon. Groves firstly, wanted to relocate the site to a more secluded area where privacy and secrecy could be ensured. Also he wanted a place where they could build a place to split the uranium atoms and produce U-235. The place he chose was called Black Oak Ridge. This place would be codenamed Site X. At Site X, 20,000 construction workers gathered to build the equipment needed to make U-235 to achieve a "daily quota" to fuel the atomic bomb (Beyer 50). There were four factories the biggest stretching a half a mile long. The factory that split the uranium atoms covered 44 square acres of land, and was sustained on its own robust power plant.

Other sites in Oak Ridge such as the Clinton Engineer Works would be responsible for the electromagnetic separation and gaseous diffusion process of uranium to make U-235. In September 1942, they would receive 59,000 acres of land near the Clinch River in Eastern Tennessee. The electromagnetic site, Y-12, would utilized 4,800 people to help make the U-238. The gaseous diffusion complex, K-25, had a "single four-story building with 43 acres under one roof." Over the course of three years the Y-12 and K-25 together divided enough U-235 for a single bomb (Smith).

Some obstacles they would face were how they would supply the uranium and plutonium needed to create the bomb. Acquiring the U-235 for the bomb proved to be hard and inept. In Oak Ridge, scientists began to look for more efficient ways to separate uranium atoms to make plutonium or uranium. Companies all over the nation pitched in devices that would make U-238 more usable and attainable; however, they had no idea what they were supplying it for. Each company that helped was given a specific task to complete. They were all separate pieces of a puzzle, and they had no idea that the other pieces existed or that together they created the picture of an atomic bomb.

Groves was now looking for a place to construct a plutonium factory. Plutonium seemed to be an adequate replacement for hard-to-make U-235. Plutonium in fact, was easier to fission and could be produced on a large scale. Groves brought the Du Pont Company to help design the facility. The facility, a.k.a. Site W, was to be stationed by the Columbia River close to Hanford, Washington. This site was chosen due to its isolation from populated centers. The government bought 780 square miles of land around the city, and forced it’s dwellers to move without a reason. An influx of construction workers brought life back to the city, making it the fourth largest city in Washington. The 45,000 workers were only given specific jobs; they had no idea what they were building. Recruiters came from every state except Tennessee and New Mexico. Grover did not want people putting two and two together with the other sites that they were building. In late 1942, they would began to construct "three nuclear reactors and four chemical separation plants" (Smith). The plutonium produced here would be a larger scale of Fermi’s successful CP-I pile in Chicago. Here they would produce enough P-239 to fuel three atomic bombs.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Hanford_N_Reactor_adjusted.jpg/350px-Hanford_N_Reactor_adjusted.jpghttps://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR5yM2Ub5iGuYGpGAWrIA6zpMV482CWqjbJHqoyLYqopXb7jkGz-ALow resolution image of Hanford_PUB79476001

Now the scientists would need a place to design the bomb. In 1942, the army purchased 54,000 acres for 440,000 dollars as a demolition range. They chose a place in New Mexico called Los Alamos Ranch, which previously was a school for boys at an elevation of 7,000 ft. There was only one small windy road leading up to the school from Santa Fe. Also since the site was on an elevation, people approaching could be seen from miles away. Grooves wanted the area to be away from the coast, so that it would be too far for enemy submarines or planes to come at them.

Throughout 1942-1943, construction of Los Alamos, or a.k.a. Site Y, for the "laboratory, administrative, and residential buildings" for the several tens of scientists that would collaborate and work on the bomb were being built. There were barbed wire fences all along the perimeter of the quarters where the bomb would be built and also around the surrounding community. Even though they were used for their own safety and security, these fences bothered scientists from abroad becomes it reminded them of the awful concentration camps in their homeland. The laboratory was turned into a military base with scientists undergoing military routines and discipline. Many scientists were not happy.http://www.terrebonneonline.com/oppen2.jpg

