Russian nuclear weapons: design, principle of operation, first tests. Father of the Soviet atomic bomb Who invented the atomic bomb

Hundreds of thousands of famous and forgotten gunsmiths of antiquity fought in search of the ideal weapon, capable of evaporating an enemy army with one click. From time to time, traces of these searches can be found in fairy tales that more or less plausibly describe a miracle sword or a bow that hits without missing.

Fortunately, technological progress moved so slowly for a long time that the real embodiment of the devastating weapon remained in dreams and oral stories, and later on the pages of books. The scientific and technological leap of the 19th century provided the conditions for the creation of the main phobia of the 20th century. The nuclear bomb, created and tested under real conditions, revolutionized both military affairs and politics.

History of the creation of weapons

For a long time it was believed that the most powerful weapons could only be created using explosives. The discoveries of scientists working with the smallest particles provided scientific evidence that enormous energy can be generated with the help of elementary particles. The first in a series of researchers can be called Becquerel, who in 1896 discovered the radioactivity of uranium salts.

Uranium itself has been known since 1786, but at that time no one suspected its radioactivity. Scientists' work on turn of the 19th century and the twentieth centuries revealed not only special physical properties, but also the possibility of obtaining energy from radioactive substances.

The option of making weapons based on uranium was first described in detail, published and patented by French physicists, the Joliot-Curies in 1939.

Despite its value for weapons, the scientists themselves were resolutely against the creation of such a devastating weapon.

Having gone through the Second World War in the Resistance, in the 1950s the couple (Frederick and Irene), realizing the destructive power of war, advocated for general disarmament. They are supported by Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein and other prominent physicists of the time.

Meanwhile, while the Joliot-Curies were busy with the problem of the Nazis in Paris, on the other side of the planet, in America, the world's first nuclear charge. Robert Oppenheimer, who led the work, was given the broadest powers and enormous resources. The end of 1941 marked the beginning of the Manhattan Project, which ultimately led to the creation of the first combat nuclear warhead.

In the town of Los Alamos, New Mexico, the first production facilities for weapons-grade uranium were erected. Subsequently, similar nuclear centers appeared throughout the country, for example in Chicago, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and research was carried out in California. The best forces of the professors of American universities, as well as physicists who fled from Germany, were thrown into creating the bomb.

In the “Third Reich” itself, work on creating a new type of weapon was launched in a manner characteristic of the Fuhrer.

Since “Besnovaty” was more interested in tanks and planes, and the more the better, he did not see much need for a new miracle bomb.

Accordingly, projects not supported by Hitler moved at a snail's pace at best.

When things started to get hot, and it turned out that the tanks and planes were swallowed up by the Eastern Front, the new miracle weapon received support. But it was too late; in conditions of bombing and constant fear of Soviet tank wedges, it was not possible to create a device with a nuclear component.

Soviet Union was more attentive to the possibility of creating a new type destructive weapons. In the pre-war period, physicists collected and consolidated general knowledge about nuclear energy and the possibility of creating nuclear weapons. Intelligence worked intensively throughout the entire period of the creation of the nuclear bomb both in the USSR and in the USA. The war played a significant role in slowing down the pace of development, as huge resources went to the front.

True, Academician Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov, with his characteristic tenacity, promoted the work of all subordinate departments in this direction. Looking ahead a little, it is he who will be tasked with accelerating the development of weapons in the face of the threat of an American strike on the cities of the USSR. It was he, standing in the gravel of a huge machine of hundreds and thousands of scientists and workers, who would be awarded the honorary title of the father of the Soviet nuclear bomb.

World's first tests

But let's return to the American nuclear program. By the summer of 1945, American scientists managed to create the world's first nuclear bomb. Any boy who has made himself or bought a powerful firecracker in a store experiences extraordinary torment, wanting to blow it up as quickly as possible. In 1945, hundreds of American soldiers and scientists experienced the same thing.

On June 16, 1945, the first ever nuclear weapons test and one of the most powerful explosions to date took place in the Alamogordo Desert, New Mexico.

Eyewitnesses watching the explosion from the bunker were amazed by the force with which the charge exploded at the top of the 30-meter steel tower. At first, everything was flooded with light, several times stronger than the sun. Then a fireball rose into the sky, turning into a column of smoke that took shape into the famous mushroom.

As soon as the dust settled, researchers and bomb creators rushed to the site of the explosion. They watched the aftermath from lead-encrusted Sherman tanks. What they saw amazed them; no weapon could cause such damage. The sand melted to glass in some places.

Tiny remains of the tower were also found; in a crater of huge diameter, mutilated and crushed structures clearly illustrated the destructive power.

Damaging factors

This explosion provided the first information about the power of the new weapon, about what it could use to destroy the enemy. These are several factors:

• light radiation, flash, capable of blinding even protected organs of vision;
• shock wave, a dense stream of air moving from the center, destroying most buildings;
• an electromagnetic pulse that disables most equipment and does not allow the use of communications for the first time after the explosion;
• penetrating radiation, the most dangerous factor for those who have taken refuge from other damaging factors, is divided into alpha-beta-gamma irradiation;
• radioactive contamination that can negatively affect health and life for tens or even hundreds of years.

The further use of nuclear weapons, including in combat, showed all the peculiarities of their impact on living organisms and nature. August 6, 1945 was the last day for tens of thousands of residents of the small city of Hiroshima, then known for several important military installations.

The outcome of the war in the Pacific was a foregone conclusion, but the Pentagon believed that the operation on the Japanese archipelago would cost more than a million lives of US Marines. It was decided to kill several birds with one stone, to take Japan out of the war, saving on landing operation, test a new weapon and announce it to the whole world, and, above all, to the USSR.

At one o'clock in the morning, the plane carrying the "Baby" nuclear bomb took off on a mission.

The bomb, dropped over the city, exploded at an altitude of approximately 600 meters at 8.15 am. All buildings located at a distance of 800 meters from the epicenter were destroyed. The walls of only a few buildings, designed to withstand a magnitude 9 earthquake, survived.

Of every ten people who were within a radius of 600 meters at the time of the bomb explosion, only one could survive. The light radiation turned people into coal, leaving shadow marks on the stone, a dark imprint of the place where the person was. The ensuing blast wave was so strong that it could break glass at a distance of 19 kilometers from the explosion site.

One teenager was knocked out of the house through a window by a dense stream of air; upon landing, the guy saw the walls of the house folding like cards. The blast wave was followed by a fire tornado, destroying those few residents who survived the explosion and did not have time to leave the fire zone. Those at a distance from the explosion began to experience severe malaise, the cause of which was initially unclear to doctors.

Much later, a few weeks later, the term “radiation poisoning” was announced, now known as radiation sickness.

More than 280 thousand people became victims of just one bomb, both directly from the explosion and from subsequent illnesses.

The bombing of Japan with nuclear weapons did not end there. According to the plan, only four to six cities were to be hit, but weather Only Nagasaki was allowed to hit. In this city, more than 150 thousand people became victims of the Fat Man bomb.

Promises by the American government to carry out such attacks until Japan surrendered led to an armistice and then to the signing of an agreement that ended World War II. But for nuclear weapons this was just the beginning.

The most powerful bomb in the world

The post-war period was marked by the confrontation between the USSR bloc and its allies with the USA and NATO. In the 1940s, the Americans seriously considered the possibility of striking the Soviet Union. To contain the former ally, work on creating a bomb had to be accelerated, and already in 1949, on August 29, the US monopoly in nuclear weapons was ended. During the arms race, two nuclear tests deserve the most attention.

Bikini Atoll, known primarily for frivolous swimsuits, literally made a splash throughout the world in 1954 due to the testing of a specially powerful nuclear charge.

The Americans, having decided to test a new design of atomic weapons, did not calculate the charge. As a result, the explosion was 2.5 times more powerful than planned. Residents of nearby islands, as well as the ubiquitous Japanese fishermen, were under attack.

But it was not the most powerful American bomb. In 1960, the B41 nuclear bomb was put into service, but it never underwent full testing due to its power. The force of the charge was calculated theoretically, for fear of exploding such a dangerous weapon at the test site.

The Soviet Union, which loved to be the first in everything, experienced in 1961, otherwise nicknamed “Kuzka’s mother.”

Responding to America's nuclear blackmail, Soviet scientists created the most powerful bomb in the world. Tested on Novaya Zemlya, it left its mark in almost all corners of the globe. According to recollections, a slight earthquake was felt in the most remote corners at the time of the explosion.

The blast wave, of course, having lost all its destructive power, was able to circle the Earth. To date, this is the most powerful nuclear bomb in the world created and tested by mankind. Of course, if his hands were free, Kim Jong-un's nuclear bomb would be more powerful, but he does not have New Earth to test it.

Atomic bomb device

Let's consider a very primitive, purely for understanding, device of an atomic bomb. There are many classes of atomic bombs, but let’s consider three main ones:

• uranium, based on uranium 235, first exploded over Hiroshima;
• plutonium, based on plutonium 239, first exploded over Nagasaki;
• thermonuclear, sometimes called hydrogen, based on heavy water with deuterium and tritium, fortunately not used against the population.

The first two bombs are based on the effect of heavy nuclei fissioning into smaller ones through an uncontrolled nuclear reaction, releasing huge amounts of energy. The third is based on the fusion of hydrogen nuclei (or rather its isotopes of deuterium and tritium) with the formation of helium, which is heavier in relation to hydrogen. For the same bomb weight, the destructive potential of a hydrogen bomb is 20 times greater.

If for uranium and plutonium it is enough to bring together a mass greater than the critical one (at which a chain reaction begins), then for hydrogen this is not enough.

To reliably connect several pieces of uranium into one, a cannon effect is used in which smaller pieces of uranium are shot into larger ones. Gunpowder can also be used, but for reliability, low-power explosives are used.

