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The beginning
In 1942 a group of scientists, and the military began working together in secret to create an atomic bomb. It was started because the U.S. was afraid Germany would build a nuclear weapon. The project was based in Manhattan, New York -
Ready to Go
In July of 1945, three years after the start of the Manhattan project, a prototype created by Dr. Robert J. Oppenheimer and other scientists on the project was ready to be tested. -
Testing the Manhattan Project
In New Mexico at Alamogordo Air Base scientists detonated the first atomic bomb to see if it would work. The bomb successfully detonated and President Truman was notified. This changed the way America would defeat Japan. -
The day before Hiroshima
An atomic bomb, nicknamed little boy, is loaded onto an American B-29 bomber called Enola Gay, in the Mariana islands -
Hiroshima - the takeoff
Lt.Col.Paul W. Tibbets takes off from Tinian Island in the Marianas in his B-29 bomber the Enola Gay with the first atomic bomb. He heads to Hiroshima at 2:45 in the morning. -
The first bomb is dropped
5 and a half hours after taking off from the Marianas islands, the Enola Gay reaches Hiroshima, Japan and drops little boy, the first atomic bomb which exploded 1,900 feet over the city. -
Atomic Bomb Countermeasure Committee
The day after Hiroshima, the Japanese formed the atomic bomb countermeasure committee to figure out what happened on the 6, and many of the council members were in denial of the atomic bomb's existence. They claimed it was a new type of bomb with special equipment, but the public was not notified that the bomb was atomic. -
Nagasaki
Three days after Hiroshima was bombed, the Japanese still would not surrender to America. To further persuade them to surrender or destroy them, America dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki. The original date of the bombing was supposed to be August 11, but bad weather pushed the date to the 9. -
Theoretical bomb
It was proposed by General Leslie R. Groves, who organized the Manhattan Project, that if Japan did not surrender after Nagasaki and Hiroshima were bombed, another atomic bomb would be ready for use by August 17 or 18. Luckily, that bomb was not needed or created.
