It attracted experts from many countries. Scientists and engineers from the USA, the USSR, England, Germany and Japan worked on these developments. Particularly active work was carried out in this area by the Americans, who had the best technological base and raw materials, and also managed to attract the strongest intellectual resources at that time to research.

The United States government has set a task for physicists - to create a new type of weapon in the shortest possible time that could be delivered to the most remote point on the planet.

Los Alamos, located in the deserted desert of New Mexico, became the center of American nuclear research. Many scientists, designers, engineers and the military worked on the top-secret military project, and the experienced theoretical physicist Robert Oppenheimer, who is most often called the "father" of atomic weapons, was in charge of all the work. Under his leadership, the best specialists from all over the world developed the controlled technology without interrupting the search process for even a minute.

By the autumn of 1944, the activities to create the first nuclear plant in history had come to an end in general terms. By this time, a special aviation regiment had already been formed in the United States, which had to carry out the tasks of delivering deadly weapons to the places of their use. The pilots of the regiment underwent special training, making training flights on different heights and in conditions close to combat.

First atomic bombings

In mid-1945, US designers managed to assemble two nuclear devices ready for use. The first objects to strike were also chosen. At that time Japan was the strategic adversary of the USA.

The American leadership decided to deliver the first atomic strikes on two Japanese cities in order to frighten not only Japan, but also other countries, including the USSR, by this action.

On August 6th and 9th, 1945, American bombers dropped the first ever atomic bombs on the unsuspecting inhabitants of Japanese cities, which were Hiroshima and Nagasaki. As a result, more than one hundred thousand people died from thermal radiation and shock waves. Such were the consequences of the use of unprecedented weapons. The world has entered a new phase of its development.

However, the US monopoly on the military use of the atom was not too long. The Soviet Union also searched hard for ways to put into practice the principles underlying nuclear weapons. Igor Kurchatov headed the work of a team of Soviet scientists and inventors. In August 1949, tests of the Soviet atomic bomb were successfully carried out, which received the working name RDS-1. The fragile military balance in the world was restored.

Truth in the penultimate instance

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

So did I, until four years ago an old magazine fell into my hands. He left my beliefs about the sun and the moon alone, but faith in American leadership was shaken quite seriously. It was a plump volume German- filing of the journal "Theoretical Physics" for 1938. I don’t remember why I got 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, in fact, starting work on the creation of nuclear weapons. At first, I just skimmed through the article diagonally, but then completely unexpected phrases made me become more attentive. And, ultimately, even forget about why I originally picked up this magazine.

Gan's article was devoted to an overview of nuclear developments in different countries ah world. As a matter of fact, there was nothing special to review: everywhere except Germany, nuclear research was in the pen. 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 public money.

« Let these bespectacled scientists look for money themselves, the state has a lot of other problems!" — this was the opinion of most world leaders in the 1930s. Except, of course, the Nazis, who just financed the nuclear program.
But it was not Chamberlain's passage, carefully quoted by Hahn, that caught my attention. England does not interest the author of these lines much at all. Much more interesting was what Hahn wrote about the state of nuclear research in the United States of America. And he literally wrote the following:

If we talk about the country in which the processes of nuclear fission are given the least attention, then the United States should undoubtedly be called. Of course, now I am not considering Brazil or the Vatican. However among developed countries, even Italy and communist Russia are far 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 give immediate profit. Therefore, I can state with confidence 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! And only then I thought: 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 even thought about nuclear 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 the new achievements in atomic physics - they were completely openly published in scientific journals. No one hid the fruits of their labor, on the contrary, there was an open rivalry between different groups of scientists (almost exclusively Germans) - who will move forward faster?

Maybe scientists in the States were ahead of the whole world and therefore kept their achievements a secret? Nonsense assumption. 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 take it on faith as a matter of course. However, upon closer examination, there are so many oddities and inconsistencies in it that you simply wonder.