In a plutonium bomb, to create the necessary conditions for a chain reaction, explosives are placed around ingots containing plutonium. Due to the cumulative effect, as well as the neutron initiator located in the very center (beryllium with several milligrams of polonium) the necessary conditions are achieved.

It has a main charge, which cannot explode on its own, and a fuse. To create conditions for the fusion of deuterium and tritium nuclei, we need unimaginable pressures and temperatures at at least one point. Next, a chain reaction will occur.

To create such parameters, the bomb includes a conventional, but low-power, nuclear charge, which is the fuse. Its detonation creates the conditions for the start of a thermonuclear reaction.

To estimate the power of an atomic bomb, the so-called “TNT equivalent” is used. An explosion is a release of energy, the most famous explosive in the world is TNT (TNT - trinitrotoluene), and all new types of explosives are equated to it. Bomb "Baby" - 13 kilotons of TNT. That is equivalent to 13000.

Bomb "Fat Man" - 21 kilotons, "Tsar Bomba" - 58 megatons of TNT. It’s scary to think of 58 million tons of explosives concentrated in a mass of 26.5 tons, that’s how much weight this bomb has.

The danger of nuclear war and nuclear disasters

Appearing in the midst of the most terrible war of the twentieth century, nuclear weapon has become the greatest danger to humanity. Immediately after World War II, the Cold War began, which several times almost escalated into a full-fledged nuclear conflict. About the threat of use by at least one side nuclear bombs and rockets began to be spoken of back in the 1950s.

Everyone understood and understands that there can be no winners in this war.

To contain it, efforts have been and are being made by many scientists and politicians. The University of Chicago, using the input of visiting nuclear scientists, including Nobel laureates, sets the Doomsday Clock a few minutes before midnight. Midnight signifies a nuclear cataclysm, the beginning of a new World War and the destruction of the old world. Over the years, the clock hands fluctuated from 17 to 2 minutes to midnight.

Several are also known major accidents that occurred at nuclear power plants. These disasters have an indirect relation to weapons; nuclear power plants are still different from nuclear bombs, but they perfectly demonstrate the results of using the atom for military purposes. The largest of them:

• 1957, Kyshtym accident, due to a failure in the storage system, an explosion occurred near Kyshtym;
• 1957, Britain, in the north-west of England, security checks were not carried out;
• 1979, USA, due to an untimely detected leak, an explosion and release from a nuclear power plant occurred;
• 1986, tragedy in Chernobyl, explosion of the 4th power unit;
• 2011, accident at the Fukushima station, Japan.

Each of these tragedies left a heavy mark on the fate of hundreds of thousands of people and turned entire areas into non-residential zones with special control.

There were incidents that almost cost the start of a nuclear disaster. Soviet nuclear submarines have repeatedly had reactor-related accidents on board. The Americans dropped a Superfortress bomber with two Mark 39 nuclear bombs on board, with a yield of 3.8 megatons. But the activated “safety system” did not allow the charges to detonate and a disaster was avoided.

Nuclear weapons past and present

Today it is clear to anyone that a nuclear war will destroy modern humanity. Meanwhile, the desire to possess nuclear weapons and enter the nuclear club, or rather, burst into it by knocking down the door, still excites the minds of some state leaders.

India and Pakistan created nuclear weapons without permission, and the Israelis are hiding the presence of a bomb.

For some, owning a nuclear bomb is a way to prove their importance on the international stage. For others, it is a guarantee of non-interference by winged democracy or other external factors. But the main thing is that these reserves do not go into business, for which they were really created.

Video

Atomic weapons - a device that receives enormous explosive power from the reactions of ATOMIC FISSION and NUCLEAR fusion.

About atomic weapons

Atomic weapons are the most powerful weapons today, in service with five countries: Russia, the USA, Great Britain, France and China. There are also a number of states that are more or less successfully developing atomic weapons, but their research is either not completed, or these countries do not have the necessary means of delivering weapons to the target. India, Pakistan, North Korea, Iraq, Iran have developed nuclear weapons at different levels, Germany, Israel, South Africa and Japan theoretically have the necessary capabilities to create nuclear weapons in a relatively short time.

It is difficult to overestimate the role of nuclear weapons. On the one hand, this is a powerful means of deterrence, on the other hand, it is the most effective tool for strengthening peace and preventing military conflicts between the powers that possess these weapons. 52 years have passed since the first use of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. The world community has come close to realizing that a nuclear war will inevitably lead to a global environmental catastrophe, which will make the further existence of mankind impossible. Over the years, legal mechanisms have been created to defuse tensions and ease the confrontation between nuclear powers. For example, many agreements were signed to reduce the nuclear potential of powers, the Convention on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was signed, according to which possessing countries pledged not to transfer the technology for the production of these weapons to other countries, and countries that do not have nuclear weapons pledged not to take steps to development; finally, quite recently, the superpowers agreed on a complete ban nuclear tests. It is obvious that nuclear weapons are the most important instrument that has become the regulatory symbol of an entire era in the history of international relations and in the history of mankind.

Atomic weapons

ATOMIC WEAPON, a device that receives enormous explosive power from the reactions of ATOMIC FISSION and NUCLEAR fusion. The first nuclear weapons were used by the United States against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. These atomic bombs consisted of two stable doctritic masses of URANIUM and PLUTONIUM, which upon violent collision caused the CRITICAL MASS to be exceeded, thereby provoking an uncontrolled CHAIN ​​REACTION of fission of atomic nuclei. Such explosions release enormous amounts of energy and harmful radiation: the explosive power can be equal to that of 200,000 tons of trinitrotoluene. Much more powerful hydrogen bomb ( thermonuclear bomb), first tested in 1952, consists of an atomic bomb that, when exploded, creates a temperature high enough to cause nuclear fusion in a nearby solid layer, usually lithium deterrite. The explosive power can be equal to that of several million tons (megatons) of trinitrotoluene. The area of ​​destruction caused by such bombs reaches large sizes: a 15 megaton bomb will explode all burning substances within 20 km. The third type of nuclear weapon, neutron bomb, is a small hydrogen bomb, also called a high radiation weapon. It causes a weak explosion, which, however, is accompanied by an intense emission of high-speed NEUTRONS. The weakness of the explosion means that buildings are not damaged much. Neutrons cause serious radiation sickness in people within a certain radius of the explosion site, and kill everyone affected within a week.

Initially, the explosion of an atomic bomb (A) forms a fireball (1) with a temperature of millions of degrees Celsius and emits radiation (?). After a few minutes (B), the ball increases in volume and creates a shock wave with high pressure (3). The fireball rises (C), sucking up dust and debris, and forms a mushroom cloud (D), As the fireball increases in volume, it creates a powerful convection current (4), releasing hot radiation (5) and forming a cloud (6), When it explodes 15 megaton bomb destruction from the blast wave is complete (7) in a radius of 8 km, severe (8) in a radius of 15 km and noticeable (I) in a radius of 30 km Even at a distance of 20 km (10) all flammable substances explode, within two days after the bomb explodes, fallout continues to fall 300 km from the explosion with a radioactive dose of 300 roentgens. The accompanying photo shows how the explosion of a large nuclear weapon on the ground creates a huge mushroom cloud of radioactive dust and debris that can reach a height of several kilometers. Dangerous dust in the air is then freely transported by prevailing winds in any direction. Devastation covers a vast area.

Modern atomic bombs and shells

Radius of action

Depending on the power of the atomic charge, atomic bombs and shells are divided into calibers: small, medium and large . To obtain energy equal to the energy of the explosion of a small-caliber atomic bomb, you need to explode several thousand tons of TNT. The TNT equivalent of a medium-caliber atomic bomb is tens of thousands, and that of a large-caliber bomb is hundreds of thousands of tons of TNT. Thermonuclear (hydrogen) weapons can have even greater power; their TNT equivalent can reach millions and even tens of millions of tons. Atomic bombs, the TNT equivalent of which is 1-50 thousand tons, belong to the class of tactical atomic bombs and are intended to solve operational-tactical problems. Tactical weapons also include: artillery shells with an atomic charge with a power of 10–15 thousand tons and atomic charges (with a power of about 5–20 thousand tons) for anti-aircraft guided missiles and shells used to arm fighter aircraft. Atomic and hydrogen bombs with a yield of over 50 thousand tons are classified as strategic weapons.

It should be noted that such a classification of atomic weapons is only conditional, since in reality the consequences of the use of tactical atomic weapons can be no less than those experienced by the population of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and even greater. It is now obvious that the explosion of just one hydrogen bomb is capable of causing such severe consequences over vast territories that tens of thousands of shells and bombs used in past world wars did not carry with them. And several hydrogen bombs quite enough to turn vast territories into desert zones.

Nuclear weapons are divided into 2 main types: atomic and hydrogen (thermonuclear). In atomic weapons, energy is released due to the fission reaction of the nuclei of atoms of the heavy elements uranium or plutonium. In a hydrogen weapon, energy is released by the formation (or fusion) of helium atom nuclei from hydrogen atoms.

Thermonuclear weapons

Modern thermonuclear weapons are strategic weapons that can be used by aviation to destroy the most important industrial and military facilities, and large cities as centers of civilization behind enemy lines. The most well-known type of thermonuclear weapon is thermonuclear (hydrogen) bombs, which can be delivered to the target by aircraft. Warheads of missiles for various purposes, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, can also be filled with thermonuclear charges. For the first time such a missile was tested in the USSR back in 1957, and is currently in service Rocket Forces Strategic Purpose There are several types of missiles based on mobile launchers, silo launchers, and submarines.

Atomic bomb

The operation of thermonuclear weapons is based on the use of a thermonuclear reaction with hydrogen or its compounds. In these reactions, which occur at ultra-high temperatures and pressures, energy is released by the formation of helium nuclei from hydrogen nuclei, or from hydrogen and lithium nuclei. To form helium, mainly heavy hydrogen is used - deuterium, the nuclei of which have an unusual structure - one proton and one neutron. When deuterium is heated to temperatures of several tens of millions of degrees, its atom loses its electron shells during the first collisions with other atoms. As a result, the medium turns out to consist only of protons and electrons moving independently of them. The speed of thermal motion of particles reaches such values ​​that deuterium nuclei can come closer due to the action of powerful nuclear forces combine with each other to form helium nuclei. The result of this process is the release of energy.

