2nd ATOM BOMB
Bergerie1 - it's not by Richard Rhodes, but Eric Schlosser:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Command-Con...nd+and+control
ISTR it's a bit episodic, but still a lot of intersting info.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Command-Con...nd+and+control
ISTR it's a bit episodic, but still a lot of intersting info.
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It appears Deke Parsons armed it on the ground and the weaponeer, Fred Ashworth, pulled the safety plugs at 4 am
I wrote a review of books of this era which may be helpful
The later US developments were covered by U.S. Nuclear Weapons: The Secret History by Chuck Hansen
I wrote a review of books of this era which may be helpful
In The period covering the genesis and production of the first atomic bombs is well served by literature. The initial British efforts are elegantly described in three books by Margaret Gowing, the official description of the US efforts were covered by Hewlett and Anderson in The New World and this was updated by Richard Rhodes' magisterial The Making of The Atomic Bomb which rightly won the Pulitzer Prize.
In The Manhattan Project Stephen Groueff covered the industrial problems in a most accessible book and I found Stalin and the Bomb by David Holloway most rewarding.
In The Manhattan Project Stephen Groueff covered the industrial problems in a most accessible book and I found Stalin and the Bomb by David Holloway most rewarding.
Last edited by ColinB; 13th Mar 2017 at 15:20.
Thanks Tocsin
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I've actually never read the other titles but Command and Control is well done and I also would recommend it.
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As I understand it the Uranium bomb design had been tested beforehand but it was not necessary to actually explode a device in order to do so.
The bomb achieved critical mass by firing a cylindrical “bullet” of uranium down a converted gun barrel into a circular uranium target – by slowly sliding the bullet down the barrel and measuring the increase in the flow of neutrons as it approached the target.
They were able to go to something over 99% of critical mass and measure precisely how and when the bomb would explode without actually setting the bomb off so they could be sure that it would work when dropped operationally.
With the Plutonium design there were technical reasons why the “gun” method could not be used and an implosion design was the only viable alternative - that could not be tested other than by detonating a live weapon.
The bomb achieved critical mass by firing a cylindrical “bullet” of uranium down a converted gun barrel into a circular uranium target – by slowly sliding the bullet down the barrel and measuring the increase in the flow of neutrons as it approached the target.
They were able to go to something over 99% of critical mass and measure precisely how and when the bomb would explode without actually setting the bomb off so they could be sure that it would work when dropped operationally.
With the Plutonium design there were technical reasons why the “gun” method could not be used and an implosion design was the only viable alternative - that could not be tested other than by detonating a live weapon.
