Pictures from Tinian Island as the B-29 "Enola Gay" was being loaded to end WWII

[ndivita]

These are fascinating pictures I know I have never seen before. Pretty amazing stuff.

https://www.alternatewars.com/Bomb_Loading/Bomb_Guide.htm

 

[Ignacio]

Thanks. I hadn't seen some of them before. Of course, my day job is at the place that made the Pu for Fat Man and we're into cleaning up the byproducts of it and the following arms race. Hugely interesting stuff about the parallel paths of Little Boy Uranium-235 gun-type device vs. the Plutonium-239 implosion "gadget".

Who knew that Doc Brown would pronounce decades later in a movie, "This farkle is nuclear!"

 

[Intech]

That is awesome! thanks for sharing!!

 

[BikerGeek99]

Very interesting - thanks for sharing!

 

[Niehart]

Very interesting - thanks for sharing!

+1

 

[BigOgre]

Very cool.

My FIL served in the Navy during those years. Towards the end of those pictures (shots 114 & 124) I noticed a tray and tool box sitting on top of the pit which looks like a match to the one he left me in my garage. Guess he needed something to carry things home with.

 

[lonerider]

Fascinating bit of history, thanks for sharing.

 

[steveoreno]

Thanks for sharing. I have always felt us dropping the bomb(s) on Japan saved my Uncle's life who had survived New Guinea and the Phillipines and was going to take part in the invasion. So I hate the loss of life that occurred but feel the responsibility lies with the Japanese government. I lived on Guam Island in the late 70's and it felt as if WWII had just ended especially when we dug "stuff" up!

 

[dgiles]

Three of my uncles served with the Canadian Army in the Second War and all 3 saw extensive combat in Europe. They all survived without a scratch. I remember that when I was a teenager the topic of the "Bomb" came into a conversation. All 3 thought it was a life saver. They were being trained and equipped for the invasion of the Japanese home islands. All 3 stated that after surviving Europe that they didn't have a hope of surviving the invasion of Japan. They felt that the "Bomb" had saved their lives and the lives of many others.

 

[majicmaker]

That stuff always fascinates me. Thanks.

 

[garyahouse]

Thanks for sharing. I was talking to an 8th grade student today and was explaining to her how our sun is powered by fusion. I reminded her that it is not to be confused with fission, which is the type of reaction that powered the atomic bombs that America dropped on Japan to end WW2. She looked bored with the discussion, so I ended it by asking if she knew that America dropped an atomic bomb on Japan. She replied, "No," and walked off to gab with her friends.

There's a lot I could say about that, but I'll just add that I had so much more to say, but once again, education was wasted on the immaturity of youth. Amazing how difficult is is to hold the interest of today's youth.

Gary

darksider #44

 

[G Squared]

Thanks for sharing this. Always had a fascination with all things atomic. Love history. I am convinced that America's best days are behind us..only debatable point is how far. If you don't believe that, watch the news or talk to someone under 30. It's frightening.

 

[ndivita]

I am at a loss to understand people today who question the U.S. decision to use this weaponry against Japan in the relevant historical and military context.

And I've never been clear on just how close Germany was to having this weaponry before the U.S. had the capability.

I wonder if the U.S. would have used this weaponry on Germany in August 1945 if it had not surrendered in May 1945.

 

[steveoreno]

Well Truman wasn't called "Give Em Hell Harry" for nothing?

 

[SacramentoMike]

I was a Nuclear Weapons Specialist (AFSC 46350, if that means anything to you) from '67 to '71, so this stuff is pretty fascinating to me. Went through the National Nuclear Museum in Albuquerque with AJ after SW-FOG in Taos in '11 and saw mockups of Fat Man and Little Boy, and a lot of other interesting stuff. Worth a side trip.

But if you're interested in all this, you should try to find a way to watch the series "Manhattan" from the beginning. The second season will air this year, but it's worth going back and watching it all if you can find it on Hulu or Amazon Prime or somewhere. It's the story of the "Atomic City" near Los Alamos, NM, part of the Manhattan Project. Excellent and informative.

 

[BwanaDik]

Cool, thanks for sharing. I half expected to see my dad in one of those shots. He worked at the Hanford labs. When Fermi or Oppenheimer would visit, they were always "Mr. Smith" or "Mr. Jones" or some such cover.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Thanks much for sharing, ndivita. As a Navy nuke power boy, I developed a love of all things nuke similar to what others have said above. Been hankering for a visit to Trinity Site, but it's only open one day a year (come on guys, really?) and I can never get my shit together to get out there.

By the way, I've been led to believe my sub is buried at Hanford. Maybe just the parts that glow in the dark.

 

[MCRIDER007]

I am at a loss to understand people today who question the U.S. decision to use this weaponry against Japan in the relevant historical and military context. And I've never been clear on just how close Germany was to having this weaponry before the U.S. had the capability.

I wonder if the U.S. would have used this weaponry on Germany in August 1945 if it had not surrendered in May 1945.

I think it has been pretty well documented that Germany did not have a intensive nuclear weapons program.....most likely because the scientists who would have had to develop such a program were afraid of what Hitler would do to them if they failed to deliver a weapon on his schedule.
The answer to your second question was highly classified for a long time but it would have taken another 6 months to manufacture enough nuclear material to build another bomb, we were out of bombs and bluffing after the second bomb was dropped.....which was also the reason that we didn't drop any demonstration bombs to try to convince Japen to surrender.

 

[Jer]

Thanks for sharing. I have always felt us dropping the bomb(s) on Japan saved my Uncle's life who had survived New Guinea and the Phillipines and was going to take part in the invasion. So I hate the loss of life that occurred but feel the responsibility lies with the Japanese government. I lived on Guam Island in the late 70's and it felt as if WWII had just ended especially when we dug "stuff" up!

+1 My father was in New Guinea and the Philippines and spent six months in Japan after the bombs were dropped. He drove around in a jeep in Nagasaki and later died of bone cancer. We have always wondered if it was from the exposure to radiation.