The basic diagram of a hydrogen bomb is as follows. Deuterium and tritium in a liquid state are placed in a tank with a heat-proof shell, which serves to preserve deuterium and tritium in a very cool state for a long time (to maintain it from a liquid state of aggregation). The heat-proof shell may contain 3 layers consisting of a hard alloy, solid carbon dioxide and liquid nitrogen. An atomic charge is placed near a reservoir of hydrogen isotopes. When an atomic charge is detonated, hydrogen isotopes are heated to high temperatures, creating conditions for a thermonuclear reaction to occur and a hydrogen bomb to explode. However, in the process of creating hydrogen bombs it was found that it was impractical to use hydrogen isotopes, since in this case the bomb would become too heavy weight(more than 60 tons), because of which it was impossible to even think about using such charges on strategic bombers, much less in ballistic missiles of any range. The second problem faced by the developers of the hydrogen bomb was the radioactivity of tritium, which made its long-term storage impossible.

Study 2 addressed the above issues. Liquid isotopes of hydrogen were replaced by the solid chemical compound of deuterium with lithium-6. This made it possible to significantly reduce the size and weight of the hydrogen bomb. In addition, lithium hydride was used instead of tritium, which made it possible to place thermonuclear charges on fighter bombers and ballistic missiles.

The creation of the hydrogen bomb did not mark the end of the development of thermonuclear weapons, more and more new samples appeared, the hydrogen-uranium bomb was created, as well as some of its varieties - heavy-duty and, conversely, small-caliber bombs. The last stage in the improvement of thermonuclear weapons was the creation of the so-called “clean” hydrogen bomb.

H-bomb

The first developments of this modification of the thermonuclear bomb appeared back in 1957, in the wake of US propaganda statements about the creation of some kind of “humane” thermonuclear weapon that would not cause as much harm to future generations as a conventional thermonuclear bomb. There was some truth in the claims to “humaneness.” Although the destructive power of the bomb was not less, at the same time it could be detonated so that strontium-90, which in a normal hydrogen explosion poisons the earth's atmosphere for a long time, would not spread. Everything within the range of such a bomb will be destroyed, but the danger to living organisms that are far from the explosion, as well as to future generations, will be reduced. However, these statements were refuted by scientists, who recalled that explosions of atomic or hydrogen bombs produce a large amount of radioactive dust, which rises with a powerful air flow to a height of 30 km, and then gradually settles to the ground over a large area, contaminating it. Research conducted by scientists shows that it will take 4 to 7 years for half of this dust to fall to the ground.

Video

The emergence of such a powerful weapon as a nuclear bomb was the result of the interaction of global factors of an objective and subjective nature. Objectively, its creation was caused by the rapid development of science, which began with the fundamental discoveries of physics in the first half of the twentieth century. The strongest subjective factor was the military-political situation of the 40s, when the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - the USA, Great Britain, the USSR - tried to get ahead of each other in the development of nuclear weapons.

Prerequisites for the creation of a nuclear bomb

The starting point of the scientific path to the creation of atomic weapons was 1896, when the French chemist A. Becquerel discovered the radioactivity of uranium. It was the chain reaction of this element that formed the basis for the development of terrible weapons.

At the end of the 19th and in the first decades of the 20th century, scientists discovered alpha, beta, and gamma rays, discovered many radioactive isotopes of chemical elements, the law of radioactive decay, and laid the foundation for the study of nuclear isometry. In the 1930s, the neutron and positron became known, and the nucleus of a uranium atom was split for the first time with the absorption of neutrons. This was the impetus for the beginning of the creation of nuclear weapons. The first to invent and patent the design of a nuclear bomb in 1939 was the French physicist Frederic Joliot-Curie.

As a result of further development, nuclear weapons have become a historically unprecedented military-political and strategic phenomenon capable of ensuring the national security of the possessor state and minimizing the capabilities of all other weapons systems.

The design of an atomic bomb consists of a number of different components, of which two main ones are distinguished:

• frame,
• automation system.

The automation, together with the nuclear charge, is located in a housing that protects them from various influences (mechanical, thermal, etc.). The automation system controls that the explosion occurs strictly set time. It consists of the following elements:

• emergency explosion;
• safety and cocking device;
• power supply;
• charge explosion sensors.

Delivery of atomic charges is carried out using aviation, ballistic and cruise missiles. In this case, nuclear weapons can be an element of a landmine, torpedo, aerial bomb, etc.

Nuclear bomb detonation systems vary. The simplest is the injection device, in which the impetus for the explosion is hitting the target and the subsequent formation of a supercritical mass.

Another characteristic of atomic weapons is the caliber size: small, medium, large. Most often, the power of an explosion is characterized in TNT equivalent. A small caliber nuclear weapon implies a charge power of several thousand tons of TNT. The average caliber is already equal to tens of thousands of tons of TNT, the large one is measured in millions.

Operating principle

The atomic bomb design is based on the principle of using nuclear energy released during a nuclear chain reaction. This is the process of fission of heavy or fusion of light nuclei. Due to the release of a huge amount of intranuclear energy in the shortest period of time, a nuclear bomb is classified as a weapon of mass destruction.

During this process, there are two key places:

• the center of a nuclear explosion in which the process directly takes place;
• the epicenter, which is the projection of this process onto the surface (of land or water).

A nuclear explosion releases such an amount of energy that, when projected onto the ground, causes seismic tremors. The range of their spread is very large, but significant damage to the environment is caused at a distance of only a few hundred meters.

Atomic weapons have several types of destruction:

• light radiation,
• radioactive contamination,
• shock wave,
• penetrating radiation,
• electromagnetic pulse.

A nuclear explosion is accompanied by a bright flash, which is formed due to the release of a large amount of light and thermal energy. The power of this flash is many times higher than the power of the sun's rays, so the danger of light and heat damage extends over several kilometers.

Another very dangerous factor in the impact of a nuclear bomb is the radiation generated during the explosion. It only acts for the first 60 seconds, but has maximum penetrating power.

The shock wave has great power and a significant destructive effect, so in a matter of seconds it causes enormous harm to people, equipment, and buildings.

Penetrating radiation is dangerous for living organisms and causes the development radiation sickness in humans. Electromagnetic pulse It only affects technology.

All these types of damage together make the atomic bomb a very dangerous weapon.

First nuclear bomb tests

The United States was the first to show the greatest interest in atomic weapons. At the end of 1941, the country allocated enormous funds and resources for the creation of nuclear weapons. The result of the work was the first tests of an atomic bomb with the Gadget explosive device, which took place on July 16, 1945 in the US state of New Mexico.

The time has come for the United States to act. To end the Second World War victoriously, it was decided to defeat the ally Hitler's Germany- Japan. The Pentagon selected targets for the first nuclear strikes, in which the United States wanted to demonstrate how powerful weapon they have.

On August 6 of the same year, the first atomic bomb, named "Baby," was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, and on August 9, a bomb named "Fat Man" fell on Nagasaki.

The hit in Hiroshima was considered perfect: the nuclear device exploded at an altitude of 200 meters. The blast wave overturned stoves in Japanese houses, heated by coal. This led to numerous fires even in urban areas far from the epicenter.

The initial flash was followed by a heat wave that lasted seconds, but its power, covering a radius of 4 km, melted tiles and quartz in granite slabs, and incinerated telegraph poles. Following the heat wave came a shock wave. The wind speed was 800 km/h, and its gust destroyed almost everything in the city. Of the 76 thousand buildings, 70 thousand were completely destroyed.

A few minutes later a strange rain of large black drops began to fall. It was caused by condensation formed in the colder layers of the atmosphere from steam and ash.

Affected people fireball at a distance of 800 meters, were burned and turned to dust. Some had their burnt skin torn off by the shock wave. Drops of black radioactive rain left incurable burns.

The survivors fell ill with a previously unknown disease. They began to experience nausea, vomiting, fever, and attacks of weakness. The level of white cells in the blood dropped sharply. These were the first signs of radiation sickness.

3 days after the bombing of Hiroshima, a bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. It had the same power and caused similar consequences.

Two atomic bombs destroyed hundreds of thousands of people in seconds. The first city was practically wiped off the face of the earth by the shock wave. More than half of the civilians (about 240 thousand people) died immediately from their wounds. Many people were exposed to radiation, which led to radiation sickness, cancer, and infertility. In Nagasaki, 73 thousand people were killed in the first days, and after some time another 35 thousand inhabitants died in great agony.

Video: nuclear bomb tests

Tests of RDS-37

Creation of the atomic bomb in Russia

The consequences of the bombings and the history of the inhabitants of Japanese cities shocked I. Stalin. It became clear that creating your own nuclear weapons is a question national security. On August 20, 1945, the Atomic Energy Committee began its work in Russia, headed by L. Beria.

Research on nuclear physics has been carried out in the USSR since 1918. In 1938, a commission on the atomic nucleus was created at the Academy of Sciences. But with the outbreak of the war, almost all work in this direction was suspended.

In 1943, Soviet intelligence officers transferred closed scientific works on atomic energy, from which it followed that the creation of the atomic bomb in the West had advanced far ahead. At the same time, reliable agents were introduced into several American nuclear research centers in the United States. They passed on information about the atomic bomb to Soviet scientists.

The terms of reference for the development of two versions of the atomic bomb were drawn up by their creator and one of the scientific supervisors, Yu. Khariton. In accordance with it, it was planned to create an RDS (“special jet engine”) with index 1 and 2:

1. RDS-1 is a bomb with a plutonium charge, which was supposed to be detonated by spherical compression. His device was handed over to Russian intelligence.
2. RDS-2 is a cannon bomb with two parts of a uranium charge, which must converge in the gun barrel until a critical mass is created.