With the world on a string - US bomb

1942 began well for the British. The German invasion of their little island, which seemed imminent, now, as if by magic, receded into a misty distance. Last summer, Hitler made the biggest mistake of his life - he attacked Russia. This was the beginning of the end. The Russians not only held out against the hopes of the Berlin strategists and the pessimistic forecasts of many observers, but also gave the Wehrmacht a good punch in the teeth in a frosty winter. And in December, the big and powerful United States came to the aid of the British and was now an official ally. In general, there were more than enough reasons for joy.

Only a few high-ranking officials who owned the information that British intelligence had received were not happy. At the end of 1941, the British became aware that the Germans were developing their atomic research at a frantic pace.. The ultimate goal of this process became clear - a nuclear bomb. The 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 resources of the country were directed to elementary survival. Although the Germans and Japanese were up to their necks in the war with the Russians and the Americans, from time to time they found an opportunity to poke their fist into the decrepit building of the British Empire. From each such poke, the rotten building staggered and creaked, threatening to collapse.

Rommel's three divisions were pinned down in North Africa almost the entire combat-ready British army. Admiral Dönitz's submarines, like predatory sharks, darted across the Atlantic, threatening to interrupt the vital supply chain from across the ocean. 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.

I must say that the Americans were initially skeptical about such a gift. The military department point-blank 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 strength. And the nuclear bomb, which scientists themselves imagine very vaguely, is just an abstraction, grandmother's tales.

British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had to directly turn to American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt with a request, literally a plea, not to reject the British gift. Roosevelt called the scientists to him, figured out the issue and gave the go-ahead.

Usually the creators of the canonical legend of the American bomb use this episode to emphasize the wisdom of Roosevelt. Look, what a shrewd president! We will look at it a little differently: in what pen were the Yankees in atomic research, if they so long and stubbornly refused to cooperate with the British! So Gan was absolutely right in his assessment of the American nuclear scientists - they were nothing solid.

Only in September 1942 was it decided to start work on the 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 (later he would write memoirs in which he would detail the official version of 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 curious detail - how the team of scientists who began work on the bomb was formed.

In 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 knows personally and whom he can trust, regardless of what area of ​​\u200b\u200bphysics they were engaged in before. And so it turned out that the lion's share of the seats was occupied by employees of Columbia University from Manhattan County (by the way, that is why the project was called Manhattan).

But even these forces were not enough. British scientists had to be involved in the work, literally devastating British research centers, and even specialists from Canada. In general, the Manhattan Project has become a kind of Tower of Babel, with the only difference being that all of its participants spoke more or less the same language. However, this did not save us from the usual quarrels and squabbles in the scientific community, which arose due to the rivalry of different scientific groups. Echoes of these frictions 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 decorous and decent, and on the other hand, to boast how deftly he managed to reconcile completely quarreling scientific luminaries.

And now 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. And the Germans, who pored over their nuclear project merrily and amicably for five years, did not succeed. Miracles, and nothing more.

However, even if there were no squabbles, such record terms would still arouse suspicion. The fact is that in the process of research it is necessary to go through certain stages, which are almost impossible to reduce. The Americans themselves attribute their success to gigantic funding - in the end, More than 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 is 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 also had mistakes and miscalculations that took up precious time. But who said that the Americans had no mistakes and miscalculations? There were, and many. One of these mistakes was the involvement of the famous physicist Niels Bohr.

Skorzeny's unknown operation

British intelligence services are very fond of boasting about one of their operations. We are talking about the salvation 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 rather secluded lifestyle. The Nazis offered him cooperation many times, but Bohr invariably refused.

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

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

And what do they do? They occasionally visit the scientist for three years, politely knock on the door and quietly ask: “ Herr Bohr, do 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 way the German secret services worked! Logically, they should have arrested Bohr not in 1943, but in 1940. If possible, force (namely force, not beg!) to work for them, if not, at least make sure that he cannot work for the enemy: put him in a concentration camp or destroy him. And they leave him to roam free, under the noses of the British.