J. Robert Oppenheimer would be the Laboratory Director for the development and design of the bomb. He was a very unpredictable guy, that many could not see leading the creation of the bomb. He searched the nation and abroad for worthy scientists. Due to the urgent status and lavish funding of the Manhattan Project, supplies needed came easier than the scientists. Most scientists were already working on other war efforts, and so the Manhattan Project, in a sense, had to be sold to these scientists. Oppenheimer was highly influential and also promised comfortable living in Los Alamos to scientists and their families if they would help with the project. He managed to string scientists like Enrico Fermi, Hanz Beta, and Edward Teller. However; a set back to the recruitment process was the denial of "intellectual freedom." This meant that scientists could not discuss and collaborate with other scientists due to the impressing war. This new information could lead to new discoveries about the atomic bomb, but it could also mean that Hitler could also obtain that information (Beyer 44).

In January 1, 1943, Los Alamos was officially opened, and its main agenda was to build a weapon to end the war faster. They were racing against time, not money. They needed to build the bomb before any other country did. This caused very high tensions and stress in the work place. They had three immediate priorities to accomplish. First they had to establish what material they were going to use to create the fission bomb, second assemble the plutonium, and third pack the explosives away in the shell.

In Los Alamos, scientists were working with an unlimited budget and they could obtain any tool they wanted. America was in a race with Germany. They needed to be the first to build the atomic bomb and ultimately win the war. Oppenheimer also knew this. He once said, "Almost everyone knew that this job, if it were achieved would be part of history. This sense of excitement, of devotion and of patriotism in the end prevailed." Scientists were very aware of the destruction that the atomic bomb could cause. Many, being refugees from Europe, believed that the creation of the atomic bomb would "ultimately save more lives than it destroyed" and personally felt attached to the mission (Gonzalez 53).http://img.docstoccdn.com/thumb/orig/58031321.png

Not only did scientist have to worry about how they were going to create and energize this device, but they also had to worry about spies infiltrating their factories and sending information back to Hitler or Stalin. In December 1943, a group of first rate scientists from Great Britain came to help work on the atomic bomb at Los Alamos. Their group consisted of James Chadwick, the founder of the neutrons, Otto Frisch, Klaus Fuchs, and other great scientists. Fuchs, a quiet and well respected physicist, turned out to be a Soviet Spy. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison for his actions (Gonzalez 51).http://chiefwritingwolf.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/manhattan-project-sign.jpg?w=500

In Oak Ridge and Hanford, scientists began to look for more efficient ways to separate uranium atoms to make plutonium or uranium. Companies all over the nation pitched in devices that would make U-238 more usable and attainable; however, they had no idea what they were supplying it for. Each company that helped was given a specific task to complete. They were all separate pieces of a puzzle, and they had no idea that the other pieces existed or that together they created the picture of an atomic bomb.

Women also played a role in the creation of the atomic bomb. Many women watched gauges and adjust knobs to help extract U-235 from U-238. They had no idea what that their simplistic actions were actually keeping the uranium in check. Every week, once or twice, a small briefcase of extracted Uranium was taken out of the factory and then it is taken to Santa Fe. https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS_U6j59muDglYVMttC_ulcjxAIqzHknG5gEWa_SgywVrt80hjVDg

In the factories, workers could be fined 10,000 dollars and sent to 10 years in jail, if they leaked any information of what little they knew about the project. They were required to say if anyone asked what they were doing that they were making $1.35 an hour (Gonzalez 57).

Leslie Grooves even compartmentalized the factories so that in a large project each person was unaware of finished project. However, the labs in Los Alamos were not compartmentalized due to Oppenheimer’s opposition. Oppenheimer argued that discussion in the work room was needed to provide the most efficient and reliable product. http://www.atomicheritage.org/mediawiki/images/thumb/7/72/Secrecy.jpg/200px-Secrecy.jpg

The Atomic Bomb would include a baseball sized nuclear core, which was surrounded by a metal envelope that would deflect loose neutrons back into the uranium to prolong the chain reaction. The bomb would require a certain amount of Critical Mass, which was how much uranium needed to make chain reaction to make the bomb explode. Scientists were still not certain on the precise amount of uranium, but they had their estimates. https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTMsGDQ9O-fD1RavlvefahOMEgmcl6kE2HohponPYogmQkEauaWjQ

Concerns arose, during the development of the bomb. There was no uncertainty that the bomb would emit radioactive fallout, but just how much was the question. After the nuclear explosions, this radioactive fallout could not only lead to sickness and death of the people within the bombs reach, but contamination of the water and the soil.