In the history of the famous RDS, the most common decoding - “Russia does it itself” - was invented by Yu. Khariton’s deputy for scientific work K. Shchelkin. These words very accurately conveyed the essence of the work.

The information that the USSR had mastered the secrets of nuclear weapons caused a rush in the United States to quickly start a preemptive war. In July 1949, the Trojan plan appeared, according to which hostilities were planned to begin on January 1, 1950. The date of the attack was then moved to January 1, 1957, with the condition that all NATO countries would enter the war.

Information received through intelligence channels accelerated the work of Soviet scientists. According to Western experts, Soviet nuclear weapons could not have been created earlier than 1954-1955. However, the test of the first atomic bomb took place in the USSR at the end of August 1949.

At the test site in Semipalatinsk on August 29, 1949, the RDS-1 nuclear device was blown up - the first Soviet atomic bomb, which was invented by a team of scientists led by I. Kurchatov and Yu. Khariton. The explosion had a power of 22 kt. The design of the charge imitated the American “Fat Man”, and the electronic filling was created by Soviet scientists.

The Trojan plan, according to which the Americans were going to drop atomic bombs on 70 cities of the USSR, was thwarted due to the likelihood of a retaliatory strike. The event at the Semipalatinsk test site informed the world that the Soviet atomic bomb ended the American monopoly on the possession of new weapons. This invention completely destroyed the militaristic plan of the USA and NATO and prevented the development of the Third World War. A new history has begun - an era of world peace, existing under the threat of total destruction.

"Nuclear Club" of the world

The nuclear club is a symbol for several states that possess nuclear weapons. Today we have such weapons:

• in the USA (since 1945)
• in Russia (originally USSR, since 1949)
• in Great Britain (since 1952)
• in France (since 1960)
• in China (since 1964)
• in India (since 1974)
• in Pakistan (since 1998)
• in North Korea (since 2006)

Israel is also considered to have nuclear weapons, although the country's leadership does not comment on its presence. In addition, US nuclear weapons are located on the territory of NATO member states (Germany, Italy, Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada) and allies (Japan, South Korea, despite the official refusal).

Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, which owned part of the nuclear weapons after the collapse of the USSR, transferred them to Russia in the 90s, which became the sole heir to the Soviet nuclear arsenal.

Atomic (nuclear) weapons are the most powerful instrument of global politics, which has firmly entered the arsenal of relations between states. On the one hand, it is an effective means of deterrence, on the other hand, it is a powerful argument for preventing military conflict and strengthening peace between the powers that own these weapons. This is a symbol of an entire era in the history of mankind and international relations, which must be handled very wisely.

Video: Nuclear Weapons Museum

Video about the Russian Tsar Bomba

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them

One of the first practical steps of the Special Committee and the PSU was the decision to create a production base for the nuclear weapons complex. In 1946, a number of important decisions were made in connection with these plans. One of them concerned the creation of a specialized design bureau for the development of nuclear weapons at Laboratory No. 2.

On April 9, 1946, the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted closed resolution No. 806-327 on the creation of KB-11. This was the name of the organization designed to create a “product,” that is, an atomic bomb. P.M. was appointed head of KB-11. Zernov, chief designer - Yu.B. Khariton.

By the time the resolution was adopted, the issue of creating KB-11 had been worked out in detail. Its location has already been determined, taking into account the specifics of future work. On the one hand, the particularly high degree of secrecy of the planned work and the need to conduct explosive experiments predetermined the choice of a sparsely populated area hidden from visual observations. On the other hand, one should not move too far away from enterprises and organizations co-executing the nuclear project, a significant part of which were located in the central regions of the country. An important factor was the presence of a production base and transport arteries on the territory of the future design bureau.

KB-11 was tasked with creating two versions of atomic bombs - a plutonium bomb using spherical compression and a uranium bomb with cannon rapprochement. Upon completion of development, it was planned to conduct state tests of the charges at a special testing ground. The ground explosion of the plutonium bomb charge was supposed to be carried out before January 1, 1948, and the uranium bomb – before June 1, 1948.

The official starting point for the beginning of the development of RDS-1 should be the date of issuance of the “Tactical and Technical Specifications for an Atomic Bomb” (TTZ), signed by Chief Designer Yu.B. Khariton on July 1, 1946 and sent to the head of the First Main Directorate under the USSR Council of Ministers B.L. Vannikov. The terms of reference consisted of 9 points and stipulated the type of nuclear fuel, the method of transferring it through a critical state, the overall mass characteristics of the atomic bomb, the timing of the operation of electric detonators, the requirements for a high-altitude fuse and the self-destruction of the product in the event of failure of the equipment that ensures the operation of this fuse.

In accordance with the TTZ, the development of two versions of atomic bombs was envisaged - an implosion type with plutonium and a uranium type with cannon approach. The length of the bomb should not exceed 5 meters, diameter - 1.5 meters, and weight - 5 tons.

At the same time, it was planned to build a test site, an airfield, a pilot plant, as well as organize a medical service, create a library, etc.

The creation of an atomic bomb required the solution of an exceptionally wide range of physical and technical issues, related to the implementation of an extensive program of theoretical and theoretical research, design and experimental work. First of all, research had to be done physical and chemical properties fissile materials, develop and test methods for their casting and machining. It was necessary to create radiochemical methods for extracting various fission products, organize the production of polonium, and develop technology for the manufacture of neutron sources. Methods for determining the critical mass, the development of a theory of efficiency or efficiency, as well as the theory of a nuclear explosion in general, and much more were required.

The given brief enumeration of the directions in which the work unfolded does not exhaust the entire content of the activities that required implementation for the successful completion of the atomic project.

By the February 1948 resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR, which adjusted the deadlines for completing the main task of the atomic project, Yu.B. Khariton and P.M. Zernov was instructed to ensure the production and presentation of one set of the RDS-1 atomic bomb with full equipment by March 1, 1949 for state testing.

In order to complete the task in a timely manner, the resolution stipulated the volume and timing of completion of research work and the manufacture of material for flight design tests, as well as the resolution of certain organizational and personnel issues.

The following research works stood out:

• completion of testing of a spherical explosive charge by May 1948;
• study until July of the same year of the problem of metal compression during the explosion of an explosive charge;
• development of a neutron fuse design by January 1949;
• determination of critical mass and assembly of plutonium and uranium charges for RDS-1 and RDS-2. Ensuring the assembly of the plutonium charge for RDS-1 before February 1, 1949.

The development of the design of the atomic charge itself - “RD-1” - (later, in the second half of 1946, called “RDS-1”) was started at NII-6 at the end of 1945. Development began with a charge model on a scale of 1/5 full-scale. The work was carried out without technical specifications, but solely according to the oral instructions of Yu.B. Khariton. The first drawings were made by N.A. Terletsky, who worked at NII-6 in a separate room, where only Yu.B. was allowed entry. Khariton and E.M. Adaskin - deputy. director of NII-6, who carried out general coordination of work with other groups that began developing high-speed detonators to ensure synchronous detonation of a group of electric detonators and work on the electrical actuation system. A separate group began to select explosives and technologies for manufacturing unusual shapes of parts from aircraft.

At the beginning of 1946, the model was developed, and by the summer it was produced in 2 copies. The model was tested at the NII-6 test site in Sofrino.

By the end of 1946, the development of documentation for a full-scale charge began, the development of which began to be carried out already in KB-11, where at the beginning of 1947, in Sarov, the initial minimum conditions were created for the manufacture of blocks and carrying out blasting operations (parts from explosives, before launching into operation of plant No. 2 in KB-11, supplied from NII-6).

If at the beginning of the development of atomic charges, domestic physicists were to some extent ready for the topic of creating an atomic bomb (based on their previous work), then for the designers this topic was completely new. They did not know the physical principles of the charge, the new materials used in the design, their physical and mechanical properties, the admissibility of joint storage, etc.

The large dimensions of explosive parts and their complex geometric shapes, tight tolerances required the solution of many technological problems. Thus, specialized enterprises in the country did not undertake the manufacture of large-sized charge housings, and it was necessary pilot plant No. 1 (KB-11) to produce a sample hull, after which these hulls began to be manufactured at the Kirov plant in Leningrad. Large-sized parts from explosives were also initially manufactured in KB-11.

During the initial organization of the development of charge components, when institutes and enterprises of various ministries were involved in the work, a problem arose due to the fact that the documentation was developed according to various departmental guidelines (instructions, technical specifications, standards, construction of drawing symbols, etc. .). This situation greatly hampered production due to large differences in the requirements for the manufactured charge elements. The situation was corrected in 1948-1949. with the appointment of N.L. as deputy chief designer and head of the research and development sector of KB-11. Dukhova. He brought with him from OKB-700 (from Chelyabinsk) the “Drawing Management System” adopted there and organized the processing of previously developed documentation, bringing it to a unified system. The new system best suited the conditions of our specific development, which provides for multivariate design development (due to the novelty of the designs).

As for the radio and electrical charge elements (“RDS-1”), they are entirely domestically developed. Moreover, they were developed with duplication of the most critical elements (to ensure the necessary reliability) and possible miniaturization.

Strict requirements for the reliability of charge operation, the safety of working with the charge, and the preservation of the quality of the charge during the warranty period of its shelf life determined the thorough development of the design.

Information supplied by intelligence about the contours of the bombs and their sizes was sparse and often contradictory. So, about the caliber of a uranium bomb, i.e. “Baby”, it was reported that it was either 3" (inches) or 51/2" (in fact, the caliber turned out to be noticeably larger). About the plutonium bomb, i.e. “Fat man” - that it looks “like a pear-shaped body”, and about the diameter - it is either 1.27 m or 1.5 m. So the bomb developers had to start everything almost from scratch.