Three years later, the legend goes, the Germans finally realize that they are supposed to arrest the scientist. But then someone (namely someone, because I have not found any indication of who did it) warns Bohr of the imminent 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. So, the mysterious patron of Bor 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, how? On a fishing boat, avoiding German Coast Guard boats in the fog? On a raft made of boards? No matter how! Bor, with the greatest possible comfort, sailed to Sweden on the most ordinary private steamer, which officially entered the port of Copenhagen.

Let's not puzzle 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 on a very serious scale. On this occasion, an investigation was inevitably to be carried out - the heads of those who screwed up the physicist, as well as the mysterious patron, would have flown. However, no traces of such an investigation could be found. Maybe because it didn't exist.

Indeed, how much value was Niels Bohr for 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 well-formed views. Such people rarely succeed in areas that require an innovative approach and out-of-the-box thinking - and nuclear physics was such a field. For several years, Bohr failed to make any significant contribution to atomic research.

However, as the ancients said, the first half of life a person works for the name, the second - the name for the person. With 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 real achievements.

But in Germany, where such world-famous nuclear scientists as Hahn and Heisenberg worked, the real value of the Danish scientist was known. That is why they did not actively try to involve him in the work. It will turn out - good, we will trumpet to the whole world that Niels Bohr himself is working for us. If it doesn’t work out, it’s also not bad, it won’t get underfoot with its authority.

By the way, in the United States, Niels Bohr to a large extent got in the way. The fact is that an outstanding physicist did not believe at all in the possibility of creating a nuclear bomb. At the same time, his authority forced to reckon with his opinion. According to Groves' memoirs, the scientists working on the Manhattan Project treated Bohr like an elder. Now imagine that you are doing some difficult work without any confidence in the final success. And then someone whom you consider a great specialist comes up to you and says that it’s not even worth spending time on your lesson. Will the job get easier? Don't think.

In addition, Bohr was a staunch pacifist. In 1945, when the US already had an atomic bomb, he vehemently protested its use. Accordingly, he treated his work with coolness. 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 "main saboteur of the Third Reich" Otto Skorzeny.

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

At least that's what most people think. Only a 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 Mussolini's rescue. However, very soon - a couple of months. Skorzeny was promoted in rank and position exactly when Niels Bohr fled to England. I couldn't find any reason to upgrade.

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 ended up in England, Skorzeny gets a promotion.

But what if these are the details of one 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 an atomic bomb. Moreover, it will rather interfere. Therefore, he was left to live in peace in Denmark, under the very nose of the British. Maybe even then the Germans expected that the British would kidnap the scientist. However, for three years the British did not dare to do anything.

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

The Nazis were sure that they were far ahead of the Yankees (and this was true), but this did not prevent the enemy from doing something nasty. And at the beginning of 1943, one of the most secret operations of the German special services was carried out. On the threshold of Niels Bohr's house, a certain well-wisher appears 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 lied to about the complete indispensability and uniqueness of Bohr in the field of nuclear research. The British are pecking - and 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 comfortably send him on a ship.

And then the Nobel laureate appears at the epicenter of the Manhattan Project, producing the effect of an exploding bomb. That is, if the Germans managed to bomb the research center at Los Alamos, the effect would be about the same. Work has slowed down, moreover, very significantly. Apparently, the Americans did not immediately realize how they were cheated, and when they realized, it was already too late.
Do you still believe that the Yankees built the atomic bomb themselves?

Mission "Alsos"

Personally, I finally refused to believe in these tales after I studied in detail the activities of the Alsos group. This operation of the American intelligence services was kept secret for many years - until they went into better world its main members. And only then did information come to light - albeit fragmentary and scattered - about how the Americans hunted for German atomic secrets.