One of the bombs being developed was nicknamed Little Boy. Little Boy contained a uranium core and a uranium bullet that was to be shot into the core causing the U-238 to create a critical mass and initiate a chain reaction resulting in a powerful and dangerous explosion. Little Boy, was 10ft long and 2 ft tall. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSKTv059nsQZ-JNQCGjLgVWJ9pTFgQlXtoXo73ZRatgv7FVA0iuCg

Another bomb being created was called the Fat Man. In comparison to Little Man it was a lot heftier. The oval shaped bomb measured 11ft by 5ft. In contrast to Little Boy’s uranium core, Fat Man had a Plutonium core surrounded by explosives that would create the critical mass needed to set off the explosion. http://www.atomicarchive.com/Fission/Images/fatman.jpg

FDR who created the Manhattan Project would not see the tremendous power that these bombs held, because on April 12, 1945 he had a stroke and died. Harry S. Truman, the vice president, took over the presidency. Truman entered the office having not the slightest idea about the Manhattan Project. Groves had done an excellent job keeping the project under wraps. Truman would have to be intensively informed by Henry Stimson, Secretary of War, on the matters of the project. Stimson reported to Truman that the weapon was a product of mass destruction that one bomb could "‘destroy a whole city’" and that it could possibly "destroy modern civilization" (Gonzalez 68).

Before Truman’s arrival into presidency, FDR had already made the necessary moves to end the war. On June 6, 1944, the Allies stormed Normandy, France, which was occupied by German troops in an operation known as D-Day. German’s miscalculated the Allies landing to a place called Calais allowing for the Allies to be victorious. This decisive move helped open a front for the allies. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQYU-OSp68Lzv6maJ3PMm-49542stV1IC-uynMdL1cQU_3Jb6sT-A

After Paris had been liberated from German control on August 25, the Allies headed toward Germany. The Soviets came from the east while the Americans and other Allies pushed from the west. Germany was captured and Hitler committed suicide, after his last ditch effort at the Battle of the Bulge to remain in power. On May 7, 1945 Germany officially surrendered. The Alsos Mission, a branch of the Manhattan Project, sent a special team ordered by Colonel Boris Pash, a former security guard for the Manhattan Project, to venture into German labs and to see whether or not they were in the process of building the atomic bomb. The conclusion was that Germany did not have one.

Now that the ordeal in Europe was over, Truman could put all of his much needed attention to the problems in the Pacific, namely Japan. Japan, who was a part of the Axis powers, had bombed Pearl Harbor bringing America in World War II. Many people still felt sour about that, and also Japan had not slowed down on their conquests in the Pacific capturing parts of China, Burma, the Philippines and other places.

America wanted to impede on Japan’s expansion. In the Battle of Iwo Jima, soldiers were killed due to kamikaze Japanese soldiers who would rather die than be captured. Many Americans felt demoralized and suffered many psychological effects after this battle. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT7olC6-tqbR5mN_DG1SbDSPQhlzM4z59DzzBpfxE1PI_8SeLL9

America looked to use the atomic bomb, which was previously being built to be used against Germany, on Japan. The logic behind this thinking was that America could lose up to 1,000,000 troops if they continued to fight. They believed that once the bomb was dropped that Japan would be forced to surrender. In a way it was a question of "them or us" (Beyer 63). However, some questioned if the bomb would actually work and adhered that a demonstration must be done to avoid embarrassment and prior knowledge of the bombing by the Japanese. Scientists were starting to wonder if using the atomic bomb was actually necessary after Germany surrendered. Even Leo Szilard, one of the scientists who urged President Roosevelt to make the Manhattan Project, was starting to become doubtful. Szilard wrote a letter to President Truman advising him not to use the bomb. The letter was signed by 67 other scientists, but it was never delivered because it was intercepted by security officials (Gonzalez 73). An Interim Committee was created to discuss the bombs usage against Japan. Some wanted to demonstrate the power of the atomic bomb to the Japanese, while others wanted to end just end the war. The Interim Committee came to the conclusion that the bomb should be used, because a demonstration could lead to many more complications.