TsAGI was involved in developing the body contours of the KB-11 aerial bomb. Blowing through his wind tunnels an unprecedented number of contour options (more than 100, under the leadership of Academician S.A. Khristianovich) began to bring success.

The need to use a complex automation system is another fundamental difference from the development of conventional aerial bombs. The automation system consisted of safety stages and long-range cocking sensors; starting, “critical” and contact sensors; energy sources (batteries) and an initiation system (including a set of detonator capsules), ensuring synchronous operation of the latter, with different timings in the microsecond range.

Thus, at the first stage of the project:

• the carrier aircraft was determined: TU-4 (by order of I.V. Stalin, the American “flying fortress” B-29 was reproduced);
• Several design options for aerial bombs have been developed; their flight tests were carried out and contours and structures that meet the requirements of atomic weapons were selected;
• an automatic system for the bomb and the aircraft instrument panel was developed, which guaranteed the safety of the suspension, flight and battery release, the implementation of an air explosion at a given altitude and, at the same time, the safety of the aircraft after an atomic explosion.

Structurally, the first atomic bomb consisted of the following fundamental components:

• nuclear charge;
• explosive device and automatic charge detonation system with safety systems;
• the ballistic body of the aerial bomb, which housed the nuclear charge and automatic detonation.

The atomic charge of the RDS-1 bomb was a multilayer structure in which the active substance, plutonium, was transferred to a supercritical state by compressing it through a converging spherical detonation wave in the explosive.

Great successes have been achieved not only by technologists, but also by metallurgists and radiochemists. Thanks to their efforts, already the first plutonium parts contained small amounts of impurities and highly active isotopes. The last point was especially significant, since short-lived isotopes, being the main source of neutrons, could have a negative impact on the likelihood of a premature explosion.

A neutron fuse (NF) was installed in the cavity of the plutonium core in a composite shell of natural uranium. During 1947-1948, about 20 different proposals regarding operating principles, devices and improvements of NZ.

One of the most complex components of the first atomic bomb RDS-1 was an explosive charge made from an alloy of TNT and hexogen.

The choice of the outer radius of the explosive was determined, on the one hand, by the need to obtain satisfactory energy release, and, on the other, by the permissible external dimensions of the product and technological production capabilities.

The first atomic bomb was developed in relation to its suspension in the TU-4 aircraft, the bomb bay of which provided the ability to accommodate a product with a diameter of up to 1500 mm. Based on this dimension, the midsection of the ballistic body of the RDS-1 bomb was determined. The explosive charge was structurally a hollow ball and consisted of two layers.

The inner layer was formed from two hemispherical bases made from a domestic alloy of TNT and hexogen.

The outer layer of the RDS-1 explosive charge was assembled from individual elements. This layer, intended to form a spherical converging detonation wave at the base of the explosive and called the focusing system, was one of the main functional units of the charge, which largely determined its tactical and technical performance.

Already at the very initial stage of the development of nuclear weapons, it became obvious that the study of the processes occurring in the charge should follow the computational and experimental path, which made it possible to correct theoretical analysis based on the results of experiments and experimental data on the gas-dynamic characteristics of nuclear charges.

It is worth especially noting that chief designer RDS-1 Yu.B. Khariton and the main developers, theoretical physicists, knew about the high probability of a 2.5% incomplete explosion (a reduction in explosion power of ~ 10%) and about the consequences that awaited them if it were realized. They knew and... worked.

The location for the test site was chosen near the city of Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR, in a waterless steppe with rare abandoned and dry wells, salt lakes, and partially covered with low mountains. The site intended for the construction of the test complex was a plain with a diameter of approximately 20 km, surrounded on the south, west and north by low mountains.

Construction of the test site began in 1947 and was completed by July 1949. In just two years, a colossal volume of work was completed, with excellent quality and at a high technical level. All materials were delivered to construction sites by road transport by dirt roads for 100-200 km. Traffic was around the clock both in winter and summer.

The experimental field contained numerous structures with measuring equipment, military, civil and industrial facilities to study the effects of the damaging factors of a nuclear explosion. In the center of the experimental field there was a metal tower 37.5 m high for the installation of RDS-1.

The experimental field was divided into 14 test sectors: two fortification sectors; civil engineering sector; physical sector; military sectors for the placement of samples of military equipment; biological sector. Instrument buildings were built along radii in the north-eastern and south-eastern directions at various distances from the center to accommodate photochronographic, film and oscillographic equipment recording the processes of a nuclear explosion.

At a distance of 1000 m from the center, an underground building was built for equipment that recorded light, neutron and gamma fluxes of a nuclear explosion. Optical and oscillographic equipment was controlled via cables from a software machine.

To study the impact of a nuclear explosion, sections of metro tunnels, fragments of airfield runways were built on the experimental field, and samples of aircraft, tanks, artillery rocket launchers, and ship superstructures of various types were placed. To transport this military equipment, 90 railway cars were needed.

The government commission for testing RDS-1, chaired by M.G. Pervukhina began work on July 27, 1949. On August 5, the commission concluded that the test site was completely ready and proposed to carry out a detailed testing of the assembly and detonation operations within 15 days. The test time was determined - the last days of August.

I.V. was appointed scientific supervisor of the trial. Kurchatov, from the Ministry of Defense, the preparation of the test site for testing was led by Major General V.A. Bolyatko, the scientific management of the test site was carried out by M.A. Sadovsky.

In the period from August 10 to August 26, 10 rehearsals were held to control the test field and the charge detonation equipment, as well as three training exercises with the launch of all equipment and 4 detonations of full-scale explosives with an aluminum ball from automatic detonation.

On August 21, a plutonium charge and four neutron fuses were delivered to the test site by a special train, one of which was to be used to detonate a warhead.

Scientific supervisor of the experiment I.V. Kurchatov, in accordance with the instructions of L.P. Beria, gave the order to test the RDS-1 on August 29 at 8 a.m. local time.

On the night of August 29, 1949, a final assembly charge. The assembly of the central part with the installation of parts made of plutonium and a neutron fuse was carried out by a group consisting of N.L. Dukhova, N.A. Terletsky, D.A. Fishman and V.A. Davidenko (installation “NZ”). The final installation of the charge was completed by 3 a.m. on August 29 under the leadership of A.Ya. Malsky and V.I. Alferova. Members of the special committee L.P. Beria, M.G. Pervukhin and V.A. The Makhnev controlled the progress of the final operations.

On the day of the test, the majority of the top test management gathered at the test site command post, located 10 km from the center of the test field: L.P. Beria, M.G. Pervukhin, I.V. Kurchatov, Yu.B. Khariton, K.I. Shchelkin, KB-11 employees who participated in the final installation of the charge on the tower.

By 6 o'clock in the morning the charge was lifted onto the test tower, it was equipped with fuses and connected to the blasting circuit.

Due to worsening weather, all work required by the approved regulations began to be carried out with a one-hour shift earlier (from 7.00 instead of 8.00 as planned).

At 6:35 a.m., the operators turned on the power to the automation system, and at 6:48 a.m. the test field machine was turned on.

At exactly 7 a.m. on August 29, 1949, the entire area was illuminated with a dazzling light, which signaled that the USSR had successfully completed the development and testing of the first atomic bomb.

According to the recollections of test participant D.A. Fishman, the events in the control room unfolded as follows:

In the last seconds before the explosion, the doors located with reverse side building of the command post (from the center of the field) so that the moment of the explosion could be observed by a splash in the lighting of the area. At the zero moments, everyone saw a very bright illumination of the earth and clouds. The brightness was several times higher than that of the sun. It was clear that the explosion was successful!

Everyone ran out of the room and ran up onto the parapet protecting the command post from the direct impact of the explosion. Before them opened a picture, enchanting in its scale, of the formation of a huge cloud of dust and smoke, in the center of which a flame was blazing!

But Malsky’s words were heard from the loudspeaker: “Everyone immediately enter the command post building! A shock wave is approaching” (according to calculations, it should have arrived at the command post in 30 seconds).

Upon entering the room, L.P. Beria warmly congratulated everyone on the successful test, and I.V. Kurchatova and Yu.B. He kissed Khariton. But inside, apparently, he still had some doubts about the completeness of the explosion, since he did not immediately call and report to I.V. Stalin about the successful test, and went to the second observation point, where nuclear physicist M.G. Meshcheryakov, who in 1946 attended demonstration tests of US atomic charges on Bikini Atoll.

At the second observation point, Beria also warmly congratulated M.G. Meshcheryakova, Ya.B. Zeldovich, N.L. Dukhov and other comrades. After this, he meticulously questioned Meshcheryakov about the external effect of the American explosions. Meshcheryakov assured that our explosion was superior in appearance to the American one.

Having received confirmation from an eyewitness, Beria went to the test site headquarters in order to inform Stalin about the successful test.

Stalin, having learned about the successful test, immediately called B.L. Vannikova (who was at home and could not attend the test due to illness) and congratulated him on the successful test.

According to the memoirs of Boris Lvovich, in response to congratulations, he began to say that this was the merit of the party and the government... Then Stalin interrupted him, saying: “Come on, Comrade Vannikov, these formalities. You better think about how we can a short time start manufacturing these products."

20 minutes after the explosion, two tanks equipped with lead protection were sent to the center of the field to conduct radiation reconnaissance and inspect the center of the field.

Reconnaissance determined that all structures in the center of the field had been demolished. A crater formed at the site of the tower, the soil in the center of the field melted and a continuous crust of slag formed. Civil buildings and industrial structures were completely or partially destroyed. Eyewitnesses were presented with a terrible picture of the great massacre.

The energy release of the first Soviet atomic bomb was 22 kilotons of TNT equivalent.

Truth in the penultimate instance

There are not many things in the world that are considered indisputable. Well, I think you know that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. And that the Moon revolves around the Earth, too. And about the fact that the Americans were the first to create the atomic bomb, ahead of both the Germans and the Russians.

