Originally Posted by
etudiant
That needs a bit more documentation than the History Channel.
Afaik, Speer allocated enough resources to Heisenberg to perform basic research experiments, but nothing like the scale of support that could generate a bomb. There was no shortage of uranium, but a mistake in measuring the utility of graphite to serve as a moderator meant the Germans were forced to try for a heavy water moderated reactor, which never came about. Other claims of a separate SS run program producing test explosions are undocumented and unverified.
I'm glad I'm not the only one went
when I read the original post that you replied to, anyhow it gave me an excuse to re-read Richard Rhodes version of the story which funnily enough ties in with your version of events, rather than whatever nonsense appears to be on Google.
fitliker, if you haven't, pick up a copy of Rhodes "The Making of the Atomic Bomb"...it's regarded as one of the most authoritative works on atomic research prior to WW2 and the development of the first nuclear weapons ..needless to say it has some pages devoted to the German efforts.