President Truman ordered a test of the plutonium bomb, to silence the concerns that arose. Also the scientists wanted to make sure that the plutonium core would work, and they already knew that the uranium core was capable.

Near Alamogordo, New Mexico, the testing site would be created. This site would be named the Trinity Site. It was the perfect place to test the atomic bomb because no one lived close by and it was already used by the U.S. as a bombing range for the U.S. Military. Also it was relatively close to Los Alamos.

Fat Man would be placed in a giant steel container, 25ft by 12 ft and 14 inches thick, nicknamed Jumbo. The container weighed 214 tons, and would help preserve the plutonium if the test failed.http://www.mphpa.org/classic/PH/LA_2/LAP-166.jpg

On December 1944 construction began on the Trinity base camp. At the Trinity, they would test the Fat Man. May 7th, 1945 drills to prepare the scientists for the explosion of fat man began. TNT was used. The days were long and also fast paced. The bomb was to be detonated at Ground Zero, where a 100ft tower was built to hold up the atomic bomb. Adjoining to ground zero, laid interconnecting roads and that led to observatory bunkers at least 5 miles away from the site. Jumbo would not be used. Plutonium was coming at a solid rate and no one believed that the bomb would fail.

As the construction of test site for Fat Man came close, the search for the test date became a valid topic. Scientists wanted a clear day, for photo quality to be good and so that other complications would not occur. They chose July 16 at 4:00 A.M.http://www.mphpa.org/classic/PH/LA_2/LAP-200.jpghttp://www.mphpa.org/classic/PH/LA_2/LAP-165.jpg

On July 12, 1945, they transported the Fat Man to Trinity. The plutonium core was packaged and bundled into an army car with Philip Morrison, a physicist, sitting beside it for the ride. Security cars drove around it and at 8:00 a.m. they reached Trinity and the nuclear core was taken to an abandoned warehouse.

Another shipment from Los Alamos containing conventional explosives to set off the nuclear core arrived at 3:30 P.M. on July 13, where engineers were racing to put the disassembled nuclear core together. There were Geiger counters, radiation detectors, set up all around the warehouse. Some jeeps even waited outside with their engines running in hopes that if something went wrong they could escape quickly. The bomb had to be dealt with carefully, any sleight of hand and it could explode killing all of them.http://www.mphpa.org/classic/PH/LA_2/LAP-272.gif

The day began taking a turn for the worst. The sky began filling with clouds and lightening and the winds picked up. This could mean bad news for the scientist, because the bomb could be set off by either one. The scientists still worked meticulously, even though the chances of an explosion were high. The bomb was assembled and ready to be detonated, after the scientists managed to finally secure a charge, with cellophane tape.

The next day the bomb was brought up to the tower at Trinity, on a wire. "Operation Mattress" began when the scientists realized the hazard of the wire snapping whilst the bomb was being hoisted up. Scientists, in hopes of stopping a premature explosion, placed about 12 feet of mattresses under the bomb (Gonzalez 78).

Scientists did not exactly know how much energy would be released with this bomb. Some believed that the world could end, while others were estimating the explosion would be compared to hundreds of TNT bricks. Groves, however, was worried that the bomb may not work at all.

Alvin and Elizabeth Graves were scientists hired to estimate and calculate the percentage of nuclear fallout that would occur after the Fat Man test. They checked into their hotel posing as tourists, while once they reached their room they began setting up Geiger counter, seismograph, shortwave radio, and portable generator for electricity. If the radiation levels rose to high, everyone in town would be evacuated into trucks and brought to safety (Gonzalez 78).