That’s what I thought too, until about four years ago when an old magazine came into my hands. He left my beliefs about the sun and moon alone, but faith in American leadership has been shaken quite seriously. It was a plump volume on German— file of the journal “Theoretical Physics” for 1938. I don’t remember why I went there, but quite unexpectedly I came across an article by Professor Otto Hahn.

The name was familiar to me. It was Hahn, the famous German physicist and radiochemist, who in 1938, together with another prominent scientist, Fritz Straussmann, discovered the fission of the uranium nucleus, essentially launching work on the creation of nuclear weapons. At first I just skimmed the article diagonally, but then completely unexpected phrases forced me to become more attentive. And, ultimately, I even forget about why I initially picked up this magazine.

Gan's article was devoted to a review of nuclear developments in different countries of the world. Strictly speaking, there was nothing special to see: everywhere except Germany, nuclear research was in the background. They didn't see much point. " This abstract matter has nothing to do with state needs“,” said British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain around the same time, when he was asked to support British atomic research with budget money.

« Let these bespectacled scientists look for money themselves, the state is full of other problems! — this is what most world leaders thought in the 1930s. With the exception, of course, of the Nazis, who financed the nuclear program.
But it was not Chamberlain's passage, carefully quoted by Hahn, that attracted my attention. The author of these lines is not particularly interested in England at all. Much more interesting was what Hahn wrote about the state of nuclear research in the United States. And he literally wrote the following:

If we talk about a country in which the least attention is paid to nuclear fission processes, then we should undoubtedly name the USA. Of course, I'm not considering Brazil or the Vatican right now. However among developed countries, even Italy and communist Russia are significantly ahead of the United States. Little attention is paid to the problems of theoretical physics on the other side of the ocean; priority is given to applied developments that can provide immediate profit. Therefore, I can confidently say that during the next decade the North Americans will not be able to do anything significant for the development of atomic physics.

At first I just laughed. Wow, how wrong my compatriot was! And only then did I think: whatever one may say, Otto Hahn was not a simpleton or an amateur. He was well informed about the state of atomic research, especially since before the outbreak of World War II this topic was freely discussed in scientific circles.

Maybe the Americans misinformed the whole world? But for what purpose? No one had yet thought about atomic weapons in the 1930s. Moreover, most scientists considered its creation impossible in principle. That is why, until 1939, the whole world instantly learned about all new achievements in atomic physics - they were published completely openly in scientific journals. No one hid the fruits of their labor; on the contrary, between various groups Scientists (almost exclusively Germans) were openly competing - who would move forward faster?

Maybe scientists in the States were ahead of the rest of the world and therefore kept their achievements secret? Not a bad guess. To confirm or refute it, we will have to consider the history of the creation of the American atomic bomb - at least as it appears in official publications. We are all accustomed to taking it for granted. However, upon closer examination, there are so many oddities and inconsistencies in it that you are simply amazed.

From the world by thread - Bomb to the States

The year 1942 started well for the British. The German invasion of their small island, which seemed inevitable, now, as if by magic, retreated into the foggy distance. Last summer Hitler made main mistake in his life - attacked Russia. This was the beginning of the end. The Russians not only survived despite the hopes of Berlin strategists and the pessimistic forecasts of many observers, but also gave the Wehrmacht a good kick in the teeth during the frosty winter. And in December, the large and powerful United States came to the aid of the British, which now became an official ally. In general, there were more than enough reasons for joy.

Only a few high-ranking officials who had information received by British intelligence were not happy. At the end of 1941, the British learned that the Germans were developing their atomic research at a frantic pace.. The final goal of this process also became clear: a nuclear bomb. British atomic scientists were competent enough to imagine the threat posed by the new weapon.

At the same time, the British had no illusions about their capabilities. All the country's resources were aimed at basic survival. Although the Germans and Japanese were up to their necks fighting the Russians and Americans, they occasionally found an opportunity to poke their fists at the crumbling edifice of the British Empire. From each such poke, the rotten building staggered and creaked, threatening to collapse.

Rommel's three divisions were tied down in North Africa almost the entire combat-ready British army. Admiral Dönitz's submarines, like predatory sharks, darted in the Atlantic, threatening to interrupt the vital supply line from overseas. Britain simply did not have the resources to enter into a nuclear race with the Germans. The backlog was already large, and in the very near future it threatened to become hopeless.

It must be said that the Americans were skeptical at first about such a gift. The military department did not understand why it should spend money on some obscure project. What other new weapons are there? Here are aircraft carrier groups and armadas of heavy bombers - yes, this is power. And the nuclear bomb, which scientists themselves imagine very vaguely, is just an abstraction, an old wives’ tale.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had to directly appeal to American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt with a request, literally a plea, not to reject the English gift. Roosevelt summoned scientists, looked into the issue and gave the go-ahead.

Usually the creators of the canonical legend about American bomb use this episode to highlight Roosevelt's wisdom. Look, what an insightful president! We will look at this with slightly different eyes: in what kind of pen were the Yankees' atomic research if they refused to cooperate with the British for so long and stubbornly! This means that Hahn was absolutely right in his assessment of the American nuclear scientists - they were nothing solid.

It was only in September 1942 that the decision was made to begin work on an atomic bomb. The organizational period took some more time, and things really got off the ground only with the advent of the new year, 1943. From the army, the work was headed by General Leslie Groves (he would later write memoirs in which he would detail official version what was happening), the real leader was Professor Robert Oppenheimer. I will talk about it in detail a little later, but for now let’s admire another interesting detail - how the team of scientists who began work on the bomb was formed.

As a matter of fact, when Oppenheimer was asked to recruit specialists, he had very little choice. Good nuclear physicists in the States could be counted on the fingers of a crippled hand. Therefore, the professor made a wise decision - to recruit people whom he knew personally and whom he could trust, regardless of what area of ​​​​physics they had previously worked on. And so it turned out that the lion's share of the places were occupied by Columbia University employees from the Manhattan area (by the way, this is why the project received the name Manhattan).

But even these forces turned out to be not enough. It was necessary to involve British scientists in the work, literally devastating English research centers, and even specialists from Canada. In general, the Manhattan Project turned into a kind of Tower of Babel, with the only difference being that all its participants spoke at least the same language. However, this did not save us from the usual quarrels and squabbles in the scientific community that arose due to the rivalry of different scientific groups. Echoes of these tensions can be found on the pages of Groves’ book, and they look very funny: the general, on the one hand, wants to convince the reader that everything was orderly and decent, and on the other, to brag about how cleverly he managed to reconcile the scientific luminaries who had completely quarreled.

And so they are trying to convince us that in this friendly atmosphere of a large terrarium, the Americans managed to create an atomic bomb in two and a half years. But the Germans, who cheerfully and amicably labored over their nuclear project for five years, failed to do this. Miracles, and that's all.

However, even if there were no squabbles, such record time would still be suspicious. The fact is that in the research process you need to go through certain stages, which are almost impossible to shorten. The Americans themselves attribute their success to gigantic funding - ultimately, Over two billion dollars were spent on the Manhattan Project! However, no matter how you feed a pregnant woman, she still will not be able to give birth to a full-term baby before nine months. It’s the same with the nuclear project: it is impossible to significantly speed up, for example, the process of uranium enrichment.

The Germans worked for five years with full effort. Of course, they made mistakes and miscalculations that took away valuable time. But who said that the Americans did not make mistakes and miscalculations? There were, and a lot of them. One of these mistakes was the involvement of the famous physicist Niels Bohr.

Unknown Skorzeny operation

The British intelligence services are very fond of boasting about one of their operations. We are talking about the rescue of the great Danish scientist Niels Bohr from Nazi Germany. The official legend says that after the outbreak of World War II, the outstanding physicist lived quietly and calmly in Denmark, leading a fairly secluded lifestyle. The Nazis offered him cooperation many times, but Bohr invariably refused.

By 1943, the Germans finally decided to arrest him. But, warned in time, Niels Bohr managed to escape to Sweden, from where the British took him away in a bomb bay heavy bomber. By the end of the year, the physicist found himself in America and began to work zealously for the benefit of the Manhattan Project.

The legend is beautiful and romantic, but it is sewn with white thread and does not stand up to any tests. There is no more reliability in it than in the fairy tales of Charles Perrault. Firstly, because it makes the Nazis look like complete idiots, but they never were. Think carefully! In 1940, the Germans occupy Denmark. They know what lives on the territory of the country Nobel laureate, which can be of great help to them in their work on the atomic bomb. The same atomic bomb that is vital for Germany's victory.

And what are they doing? Over the course of three years, they occasionally visit the scientist, politely knock on the door and quietly ask: “ Herr Bohr, don't you want to work for the benefit of the Fuhrer and the Reich? You do not want? Okay, we'll come back later" No, this was not the style of work of the German intelligence services! Logically, they should have arrested Bohr not in 1943, but back in 1940. If it works, force him (just force him, not beg him!) to work for them; if not, at least make sure that he cannot work for the enemy: put him in a concentration camp or exterminate him. And they leave him to walk around freely, under the noses of the British.

Three years later, so the legend goes, the Germans finally realize that they should arrest the scientist. But then someone (precisely someone, because I couldn’t find any indication of who did it anywhere) warns Bohr about the impending danger. Who could it be? It was not the habit of the Gestapo to shout at every corner about impending arrests. People were taken quietly, unexpectedly, at night. This means that Bohr’s mysterious patron is one of the rather high-ranking officials.

Let's leave this mysterious angel-savior alone for now and continue to analyze the wanderings of Niels Bohr. So, the scientist fled to Sweden. How do you think? On a fishing boat, avoiding German Coast Guard boats in the fog? On a raft made of planks? No matter how it is! Bor sailed to Sweden in the greatest possible comfort on a very ordinary private ship, which officially called at the port of Copenhagen.

