National Museum of Nuclear Science & History1944 Dec 28
The modified B Reactor pile is restarted.
1944: Developing the Bomb
1944: Developing the Bomb
Timeline Image:
1944 Dec 26
Processing of irradiated uranium slugs to separate plutonium begins at Hanford, WA.
1944 Dec 22
First Fat Man bomb assembly is completed as production gets underway. Explosive lenses and nuclear material are not yet available, the bomb assemblies are used for airdrop and ground handling practice.
1944 Dec 17
The D pile goes critical at Hanford, WA with sufficient reactivity to overcome fission product poisoning effects. Large scale plutonium production begins.
1944 Dec
First successful explosive lens tests conducted at Los Alamos, NM, establishing the feasibility of making an implosion bomb.
1944 Dec 8
Polish Physicist Joseph Rotblat resigns from the Manhattan Project upon learning that an American atomic bomb will not be used against Nazi Germany.
1944 Dec
Work begins on an implosion initiator for the solid core bomb, it is not clear at this point if one can be made.
1944 Dec
Y-12 Plant output climbs to 90 grams of highly enriched uranium a day.
1944 Nov 24
The first B-29 raid on Japan begins. 100 planes are launched, only 16 bombs hit the target factory.
1944 Nov
Y-12 Plant output has reached 40 grams of highly enriched uranium a day.
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