Scientists were certain that the uranium bomb would detonate so they packed it up and shipped it to Albuquerque with "seven carloads of guards, two army officers, and a doctor," where there it would board an airplane to San Francisco. At San Francisco, the shipment was transferred onto a ship called the Indianapolis where it would be taken to Tinian. The military went through extensive measures to make sure that if anything happened to the ship or to the airplane the uranium 235 could still be salvaged (Gonzalez).

Finally on July 15, the day arrived to test the plutonium bomb dubbed Fat man. Nervous tensions were being emitted from the scientists as they waited patiently for the photographers to arrive and finish preparations. But then few hours before the test, it started to rain. The test would have to be held off for another date, because the rain, wind, and lightening all served as variables that could upset the mechanical workings of the bomb or even increase the percentage of fallout that would be emitted. http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/trinity/images/SB42.jpg

With this postponement caused many issues. The already overworked scientists were losing composure, President Truman had to hold off on "formulating political strategies," and the chances of sabotage and discovery were amplified. The bomb would have to be ready to detonate as soon as the weather cleared (Gonzalez 82).

At 4:00 A.M. the weather cleared up and scientists and soldiers zoomed to their positions around Ground Zero. At the control center at Bainbridge, the controls and meters for the atomic bomb were set to a ready position. The bomb was set to explode at 5: 30 A.M. As the countdown ticked off, tensions rose in the building. When the countdown reached 45 seconds, physicist Joseph Mckibben flicked on a switch to start the internal timer in the bomb. Everyone anticipated the explosions and at 5:29 A.M. the first nuclear explosion was a success.

This explosion would be the start of the nuclear age. The blast created a crater 2,400 feet across, with the force of 22,000 tons of TNT. The flash of the bomb was visible 200 miles away. The tower holding the bomb was evaporated and the sand surrounding the explosion turned into glass by the intense heat.https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcStGWKNiaI3evZr9steIzjAqricZneZa_-RvwjVBmeRdvXvY0LXhQhttp://www.mphpa.org/classic/PH/LA_2/LAP-168.jpg

At the same time, Truman was at the Potsdam Conference in Berlin, with Stalin and Churchill, to decide how "they would tackle the balance of power between Communism and democracy. Not only were there tensions between Stalin’s communist regime spreading throughout Europe, but also that Japan still had yet to surrender. http://www.atomicarchive.com/History/mp/Images/SB37.jpg

Truman received word that the bomb was a success that day and ordered the Potsdam Declaration to the Japanese to surrender unconditionally or be targeted to "prompt and utter destruction" (Beyer 68). The Japanese were not so willing to give up their type of government, and did not believe that America posed much of a threat.

As early as June 1945 at the Tinian airbase, B-29s were actively training and preparing to drop bombs on Japan. Many were already dropping "conventional bombs" were many Japanese were killed. Even though Japanese ships, factories, and homes were being destroyed, Japan had yet to surrender.

The 509th Composite Group, composed of B-29 pilots, would drop the atomic bomb. They knew nothing about the project that it required B-29 bombers. They trained daily, on a specified route with stringent time restrain. Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. was in charge of the training and commanded the group. They were known as the glory boys.https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSj8eNO1Dce73LneUdaUy2aIqw0UqTuOoMIt_PII9sFXYst4B3Ufg

On July 24, these glory boys were handed the means of mass destruction known as Little Boy. The bomb would be personally dropped by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets Jr. who had been chosen from the Air Force’s best. These pilots were privileged with the top of the line B-29s that could reach speeds up to 220 mph and soar 30,000 feet above. They trained not only to drop the bomb, but to also survive the blast. https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQuyoesut5YvB3quZuosWTP9RILPi459pWXZbTU9gsRfWhZjRLogw

Finally after long months of training on August 6th, the Little Boy was loaded on to the bomb carrier of Enola Gay. Enola Gay was a B-29 named after Colonel Tibbet’s mother. Tibbets wanted the aircraft that dropped the bomb on Japan to have a unique name and he reckoned that no other plane was called Enola Gay. Cordite, a type of explosive, surrounded the Little Boy. The cordite would initiate the uranium bullet that would hit the uranium core to cause the chain reaction to occur. https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRZLw5qCjMKsKUylNHdjPSVeCMQYGDhO5Lg4LKqn99QurAU93jm4w