For now, let’s not rack our brains over the question of how the Germans released the scientist if they were going to arrest him. Let's think about this better. The flight of a world-famous physicist is an emergency of a very serious scale. An investigation had to inevitably be carried out on this matter - the heads of those who screwed up the physicist, as well as the mysterious patron, would fly. However, no traces of such an investigation were simply found. Maybe because he wasn't there.

Indeed, how important was Niels Bohr to the development of the atomic bomb? Born in 1885 and becoming a Nobel laureate in 1922, Bohr turned to the problems of nuclear physics only in the 1930s. At that time he was already a major, accomplished scientist with fully formed views. Such people rarely succeed in fields that require innovation and out-of-the-box thinking, which is precisely the field of nuclear physics. For several years, Bohr failed to make any significant contribution to atomic research.

However, as the ancients said, the first half of a person’s life works for a name, the second - a name for a person. For Niels Bohr, this second half has already begun. Having taken up nuclear physics, he automatically began to be considered a major specialist in this field, regardless of his actual achievements.

But in Germany, where such world-famous nuclear scientists as Hahn and Heisenberg worked, they knew the real value of the Danish scientist. That is why they did not actively try to involve him in the work. If it turns out well, we’ll tell the whole world that Niels Bohr himself is working for us. If it doesn’t work out, that’s also not bad; he won’t get in the way of his authority.

By the way, in the United States, Niels Bohr was largely in the way. The fact is that the outstanding physicist did not believe at all in the possibility of creating a nuclear bomb. At the same time, his authority forced his opinion to be taken into account. According to Groves' memoirs, the scientists working on the Manhattan Project treated Bohr as an elder. Now imagine that you are doing some difficult work without any confidence in ultimate success. And then someone comes up to you, whom you consider a great specialist, and says that your lesson is not even worth wasting time on. Will work get easier? Don't think.

In addition, Bohr was a convinced pacifist. In 1945, when the United States already had an atomic bomb, he categorically protested against its use. Accordingly, he treated his work with lukewarmness. Therefore, I urge you to think again: what did Bohr bring more - movement or stagnation in the development of the issue?

It’s a strange picture, isn’t it? It began to clear up a little after I learned one interesting detail, which seemed to have nothing to do with Niels Bohr or the atomic bomb. We are talking about the “chief saboteur of the Third Reich” Otto Skorzeny.

It is believed that Skorzeny's rise began after he freed the imprisoned Italian dictator Benito Mussolini in 1943. Imprisoned in a mountain prison by his former comrades, Mussolini could not, it would seem, hope for release. But Skorzeny, on the direct orders of Hitler, developed a daring plan: to land troops on gliders and then fly away in a small airplane. Everything turned out just fine: Mussolini was free, Skorzeny was held in high esteem.

At least that's what the majority thinks. Few well-informed historians know that cause and effect are confused here. Skorzeny was entrusted with an extremely difficult and responsible task precisely because Hitler trusted him. That is, the rise of the “king of special operations” began before the story of the rescue of Mussolini. However, very shortly - in a couple of months. Skorzeny was promoted to rank and position precisely when Niels Bohr fled to England. I couldn't find any reasons for a promotion anywhere.

So we have three facts:
— Firstly, the Germans did not prevent Niels Bohr from leaving for Britain;
— Secondly, Boron did more harm than good to Americans;
— Thirdly, immediately after the scientist arrived in England, Skorzeny received a promotion.

What if these are parts of the same mosaic? I decided to try to reconstruct the events. Having captured Denmark, the Germans were well aware that Niels Bohr was unlikely to assist in the creation of the atomic bomb. Moreover, it will rather interfere. Therefore, he was left to live quietly in Denmark, under the very nose of the British. Perhaps even then the Germans were counting on the British to kidnap the scientist. However, for three years the British did not dare to do anything.

At the end of 1942, the Germans began to hear vague rumors about the start of a large-scale project to create an American atomic bomb. Even taking into account the secrecy of the project, it was absolutely impossible to keep it in the bag: the instant disappearance of hundreds of scientists from different countries, one way or another connected with nuclear research, should have led any mentally normal person to similar conclusions.

The Nazis were confident that they were far ahead of the Yankees (and this was true), but this did not stop them from doing nasty things to the enemy. And at the beginning of 1943, one of the most secret operations German intelligence services. A certain well-wisher appears on the threshold of Niels Bohr's house, who tells him that they want to arrest him and throw him into a concentration camp, and offers his help. The scientist agrees - he has no other choice, being behind barbed wire is not the best prospect.

At the same time, apparently, the British are being fed a lie about Bohr’s complete irreplaceability and uniqueness in nuclear research. The British are biting - but what can they do if the prey itself goes into their hands, that is, to Sweden? And for complete heroism, they take Bor out of there in the belly of a bomber, although they could have comfortably sent him on a ship.

And then the Nobel laureate appears at the epicenter of the Manhattan Project, creating the effect of an exploding bomb. That is, if the Germans had managed to bomb the research center at Los Alamos, the effect would have been approximately the same. Work has slowed down, and quite significantly. Apparently, the Americans did not immediately realize how they had been deceived, and when they realized, it was already too late.
And you still believe that the Yankees themselves built the atomic bomb?

Alsos Mission

Personally, I finally refused to believe in these stories after I studied in detail the activities of the Alsos group. This operation of the American intelligence services long years was kept secret until its main participants left for a better world. And only then did information emerge—true, fragmentary and scattered—about how the Americans were hunting for German atomic secrets.

True, if you thoroughly work on this information and compare it with some well-known facts, the picture turns out to be very convincing. But I won't get ahead of myself. So, the Alsos group was formed in 1944, on the eve of the Anglo-American landing in Normandy. Half of the group members are professional intelligence officers, half are nuclear scientists.

At the same time, in order to form Alsos, the Manhattan Project was mercilessly robbed - in fact, the best specialists were taken from there. The mission's objective was to collect information about the German nuclear program. The question is, how desperate are the Americans for the success of their undertaking if their main bet is on stealing the atomic bomb from the Germans?
They were very desperate, if you remember the little-known letter from one of the nuclear scientists to his colleague. It was written on February 4, 1944 and read:

« It seems we've gotten ourselves into a lost cause. The project is not moving forward one iota. Our leaders, in my opinion, do not believe in the success of the entire undertaking. Yes, and we don’t believe it. If it weren’t for the huge money that we are paid here, I think many would have long ago been doing something more useful».

This letter was cited at one time as evidence of American talent: what great fellows we are, we pulled off a hopeless project in just over a year! Then in the USA they realized that not only fools live around, and they hastened to forget about the piece of paper. With great difficulty I managed to dig up this document in an old scientific journal.

No money or effort was spared to ensure the actions of the Alsos group. It was perfectly equipped with everything necessary. The head of the mission, Colonel Pash, had with him a document from US Secretary of Defense Henry Stimson, which obliged everyone to provide all possible assistance to the group. Even the Commander-in-Chief of the Allied Forces, Dwight Eisenhower, did not have such powers.. By the way, about the commander-in-chief - he was obliged to take into account the interests of the Alsos mission in planning military operations, that is, to capture first of all those areas where there could be German atomic weapons.

At the beginning of August 1944, or to be precise on the 9th, the Alsos group landed in Europe. One of the leading US nuclear scientists, Dr. Samuel Goudsmit, was appointed scientific director of the mission. Before the war, he maintained close ties with his German colleagues, and the Americans hoped that the “international solidarity” of scientists would be stronger than political interests.

Alsos managed to achieve its first results after the Americans occupied Paris in the fall of 1944.. Here Goudsmit met with the famous French scientist Professor Joliot-Curie. It seemed that Curie was sincerely happy about the defeats of the Germans; however, as soon as the conversation turned to the German atomic program, he went into deep “ignorance.” The Frenchman insisted that he knew nothing, had not heard anything, the Germans had not come close to developing an atomic bomb, and in general their nuclear project was exclusively peaceful in nature.

It was clear that the professor was not saying something. But there was no way to put pressure on him - for collaborating with the Germans in France at that time, people were shot, regardless of scientific merits, and Curie was clearly afraid of death most of all. Therefore, Goudsmit had to leave empty-handed.

Throughout his stay in Paris, he constantly heard vague but threatening rumors: A uranium bomb exploded in Leipzig., in the mountainous regions of Bavaria strange outbreaks have been reported at night. Everything indicated that the Germans were either very close to creating atomic weapons, or had already created them.

What happened next is still shrouded in mystery. They say that Pash and Goudsmit managed to find some valuable information in Paris. Since at least November, Eisenhower has been constantly receiving demands to move forward into German territory at any cost. The initiators of these demands - now it is clear! — in the end there were people associated with the atomic project and who received information directly from the Alsos group. Eisenhower had no real ability to carry out the orders he received, but the demands from Washington became increasingly harsh. It is unknown how all this would have ended if the Germans had not made another unexpected move.

Ardennes mystery

As a matter of fact, by the end of 1944 everyone believed that Germany had lost the war. The only question is how long it will take for the Nazis to be defeated. Only Hitler and his inner circle seemed to hold a different point of view. They tried to delay the moment of disaster until the last moment.

This desire is quite understandable. Hitler was sure that after the war he would be declared a criminal and tried. And if you stall for time, you can lead to a quarrel between the Russians and the Americans and, ultimately, get away with it, that is, out of the war. Not without losses, of course, but without losing power.

Let's think about it: what was needed for this in conditions when Germany had nothing left? Naturally, spend them as sparingly as possible and maintain a flexible defense. And Hitler, at the very end of 1944, threw his army into the very wasteful Ardennes offensive. For what?

The troops are given completely unrealistic tasks - to break through to Amsterdam and throw the Anglo-Americans into the sea. At that time, German tanks were like walking to the Moon from Amsterdam, especially since their tanks had fuel splashing less than half the way. Scare your allies? But what could frighten the well-fed and armed armies, behind which was the industrial power of the United States?