True, if you thoroughly work on this information and compare it with some well-known facts, the picture turned 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 landing of the Anglo-Americans in Normandy. Half of the members of the group 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 task of the mission was to collect information about the German atomic program. The question is, how desperate were the Americans in the success of their undertaking, if they made the main bet on stealing the atomic bomb from the Germans?
It was great to despair, if we recall a little-known letter from one of the atomic scientists to his colleague. It was written on February 4, 1944 and read:

« It looks like we're in a hopeless case. The project is not moving forward one iota. Our leaders, in my opinion, do not believe in the success of the whole undertaking at all. Yes, and we do not believe. If it were not for the huge money that we are paid here, I think many would have been doing something more useful long ago.».

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

They spared no money and effort to ensure the actions of the Alsos group. She was well equipped with everything you need. The head of the mission, Colonel Pash, had a document from US Secretary of Defense Henry Stimson, which obligated everyone to provide the group with all possible assistance. Even 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 in the first place those areas where German atomic weapons could be.

At the beginning of August 1944, 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 the first results after the Americans occupied Paris in the fall of 1944.. Here Goudsmit met with the famous French scientist Professor Joliot-Curie. Curie seemed sincerely happy about the defeats of the Germans; however, as soon as it came to the German atomic program, he went into a deaf "unconscious". The Frenchman insisted that he did not know anything, had not heard anything, the Germans did not even come close to developing an atomic bomb, and in general their nuclear project was of an exclusively peaceful nature.

It was clear that the professor was missing something. But there was no way to put pressure on him - for cooperation with the Germans in France at that time they were shot, regardless of scientific merits, and Curie was clearly afraid of death most of all. Therefore, Goudsmit had to leave without salty slurping.

Throughout his stay in Paris, vague but threatening rumors constantly reached him: uranium bomb exploded in Leipzig, in the mountainous regions of Bavaria, strange outbreaks are noted 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 Pasha and Goudsmit still managed to find some valuable information in Paris. Since November at least, Eisenhower has received constant demands to move forward into German territory at any cost. The initiators of these demands - now it's clear! - in the end, it turned out to be people associated with the atomic project and who received information directly from the Alsos group. Eisenhower didn't have real possibility to carry out the orders received, but the demands from Washington became more and more stringent. It is not known how all this would have ended if the Germans had not made another unexpected move.

Ardennes riddle

In fact, by the end of 1944, everyone believed that Germany had lost the war. The only question is how long the Nazis will be defeated. It seems that only Hitler and his closest associates adhered to a different point of view. They tried to delay the moment of the catastrophe 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 play for time, you can get a quarrel between the Russians and the Americans and, ultimately, get out of the water, that is, out of the war. Not without losses, of course, but without losing power.

Let's think: what was needed for this in conditions when Germany had nothing left of forces? Naturally, spend them as sparingly as possible, keep a flexible defense. And Hitler, at the very end of the 44th, throws his army into a 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. Before Amsterdam, German tanks were at that time like walking to the moon, especially since fuel splashed in their tanks for less than half the way. Scare allies? But what could frighten 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 with the argument that the Fuhrer was an idiot. But in fact, Hitler was not an idiot, moreover, he thought quite sensibly and realistically until the very end. Idiots can rather be called those historians who make hasty judgments without even trying to figure something out.

But let's look at the other side of the front. There are even more amazing things going on! And it's 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 few forces, that the offensive was local in nature ...

So no, and Eisenhower, and Churchill, and Roosevelt simply fall into a panic! In 1945, on January 6, when the Germans were already stopped and even driven back, British Prime Minister writes panic letter to Russian leader Stalin which requires immediate assistance. Here is the text of this letter:

« There is very heavy fighting going on in the West, and at any time big decisions may be required from the High Command. You yourselves know from your own experience how troubling the situation is when one has to defend a very wide front after a temporary loss of initiative.