After all the preparations had been made, at 2:45 Tibbet flew the Enola Gay off the Tinian airbase runway carrying Little Boy in its belly. Tibbets finally told his crew that they were going to be dropping an atomic weapon. He, with his team on board, headed toward Hiroshima which contained over 43,000 Japanese soldiers and military factories, that would devastate the Japanese psychologically and physically. At 7: 30 the bomb was armed, and the Enola Gay was sailing over Hiroshima. Finally at 8:16 a.m. the bomb was dropped over a hospital courtyard instead of the bridge (Beyer 70-71). The bomb detonated 19 feet above the bridge, releasing two powerful and violent shockwaves in its wake. A mushroom of "purple-gray" bubbling smoke rose from where the bomb disappeared. The smoke continued to drift upward 20,000 feet above.

Tibbet’s 509th Comprise was able to avoid the harmful flames of the bomb, and then fly back over to view the ruins of Hiroshima. Copilot Robert Lewis was shocked by the force of the bomb and even regretfully stated "‘My God, what have we done?’" (Gonzalez 92). https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTA4OhX_6e3O54d7mKkMc6RonzqBez_PmJymQvf0ippdzCX4oEV

When word reached back to Washington of the success of the bomb, Truman was elated. He even reveled that it was "the greatest thing in history." He soon released a report informing the world about the atomic bomb’s power, and promised a "‘rain of ruin’" if Japan still refused to surrender. This warning was not headed by Japanese officials because all communications lines in Hiroshima were down due to the bomb. The Japanese had no idea that the bombing occurred, and believed that the American’s were bluffing (Gonzalez 95). While this was occurring, the factory workers in America were finally learning they’re part in creating the bomb. The secrecy was out.http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HGt931906ag/UCBQRnijWEI/AAAAAAAAb-g/KAhBtIfvlTA/s1600/Hiroshima-After-Bomb.jpg

The Japanese remained a die-hard nation. After learning about the destruction of the bomb, they were still not willing to surrender. Even when the Soviet Union declared war on August 8, 1945, the Japanese still remained steadfast. https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTi61zXBkebrI8MEpuTE-nCkeNwJhPckEVDm4-EkIBK-B_a87mqhttp://www.atomcentral.com/images/hiroshima-nagasaki/Nagasaki.jpg

The United States decided to attack once more, in hopes to finally end the war. An identical copy of Fat Man, the plutonium bomb, was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9th by Frederick C. Bock. The bomb’s force was identical to 21,000 tons of TNT. 40,000 people died in the first seconds that the bomb was detonated. The war was finally coming to an end.

The Japanese leaders at last, with fear that the U.S. would annihilate their tiny island with their superior bombs, surrendered to the Allies on August 10, 1945. The day that America had hoped would come finally arrived. The Manhattan Project accomplished its purpose and officially ended the World War II on August 14, 1945.https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQMsaHdXgP6piAz9xDo_8grjcGCsFQP8o8fBX-JlxRM6Kx4DxibWg

On January 1, 1947 after 1.8 billion dollars (20 billion today) was spent on the Manhattan Project, it was finally ended. Atomic research from the Atomic Energy Commission would still continue throughout the next big war, the Cold War. Stanislaw Ulam, a scientist, remarked "in regard to the science and mathematics utilized" in the Manhattan Project, "‘It is still an unending source of surprise for me to see how a few scribbles on a blackboard or on a sheet of paper could change the course of human affairs’"(Galiffa).The paranoia of nuclear weapons would lead to the construction of more nuclear weapons to create a false sense of security. The Age of Nuclear Warfare had already begun.