All in all, Until now, not a single historian has been able to clearly explain why Hitler needed this offensive. Usually everyone ends up saying that the Fuhrer was an idiot. But in reality, Hitler was not an idiot; moreover, he thought quite sensibly and realistically until the very end. Those historians who make hasty judgments without even trying to understand something can most likely be called idiots.

But let's look at the other side of the front. Even more amazing things are happening there! And the point is not even that the Germans managed to achieve initial, albeit rather limited, successes. The fact is that the British and Americans were really scared! Moreover, the fear was completely inadequate to the threat. After all, from the very beginning it was clear that the Germans had little strength, that the offensive was local in nature...

But no, Eisenhower, Churchill, and Roosevelt are simply panicking! In 1945, on January 6, when the Germans had already been stopped and even thrown back, British Prime Minister writes panic letter to Russian leader Stalin, which requires immediate assistance. Here is the text of this letter:

« There are very heavy battles going on in the West, and at any time from Supreme Command Big decisions may be required. You yourself know from your own experience How alarming is the situation when one has to defend a very wide front after a temporary loss of initiative.

It is very desirable and necessary for General Eisenhower to know in general terms what you propose to do, since this, of course, will affect all his and our most important decisions. According to the message received, our emissary, Air Chief Marshal Tedder, was in Cairo last evening, being weather related. His trip was greatly delayed through no fault of yours.

If it has not yet arrived to you, I shall be grateful if you can inform me whether we can count on a major Russian offensive on the Vistula front or elsewhere during January and at any other times that you may be thinking about. , would you like to mention. I will not convey this very classified information, with the exception of Field Marshal Brooke and General Eisenhower, and only on condition that it is kept in the strictest confidence. I consider the matter urgent».

If we translate from diplomatic language into ordinary language: save us, Stalin, they will beat us! Therein lies another mystery. What will they “beat” if the Germans have already been driven back to their original lines? Yes, of course, the American offensive, planned for January, had to be postponed until the spring. And what? We should be glad that the Nazis wasted their strength in senseless attacks!

And further. Churchill was asleep and saw how to prevent the Russians from entering Germany. And now he is literally begging them to begin moving west without delay! To what extent should Sir Winston Churchill have been afraid?! It seems that the slowdown in the Allied advance deep into Germany was interpreted by him as a mortal threat. I wonder why? After all, Churchill was neither a fool nor an alarmist.

And yet, the Anglo-Americans spend the next two months in terrible nervous tension. Subsequently, they will carefully hide this, but the truth will still break to the surface in their memoirs. For example, Eisenhower after the war would call the last war winter “the most alarming time.”

What worried the marshal so much if the war was actually won? Only in March 1945 did the Ruhr Operation begin, during which the Allies occupied West Germany, encircling 300 thousand Germans. The commander of the German troops in this area, Field Marshal Model, shot himself (the only one of the entire German generals, by the way). Only after this did Churchill and Roosevelt more or less calm down.

But let's return to the Alsos group. In the spring of 1945, it became noticeably more active. During the Ruhr operation, scientists and intelligence officers moved forward almost following the vanguard of the advancing troops, collecting valuable crops. In March-April, many scientists involved in German nuclear research fall into their hands. The decisive discovery was made in mid-April - on the 12th, mission members write that they stumbled upon “a real gold mine” and now they are “learning about the project in general.” By May, Heisenberg, Hahn, Osenberg, Diebner, and many other outstanding German physicists were in the hands of the Americans. However, the Alsos group continued active search in already defeated Germany... until the end of May.

But at the end of May something incomprehensible happens. The search is almost interrupted. Or rather, they continue, but with much less intensity. If earlier they were carried out by major world-famous scientists, now they are carried out by beardless laboratory assistants. And major scientists are packing their bags and leaving for America. Why?

To answer this question, let's look at how events developed further.

At the end of June, the Americans test an atomic bomb - allegedly the first in the world.
And in early August they drop two on Japanese cities.
After this, the Yankees run out of ready-made atomic bombs, and for quite a long time.

Strange situation, isn't it? Let's start with the fact that only a month passes between testing and combat use of a new superweapon. Dear readers, this does not happen. Making an atomic bomb is much more difficult than making a conventional projectile or rocket. This is simply impossible in a month. Then, probably, the Americans made three prototypes at once? Also unlikely.

Making a nuclear bomb is a very expensive procedure. There's no point in doing three if you're not sure you're doing it right. Otherwise, it would be possible to create three nuclear projects, build three scientific centers, and so on. Even the US is not rich enough to be so extravagant.

However, okay, let’s assume that the Americans actually built three prototypes at once. Why didn’t they immediately after successful tests launch nuclear bombs into mass production? After all, immediately after the defeat of Germany, the Americans found themselves faced with a much more powerful and formidable enemy - the Russians. The Russians, of course, did not threaten the United States with war, but they prevented the Americans from becoming masters of the entire planet. And this, from the Yankees’ point of view, is a completely unacceptable crime.

And yet, the States got new atomic bombs... When do you think? In the fall of 1945? Summer of 1946? No! Only in 1947 in American arsenals The first nuclear weapons began to arrive! You will not find this date anywhere, but no one will undertake to refute it. The data that I managed to obtain is absolutely secret. However, they are fully confirmed by the facts we know about the subsequent buildup of the nuclear arsenal. And most importantly - the results of tests in the deserts of Texas, which took place at the end of 1946.

Yes, yes, dear reader, exactly at the end of 1946, and not a month earlier. Information about this was obtained by Russian intelligence and came to me in a very complicated way, which probably does not make sense to disclose on these pages, so as not to frame the people who helped me. On the eve of the new year, 1947, a very interesting report landed on the table of the Soviet leader Stalin, which I will present here verbatim.

According to Agent Felix, in November-December of this year, a series of nuclear explosions were carried out in the area of ​​El Paso, Texas. At the same time, prototypes of nuclear bombs similar to those dropped on the Japanese islands last year were tested.

Over the course of a month and a half, at least four bombs were tested, three of which ended in failure. This series of bombs was created in preparation for the large-scale industrial production of nuclear weapons. Most likely, the start of such production should be expected no earlier than mid-1947.

The Russian agent fully confirmed the information I had. But maybe all this is disinformation on the part of the American intelligence services? Hardly. In those years, the Yankees tried to assure their opponents that they were stronger than anyone in the world, and would not downplay their military potential. Most likely, we are dealing with a carefully hidden truth.

What happens? In 1945, the Americans dropped three bombs - all successfully. The next tests are of the same bombs! - pass a year and a half later, and not very successfully. Serial production begins in another six months, and we do not know - and will never know - how well the atomic bombs that appeared in American army warehouses corresponded to their terrible purpose, that is, how high quality they were.

Such a picture can only be drawn in one case, namely: if the first three atomic bombs - the same ones from 1945 - were not built by the Americans on their own, but received from someone. To put it bluntly - from the Germans. This hypothesis is indirectly confirmed by the reaction of German scientists to the bombing of Japanese cities, which we know about thanks to the book by David Irving.

“Poor Professor Gan!”

In August 1945, ten leading German nuclear physicists, ten major players in the Nazi “atomic project,” were held captive in the United States. All possible information was extracted from them (I wonder why, if you believe the American version that the Yankees were far ahead of the Germans in atomic research). Accordingly, the scientists were kept in a sort of comfortable prison. There was also a radio in this prison.

On August 6th at seven o'clock in the evening, Otto Hahn and Karl Wirtz found themselves at the radio. It was then that in the next news broadcast they heard that the first atomic bomb had been dropped on Japan. The first reaction of the colleagues to whom they brought this information was unequivocal: this cannot be true. Heisenberg believed that the Americans could not create their own nuclear weapons (and, as we now know, he was right).

« Did the Americans mention the word "uranium" in connection with their new bomb?“he asked Gan. The latter answered negatively. “Then it has nothing to do with the atom,” Heisenberg snapped. The outstanding physicist believed that the Yankees simply used some kind of high-power explosive.

However, the nine o'clock news broadcast dispelled all doubts. Obviously, until then the Germans simply did not imagine that the Americans managed to capture several German atomic bombs. However, now the situation has become clearer, and scientists have begun to be tormented by pangs of conscience. Yes Yes exactly! Dr. Erich Bagge wrote in his diary: “ Now this bomb was used against Japan. They report that even several hours later, the bombed city is hidden in a cloud of smoke and dust. We are talking about the death of 300 thousand people. Poor Professor Gan!»

Moreover, that evening the scientists were very worried that “poor Gan” would commit suicide. The two physicists kept vigil at his bedside late into the night to prevent him from committing suicide, and retired to their rooms only after they discovered that their colleague was finally fast asleep. Gan himself subsequently described his impressions as follows:

For some time I was obsessed with the idea of ​​​​the need to dump all uranium reserves into the sea in order to avoid a similar catastrophe in the future. Although I felt personally responsible for what had happened, I wondered whether I or anyone else had the right to deprive humanity of all the benefits that a new discovery could bring? And now this terrible bomb has gone off!

I wonder if the Americans are telling the truth, and they really created the bomb that fell on Hiroshima, why on earth would the Germans feel “personally responsible” for what happened? Of course, each of them contributed to nuclear research, but on the same basis one could lay some of the blame on thousands of scientists, including Newton and Archimedes! After all, their discoveries ultimately led to the creation of nuclear weapons!

The mental anguish of German scientists becomes meaningful only in one case. Namely, if they themselves created the bomb that destroyed hundreds of thousands of Japanese. Otherwise, why on earth would they worry about what the Americans did?

However, so far all my conclusions have been nothing more than a hypothesis, confirmed only by indirect evidence. What if I’m wrong and the Americans really succeeded in the impossible? To answer this question, it was necessary to closely study the German atomic program. And this is not as simple as it seems.

/Hans-Ulrich von Kranz, " Secret weapon Third Reich", topwar.ru/