It is highly desirable and necessary for General Eisenhower to know in general terms what you intend to do, since this, of course, will affect all of his and our major decisions. According to the message received, our emissary Air Chief Marshal Tedder was in Cairo last night, weather-bound. His trip was greatly delayed through no fault of yours.

If he has not yet arrived to you, I shall be grateful if you can let me know if we can count on a major Russian offensive on the Vistula front or somewhere else during January and at any other points that you may you wish to mention. I will not pass on this highly classified information to anyone, with the exception of Field Marshal Brooke and General Eisenhower, and only if it is kept in the strictest confidence. I consider the matter urgent».

If you translate from diplomatic language into ordinary: save us, Stalin, they will beat us! Therein lies another mystery. What kind of "beat" if the Germans have already been thrown back to the starting lines? Yes, of course, the American offensive, planned for January, had to be postponed until the spring. And what? We must rejoice that the Nazis squandered their strength in senseless attacks!

And further. Churchill slept and saw how to keep the Russians out of Germany. And now he is literally begging them to start moving west without delay! To what extent should Sir Winston Churchill be frightened?! It seems that the slowdown in the advance of the Allies 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 it, but the truth will still break through to the surface in their memoirs. For example, Eisenhower after the war will call the last war winter "the most disturbing 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, surrounding 300,000 Germans. The commander of the German troops in the 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 back to the Alsos group. In the spring of 1945, it noticeably intensified. During the Ruhr operation, scientists and intelligence officers moved forward almost after the vanguard of the advancing troops, collecting a valuable harvest. In March-April, many scientists involved in German nuclear research fall into their hands. The decisive find was made in mid-April - on the 12th, members of the mission write that they stumbled upon "a real gold mine" and now they "learn about the project in the main." By May, Heisenberg, and Hahn, and Osenberg, and 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 strange happens. The search is almost over. Rather, they continue, but with much less intensity. If earlier they were engaged in by prominent world-famous scientists, now they are beardless laboratory assistants. And the big scientists pack their things in droves and leave for America. Why?

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

At the end of June, the Americans conduct tests of an atomic bomb - allegedly the first in the world.
And in early August, they drop two on Japanese cities.
After that, 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 is not the case. Making an atomic bomb is much more difficult than a conventional projectile or rocket. For a month it is simply impossible. Then, probably, the Americans made three prototypes at once? Also incredible.

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

However, well, let's assume that the Americans really built three prototypes at once. Why didn't they immediately start mass production of nuclear bombs after successful tests? After all, immediately after the defeat of Germany, the Americans found themselves in the face of 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 point of view of the Yankees, is a completely unacceptable crime.

Nevertheless, the United States has new atomic bombs ... When do you think? In the autumn of 1945? In the summer of 1946? No! Only in 1947 did the first nuclear weapons begin to enter the American arsenals! You will not find this date anywhere, but no one will undertake to refute it either. The data that I managed to get is absolutely secret. However, they are fully confirmed by the facts known to us 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. The data about this was obtained by Russian intelligence and got to me in a very complicated way, which, probably, does not make sense to disclose on these pages, so as not to substitute the people who helped me. On the eve of the new year, 1947, a very curious report lay on the table of the Soviet leader Stalin, which I will quote here verbatim.

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

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

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

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

Such a picture can be drawn only 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. Indirectly, this hypothesis is 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 chief actors"atomic project" of the Nazis, were held captive in the United States. All possible information was pulled out of them (I wonder why, if you believe the American version that the Yankees were far ahead of the Germans in atomic research). Accordingly, scientists were kept in a sort of comfortable prison. There was also a radio in this prison.

On August 6, at seven o'clock in the evening, Otto Hahn and Karl Wirtz were at the radio. It was then that in the next news release 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 Han. The latter replied in the negative. “Then it has nothing to do with the atom,” Heisenberg snapped. An eminent physicist believed that the Yankees simply used some kind of high-powered explosive.