Significance:

The Manhattan Project produced three acutely powerful atomic bombs, two of which created mass destruction in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. They both did not only destroy buildings and the morale of the Japanese leaders, but they also killed innocent people. The Japanese, even years after the bomb was dropped, were plagued with repercussions of the atomic bomb, the most deadly, being the fallout. The survivors of the bombings still continue to be haunted by the memory of seeing people begging for water and begging for help when no help could be done.Up The Hidden Story Behind U S Bombing Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki

In both the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the inhabitants were left charred with burns all over their bodies. The water was contaminated, not only from the nuclear fallout, but by dead corpses littering the water. Black rain, a "tarry substance that stained anything that it fell upon" that contained "radioactive fallout," fell a half an hour after the bombs detonated. This exposure to radiation lead to a disease known as Disease X. Symptoms included "vomiting, diarrhea, swollen mouth and throat" with peculiar "bluish spots" forming on the skin of the survivors. The bombs also impacted lives that had not yet begun. Many miscarriages occurred, as well as babies carried "to full term and then when they were born realizing that they literally had no brain." If the baby survived the birth they suffered many defects and radiation poisoning from the mother’s milk was passed down to the baby. Moreover, survivors faced even more health defects including all different types of cancer. These atrocities were all brought by the Manhattan Project (Henson).http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/g_l/levine/bomb/nag4.jpg

In Hiroshima, once the bomb was detonated all life was obliterated within a half a mile radius from the explosion. The air ranged from 5,400- 7,200 degrees incinerating buildings and all life forms. About 70,000 people were killed and 140,000 were injured from the bomb alone. Some 60,000 buildings in Hiroshima were flattened leaving many of the remaining inhabitants homeless. http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/AAF/USSBS/AtomicEffects/maps/AtomicEffects-2.jpg

In Nagasaki, the identical twin of Fat Man had similar effects like Little Man dropped on Hiroshima.

Osborn Elliot, one of the Manhattan Atomic Bomb Investigating Group who was in Japan to determine if it was capable of creating an atomic bomb and survey the destruction, said that "‘how anybody was left alive, I do not know. But here and there, women and children were sitting on the rubble that was once their homes’" (Gonzalez 100). Like him, many Americans justified the bombing by saying that it saved American lives. They reminded the skeptics that the bomb had ended the long and deadly war. That was a fact; the Manhattan Project had helped to end World War II.

To other Americans, the amount of carnage was brutal, and some scientist regretted creating the bomb. Both towns were leveled by the explosion. Oppenheimer was one of those men. He said," If the atomic bombs are to be added to the arsenals of a warring world…then the time will come when mankind will curse the names of Los Alamos and Hiroshima" (Gonzalez 101). He was relaying that to the growing pressures to fight the communistic Soviet Union. He was referring to the events about to take place during the Cold War. The Soviet Union was the second nation to create an atomic bomb. America and the Soviet Union’s relation was on the fall out with the rise of communism in Eastern Europe. America was frightened that the Soviet Union was trying to take over the world. They began heavily arming and stocking up on their atomic weapons leading to the arms race. The Manhattan Project allowed for the nuclear tensions and possibly could have been responsible for the end of the world during the arms race between the U.S.S.R. and America.

The Manhattan Project did not only kill thousands of people in Japan, but hundreds of scientists who worked on the bomb. They also became infected with radiation poisoning.

All in all, the Manhattan Project is an important part of our history, because it created the first nuclear bomb, ended the war, and on a more solemn note, killed thousands of people. The Manhattan Project also marked the advancement in technology and science, which would be used later to fuel electricity, and a much darker cause such as weapons. The legacy of nuclear power and the uprising fear of it is seen even today with North Korea’s threats to detonate their atomic bombs on America.

What if 1: What if the Manhattan Project failed?

It’s a scary and also jubilant thought. First of all, if the bomb had not detonated and fell onto to the Aioi Bridge harmlessly World War II would have not ended on August 14, 1945. The war would have carried on, because the Japanese were steadfast about not surrendering. They felt that surrendering was a type of treason to their country and that they rather die fighting than to surrender. The war would have probably continued until some type of armistice was made or an all-out invasion on Japan, like in present day Korea. The Japanese needed to feel absolutely threatened about the state of their country to react and call off the war.

