The+Manhattan+Project+and+preparations+for+dropping+the+bomb

** The Manhattan Project and Preparations for Dropping the Bomb**

**__The Top-Secret Operation__**

The **Manhattan Project** was a top-secret operation carried out by the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada during the Second World War.  The purpose of the project was to create the first nuclear weapon. Formerly designated as the //Manhattan Engineer District// (MED), the Manhattan Project specifically refers to the time period of 1941-1946 when the project was under the control of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and directed by General Leslie R. Groves. Created as a response to the fear that Nazi Germany was developing nuclear weapons, the Manhattan Project eventually employed more than 200,000 people and cost nearly $2 billion.

In 1942, physicist Enrico Fermi successfully controlled a nuclear reaction in his reactor called CP-1 (Chicago Pile 1).  On July 6, 1945, the project  exploded its first atomic bomb at Los Alamos. What the director of Los Alamos said upon witnessing the first test of a nuclear weapon:

 //We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the Bhagavad-Gita. Vishnu is trying to persuade the Prince that he should do his duty and to impress him takes on his multi-armed form and says, "Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." I suppose we all felt that one way or another. // - J. Robert Oppenheimer A month after the first bomb was tested, the U.S. exploded a atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The official reason for the bombing is set that it would immediately end the war, thus saving the lives of thousands of American servicemen.

The map below cites the bases of operation incorporated with the Manhattan Project

 **__Key Players__**

In August of 1939, Albert Einstein sent a letter to then-U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt explaining to him that it was possible to utilize uranium to build a bomb that may emit unimaginable amounts of power. Einstein expressed concern that the Nazis may use this kind of energy to create bombs powerful enough to destroy entire countries and encouraged the U.S. to build such a weapon before Nazi Germany had the chance. __  <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS,arial,helvetica,sans-serif">In 1941, Great Britain began an independent study as to the feasibility of an atomic bomb and gave their support to the United States once they concluded that an atomic bomb could, indeed, be made. Reports came through from Germany that their scientists were pushing ahead with their own bomb project, forcing the United States to push forward strongly with the atomic bomb program.

The scientists were working on the project were of the US Army Corps of Engineers and the entire project was directed by **General Leslie R. Groves**. Groves was an Army Engineer officer for the United States military, and prior to directing the Manhattan Project he was known for his role in overseeing the construction of the Pentagon. Scientific research was directed by **J. Robert Oppenheimer**, an American theoretical physicist. A former California Berkeley professor, Oppenheimer is often referred to as "//The Father of the Atomic Bomb//"


 * = [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Leslie_Groves.jpg width="210" height="265"]] ||= [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/JROppenheimer-LosAlamos.jpg width="198" height="267" align="center"]] ||
 * = General Leslie R. Groves ||= J. Robert Oppenheimer ||

//Additional Resources:// [|Manhattan Project]

__**How It Was Kept Secret**__

The first thing President Roosevelt did when he decided to pursue the development of nuclear weapons was create the Top Policy Committee (October 9,1941). Members included Harvard President James B.Conant, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace, Chief of Staff George Marshall, and scientist Vannevar Bush. The committee explored scientific initiatives that could be used to produce nuclear weapons. It was this secret committee that came up with the idea of the atomic bomb project later to be known as the //Manhattan Project//. Hundreds of millions of dollars was put into the project in order for it to be successful while still keeping its existence a secret. "//Speed and Secrecy//" were the watchwords of the Manhattan Project. The reason why they kept the project a secret from the country is because of political peace considerations. It was so secret that even the people who were working on the project didn't know what it was for until the radio broadcasted news of the bombing of Hiroshima. Families of scientists had to live their lives in secrecy; their driver's licenses listed numbers instead of names.

The American government had to ensure that the Axis Powers had no idea what was happening at the isolated site in New Mexico. By 1945, the Manhattan project had created 40 laboratories. Among the nearly 200,000 employees, there were many great scientists such as Albert Einstein and Enrico Fermi. Scientists and engineers used a specific jargon when referring to the project. They called the Plutonium "copper" and the bomb "the gadget." They never referred the project as the "Atomic Bomb Project," it was strictly referred to as the //Manhattan Project.//

There was one strict rule: no mention was ever made of the work going on in the plants, and, as far as one could determine, "the women did not have the slightest inkling of what their menfolk were doing." (stated by journalist William Laurence, 1946)

Additional Resources:    [|The Rush to Patent the Atomic Bomb]      [|World War II: Atomic Bomb-- The Manhattan Project]       [|The **Manhattan Project**]

__**Preparations for Dropping the Bomb**__
 * [[image:http://www.enolagay509th.com/CGP-JPAP-014.jpg width="319" height="382" align="right"]]

||    || ||= Diagram of how Enola Gay dropped the bomb ||
 * = Paul Tibbets Jr.

In September 1944, **Paul Tibbets Jr.** was briefed on the Manhattan Project. He would be responsible for organizing and training a unit to carry and release the atomic bomb over Hiroshima. The //**Enola Gay**// was a B-29 Superfortress bomber designated to carry the bomb. Being the most complicated and expensive weapon produced by the United States, it brought fortunes to those towns and cities involved with the building of the B-29. Nearly 4,000 were built for combat during World War II. General Paul Tibbets, Jr named the plane //Enola Gay// after his mother.

The orders came through on August 5, 1945. Conditions were good and the next day would be when the bomb was dropped. To eliminate the risk of the bomb exploding if the //Enola Gay// crashed, the bomb would be assembled during the flight. The bomb was loaded into the //Enola Gay// later that day."**Little Boy**" was 12 feet long and 28 inches in diameter, weighing in at 9,000 pounds. That night, the crew was told for the first time exactly what the weapon entailed.

At approximately 2am on the morning of August 6th, the //Enola Gay// started on the long flight from Tinian (one of the Northern Marianas islands). Two observation planes carrying cameras and scientific instruments followed.

The trip to Japan was uneventful. At about 7am, the Japanese radar net detected the aircraft heading toward Japan, and broadcast the alert throughout the area. Soon afterward, an American weather plane passed over Hiroshima, but no one intercepted it.

At 7:25am, the //Enola Gay//, at 26,000 feet, was cruising over its target. At 8am the Japanese again detected two B-29s heading toward Hiroshima. Radio stations quickly sent out broadcasts warning people to take shelter as quickly as possible, but the advice was unheeded. At 8.09am, the crew of the //Enola Gay// had a clear vision of the city below. A message was received indicating that weather was good.

The bomb was released at 8:16am. It exploded 1,900 feet above the courtyard of Shima Hospital, with a force equivalent to 12,500 tons of TNT.

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British synth-pop band **Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD)** had a hit single in the early 1980s called Enola Gay, an attack on the decision to use the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in the Second World War.

media type="custom" key="1923765"<span style="display: block; font-size: 110%; color: rgb(40, 15, 138); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: right">Enola gay, you should have stayed at home yesterday Aha words cant describe the feeling and the way you lied

These games you play, theyre gonna end it more than tears someday Aha enola gay, it shouldnt ever have to end this way

Its 8:15, and thats the time that its always been We got your message on the radio, conditions normal and you're coming home

Enola gay, is mother proud of little boy today Aha this kiss you give, its never ever gonna fade away

Enola gay, it shouldnt ever have to end this way Aha enola gay, it shouldnt fade in our dreams away

Its 8:15, and thats the time that its always been We got your message on the radio, conditions normal and you're coming home

Tiana-Renee Silva Nanissa Madadi Hassan Tatanaki Cody Cannon
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