However, the nine o'clock newscast dispelled all doubts. Obviously, until then the Germans simply did not assume that the Americans managed to capture several German atomic bombs. However, now the situation has cleared up, and scientists began to torment the pangs of conscience. Yes Yes exactly! Dr. Erich Bagge wrote in his diary: Now this bomb has been used against Japan. They report that even after a few hours the bombed city is hidden by a cloud of smoke and dust. We are talking about the death of 300 thousand people. Poor professor Gan!»

Moreover, that evening, scientists were very worried about how "poor Gang" would not commit suicide. Two physicists were on duty at his bedside until late to prevent him from killing himself, and went to their rooms only after they found that their colleague had finally fallen into a sound sleep. Gan himself later described his impressions as follows:

For a while I was occupied with the idea of ​​dumping all the uranium into the sea in order to avoid a similar catastrophe in the future. Although I felt personally responsible for what happened, I wondered if I or anyone else has the right to deprive humanity of all the fruits that a new discovery can bring? And now this terrible bomb has worked!

Interestingly, if the Americans are telling the truth, and the bomb that fell on Hiroshima was really created by them, why should the Germans feel "personally responsible" for what happened? Of course, each of them contributed to nuclear research, but on the same basis, one could place some of the blame on thousands of scientists, including Newton and Archimedes! After all, their discoveries eventually led to the creation of nuclear weapons!

The mental anguish of German scientists acquires meaning only in one case. Namely, if they themselves created the bomb that destroyed hundreds of thousands of Japanese. Otherwise, why should they worry about what the Americans have done?

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

/Hans-Ulrich von Krantz, "The Secret Weapon of the Third Reich", topwar.ru/

Nuclear weapons are weapons of a strategic nature, capable of solving global problems. Its use is associated with terrible consequences for all mankind. This makes the atomic bomb not only a threat, but also a deterrent.

The appearance of weapons capable of putting an end to the development of mankind marked the beginning of its new era. The probability of a global conflict or a new world war is minimized due to the possibility of total destruction of the entire civilization.

Despite such threats, nuclear weapons continue to be in service with the world's leading countries. To a certain extent, it is precisely this that becomes the determining factor in international diplomacy and geopolitics.

History of the nuclear bomb

The question of who invented the nuclear bomb has no clear answer in history. The discovery of the radioactivity of uranium is considered to be a prerequisite for work on atomic weapons. In 1896, the French chemist A. Becquerel discovered the chain reaction of this element, initiating developments in nuclear physics.

In the next decade, alpha, beta and gamma rays were discovered, as well as a number of radioactive isotopes of some chemical elements. The subsequent discovery of the law of radioactive decay of the atom was the beginning for the study of nuclear isometry.

In December 1938, the German physicists O. Hahn and F. Strassmann were the first to be able to carry out the nuclear fission reaction under artificial conditions. On April 24, 1939, the leadership of Germany was informed about the likelihood of creating a new powerful explosive.

However, the German nuclear program was doomed to failure. Despite the successful advancement of scientists, the country, due to the war, constantly experienced difficulties with resources, especially with the supply of heavy water. In the later stages, exploration was slowed down by constant evacuations. On April 23, 1945, the developments of German scientists were captured in Haigerloch and taken to the USA.

The US was the first country to express interest in the new invention. In 1941, significant funds were allocated for its development and creation. The first tests took place on July 16, 1945. Less than a month later, the United States used nuclear weapons for the first time, dropping two bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Own research in the field of nuclear physics in the USSR has been conducted since 1918. The Commission on the Atomic Nucleus was established in 1938 at the Academy of Sciences. However, with the outbreak of war, its activities in this direction was suspended.

In 1943, information about scientific work in nuclear physics was received by Soviet intelligence officers from England. Agents have been introduced into several US research centers. The information they obtained made it possible to accelerate the development of their own nuclear weapons.