Secondly, the mass destruction and mortality in Hiroshima and Nagasaki would have not taken place. The horrors and the effects of the bomb would not have contaminated the water and the soil of Japan. However, the war would continue to bring a constant influx of deaths of both American lives and Japanese lives. America had previously thought that around 1 million American soldiers would have died due to the war in Pacific if the bomb in Japan did not go off.

Thirdly, other countries were already learning about fission, so it would not be long before they began to use these weapons against the U.S. and the other allies. America would have become vulnerable under the Soviet Union’s nuclear power. There would have not been a Cold War, and communism would have spread throughout Europe, Latin America, and Korea without being checked.

What if 2: What if Japan had acquired Nuclear weapons before America began the Manhattan Project?

If Japan had somehow acquired the nuclear weapons before the U.S. the outcome of the war would have been extremely different. First of all, Japan would be controlling world affairs, and would have bombed America into submission. They would have targeted cities like San Francisco, or Los Angelos, because they both contained thousands of people. This would also mean that the Allies would have not won the war.

Secondly, they would have continued their expansion into China and the Philippines. The Japanese Empire might have even resembled the great Roman Empire.

Thirdly, since Japan was in an alliance with Italy and Germany they would have helped them not lose power. Hitler would probably still be rounding up Jewish citizens and taking them to Death camps, and Mussolini would have continued to recruit people into his Youth Regimes. With all this Axis power in the Pacific and in Europe, America would be completely surrounded. Once Hitler and Mussolini managed to capture all of Europe, America would definitely be next.

In conclusion, America and the Allied Powers would have not won the war. The U.S. would be on high alert for missiles that may land on their shores, which would create mass paranoia and hysteria. No one would be safe from the Axis powers if Japan had created the Atomic Bomb before America had.

Summary:

I chose the Manhattan Project, because in seventh grade I watched a documentary on the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The documentary left me curious to find out more information about the creation of the bombs. After a four year long hiatus on my research, I decided that I wanted to jump right back in once I saw the name on the list. Some of the technicalities about the bomb are still hard to grasp, so it amazes me that even though I have this wonderful invention called the internet to explain these topics that these scientists had to create and build the bomb on their own. Thinking about that just makes my head spin. The scientists who participated in creating the bomb, like Oppenheimer, are all well-known and revered scientists. Ever since I was little, I had wanted to become a scientist. Now I know that I definitely do not want to become a physicist, because their jobs seem extremely difficult.

Some things I learned is that the bomb did not just kill the enemies, but human beings. These humans had aspirations and their lives ahead of them. I feel as if America has morphed my understanding of the atomic bomb to be conciliatory towards their actions. Even if the Japanese were the aggressors to the war, no living thing should have to face that type of suffering.

Book Review:

The Manhattan Project and the Atomic Bomb, by Doreen Gonzalez, provided the essential information on the Manhattan Project. Even though it provided coverage about the main topics of the Manhattan Project, it would have been nice to know other side details about the project. When I looked into my other research book, I realized that this book had skipped over some pertaining information that was needed to clarify some topics like the creation of the bomb and the scientists who worked on the bomb. Also there were some inconsistencies I noticed when I juxtaposed it to my other book like when Hiroshima was detonated. Despite these concerns, this book supplied the information in an organized and helpful manner. I would definitely recommend this book to future apushers, as long as their second book contains extensive research about the project to fill in the missing holes.

Work’s Cited

Beyer, Don E. The Manhattan Project: America Makes the First Atomic Bomb. New York: F. Watts, 1991. Print.

Galiffa, Daniel J. "Atomic Bomb (Manhattan Project)." Encyclopedia of Mathematics & Society. Ed. Sarah J. Greenwald and Jill E. Thomley. 3 vols. Salem Press, 2011. Salem History Web. 13 Apr. 2013.

Gonzales, Doreen. The Manhattan Project and the Atomic Bomb in American History. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2000. Print.

Smith, Billy R. "Manhattan Project." The Forties in America. Ed. Thomas Tandy Lewis. Salem Press, 2010. Salem History Web. 13 Apr. 2013.