Our Fantastic Falcon Voyage: Museum of Nuclear History

We were in the center of where the atomic bomb was developed and decided to visit the National Museum of Nuclear History.

Leo Szilard and Eugene Wigner, both Jews who fled central europe due to the threats they faced from Nazism were convinced that the US had to develop an atomic bomb before Germany. Szilard drafted a Letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt encouraging the president to support their recommendation to develop an atomic bomb before the Germans. They prevailed upon the most famous scientist of their time, Albert Einstein, to support their recommendation and sign the letter.

Oak Ridge, TN

In 1942, the United States federal government chose the area as a site for developing materials for the Manhattan Project. Maj. Gen. Leslie Groves, military head of the Manhattan Project, liked the area for several reasons. Its relatively low population made acquisition affordable, yet the area was accessible by both highway and rail, and utilities such as water and electricity were readily available due to the recent completion of Norris Dam. Finally, the project location was established within a 17-mile-long (27 km) valley, and the valley itself was linear and partitioned by several ridges, providing natural protection against disasters at the four major industrial plants—so they wouldn't blow up "like firecrackers on a string."

Los Alamos, NM

In 1942, the government used its power of eminent domain to take over Los Alamos. All information about the town was highly classified until the bombing of Hiroshima.

All incoming truckloads were labeled as common items to conceal the true nature of their contents, and any outbound correspondence by those working and living in Los Alamos was censored by military officials. At the time, it was referred to as "The Hill" by many in Santa Fe, and as "Site Y" by military personnel. The mailing address for all of Los Alamos was PO Box 1663, Santa Fe, NM. After the Manhattan Project completed, White Rock was abandoned until 1963 when people began to re-inhabit and rebuild new homes and buildings.

Los Alamos National Laboratory was established as a research government facility under the Department of Energy.

Hanford, WA

In September 1942, the Army Corps of Engineers placed the newly formed Manhattan Project under the command of General Leslie R. Groves, charging him with the construction of industrial-size plants for manufacturing plutonium and uranium. Groves recruited the DuPont Company to be the prime contractor for the construction of the plutonium production complex. DuPont recommended that it be located far away from the existing uranium production facility atOak Ridge, Tennessee. The ideal site was described by these criteria:

A large and remote tract of land
A "hazardous manufacturing area" of at least 12 by 16 miles (19 by 26 km)
Space for laboratory facilities at least 8 miles (13 km) from the nearest reactor or separations plant
No towns of more than 1,000 people closer than 20 miles (32 km) from the hazardous rectangle
No main highway, railway, or employee village closer than 10 miles (16 km) from the hazardous rectangle
A clean and abundant water supply
A large electric power supply
Ground that could bear heavy loads.

In December 1942, Groves dispatched his assistant Colonel Franklin T. Matthias and DuPont engineers to scout potential sites. Matthias reported that Hanford was "ideal in virtually all respects," except for the farming towns of White Bluffs and Hanford. General Groves visited the site in January and established the Hanford Engineer Works, codenamed "Site W". The federal government quickly acquired the land under its eminent domain authority and relocated some 1,500 residents of Hanford, White Bluffs, and nearby settlements, as well as the Wanapum people, Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Nez Perce Tribe.

Atomic bomb testing site

Model of the Enola Gay

Replica of Little Boy

Replica of Fat Man

Chrystler gets in on the war action by launching Plymouth

The "gadget", code name for the fist atomic device tested.

The "gadgets" core was transported in a 1942 plymouth seday from Los Alamos to the Trinity testing site.

Hiroshima today.

After WWII an iron curtain settled between the once allied US and communist Russia.

Duck and cover drills and fall out shelters became a normal part of American life.

1966 Palomares B-52 Crash

On January 17, 1966 a B-52 collided with a KC-135 tanker during a routine refueling operation over Palomares, Spain. The B-52 was carrying four nuclear weapons. One fell into the sea while the other three landed on the ground. The drowned bomb was recovered, although it was dented it was otherwise in tact. The high explosives of two of the other three bombs detonated in impact and released some radioactive materials. A small parachute deployed in the fourth bomb preventing it from detonating. These are the casings of the bombs that did not detonate.