The invention of the Soviet atomic bomb was headed by I. Kurchatov and Yu. Khariton, they are considered the creators of the Soviet atomic bomb. Information about this became the impetus for preparing the United States for a pre-emptive war. In July 1949, the Troyan plan was developed, according to which it was planned to start hostilities on January 1, 1950.

Later, the date was moved to the beginning of 1957, taking into account that all NATO countries could prepare and join the war. According to Western intelligence, a nuclear test in the USSR could not have been carried out until 1954.

However, the US preparations for the war became known in advance, which forced Soviet scientists to speed up research. In a short time they invent and create their own nuclear bomb. On August 29, 1949, the first Soviet atomic bomb RDS-1 (special jet engine) was tested at the test site in Semipalatinsk.

Tests like these thwarted the Trojan plan. Since then, the United States has ceased to have a monopoly on nuclear weapons. Regardless of the strength of the preemptive strike, there was a risk of retaliation, which threatened to be a disaster. From that moment on, the most terrible weapon became the guarantor of peace between the great powers.

Principle of operation

The principle of operation of an atomic bomb is based on the chain reaction of the decay of heavy nuclei or thermonuclear fusion of lungs. During these processes, a huge amount of energy is released, which turns the bomb into a weapon of mass destruction.

On September 24, 1951, the RDS-2 was tested. They could already be delivered to launch points so that they reached the United States. On October 18, the RDS-3, delivered by a bomber, was tested.

Further tests moved on to thermonuclear fusion. The first tests of such a bomb in the United States took place on November 1, 1952. In the USSR, such a warhead was tested after 8 months.

TX of a nuclear bomb

Nuclear bombs do not have clear characteristics due to the variety of applications of such ammunition. However, there are a number of general aspects that must be taken into account when creating this weapon.

These include:

• axisymmetric structure of the bomb - all blocks and systems are placed in pairs in containers of a cylindrical, spherical or conical shape;
• when designing, they reduce the mass of a nuclear bomb by combining power units, choosing the optimal shape of shells and compartments, as well as using more durable materials;
• the number of wires and connectors is minimized, and a pneumatic conduit or explosive cord is used to transmit the impact;
• the blocking of the main nodes is carried out with the help of partitions destroyed by pyro charges;
• active substances are pumped using a separate container or external carrier.

Taking into account the requirements for the device, a nuclear bomb consists of the following components:

• the case, which provides protection of the ammunition from physical and thermal effects - is divided into compartments, can be equipped with a power frame;
• nuclear charge with a power mount;
• self-destruction system with its integration into a nuclear charge;
• a power source designed for long-term storage - is activated already when the rocket is launched;
• external sensors - to collect information;
• cocking, control and detonation systems, the latter is embedded in the charge;
• systems for diagnostics, heating and maintaining the microclimate inside sealed compartments.

Depending on the type of nuclear bomb, other systems are integrated into it. Among these may be a flight sensor, a blocking console, a calculation of flight options, an autopilot. Some munitions also use jammers designed to reduce opposition to a nuclear bomb.

The consequences of using such a bomb

The "ideal" consequences of the use of nuclear weapons were already recorded during the bombing of Hiroshima. The charge exploded at a height of 200 meters, which caused a strong shock wave. Coal-fired stoves were overturned in many houses, causing fires even outside the affected area.

A flash of light was followed by a heatstroke that lasted a matter of seconds. However, its power was enough to melt tiles and quartz within a radius of 4 km, as well as to spray telegraph poles.

The heat wave was followed by a shock wave. The wind speed reached 800 km / h, its gust destroyed almost all the buildings in the city. Of the 76 thousand buildings, about 6 thousand partially survived, the rest were completely destroyed.

The heat wave, as well as rising steam and ash, caused heavy condensation in the atmosphere. A few minutes later it began to rain with drops black from the ashes. Their contact with the skin caused severe incurable burns.

People who were within 800 meters of the epicenter of the explosion were burned to dust. The rest were exposed to radiation and radiation sickness. Her symptoms were weakness, nausea, vomiting, and fever. There was a sharp decrease in the number of white cells in the blood.

In seconds, about 70 thousand people were killed. The same number later died from wounds and burns.

3 days later, another bomb was dropped on Nagasaki with similar consequences.

Stockpiles of nuclear weapons in the world

The main stocks of nuclear weapons are concentrated in Russia and the United States. In addition to them, the following countries have atomic bombs:

• Great Britain - since 1952;
• France - since 1960;
• China - since 1964;
• India - since 1974;
• Pakistan - since 1998;
• North Korea - since 2008.

Israel also possesses nuclear weapons, although there has been no official confirmation from the country's leadership.

There are US bombs on the territory of NATO countries: Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, Turkey and Canada. US allies Japan and South Korea also have them, although the countries have officially renounced the location of nuclear weapons on their territory.

After the collapse of the USSR, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus had nuclear weapons for a short time. However, later it was transferred to Russia, which made it the only heir to the USSR in terms of nuclear weapons.

The number of atomic bombs in the world changed during the second half of the XX - early XXI century:

• 1947 - 32 warheads, all in the US;
• 1952 - about a thousand bombs from the USA and 50 from the USSR;
• 1957 - more than 7 thousand warheads, nuclear weapons appear in the UK;
• 1967 - 30 thousand bombs, including the weapons of France and China;
• 1977 - 50 thousand, including Indian warheads;
• 1987 - about 63 thousand - the largest concentration of nuclear weapons;
• 1992 - less than 40 thousand warheads;
• 2010 - about 20 thousand;
• 2018 - about 15 thousand people

It should be borne in mind that tactical nuclear weapons are not included in these calculations. This has a lesser degree of damage and a variety in carriers and applications. Significant stocks of such weapons are concentrated in Russia and the United States.

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

The question of the creators of the first Soviet nuclear bomb is quite controversial and requires a more detailed study, but who really father of the Soviet atomic bomb, there are several entrenched opinions. Most physicists and historians believe that the main contribution to the creation of Soviet nuclear weapons was made by Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov. However, some express the opinion that without Yuli Borisovich Khariton, the founder of Arzamas-16 and the creator of the industrial basis for obtaining enriched fissile isotopes, the first test of this type of weapon in the Soviet Union would have dragged on for several more years.

Consider the historical sequence of research and development work to create a practical sample of the atomic bomb, leaving aside theoretical studies fissile materials and the conditions for the occurrence of a chain reaction, without which a nuclear explosion is impossible.

For the first time, a series of applications for obtaining copyright certificates for the invention (patents) of the atomic bomb was filed in 1940 by employees of the Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology F. Lange, V. Spinel and V. Maslov. The authors considered issues and proposed solutions for the enrichment of uranium and its use as an explosive. The proposed bomb had a classic detonation scheme (cannon type), which was later, with some changes, used to initialize nuclear explosion in American uranium-based nuclear bombs.

The outbreak of the Great Patriotic War slowed down the theoretical and experimental studies in the field of nuclear physics, and the largest centers (Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology and the Radium Institute - Leningrad) ceased their activities and were partially evacuated.

Beginning in September 1941, the intelligence agencies of the NKVD and the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army began to receive an increasing amount of information about the special interest shown in the military circles of Great Britain in the development of explosives based on fissile isotopes. In May 1942, the Main Intelligence Directorate, summarizing the materials received, reported to the State Defense Committee (GKO) on the military purpose of ongoing nuclear research.

Around the same time, Lieutenant Technician Georgy Nikolayevich Flerov, who in 1940 was one of the discoverers of spontaneous fission of uranium nuclei, wrote a letter personally to I.V. Stalin. In his message, the future academician, one of the creators of Soviet nuclear weapons, draws attention to the fact that publications on works related to fission have disappeared from the scientific press of Germany, Great Britain and the United States. atomic nucleus. According to the scientist, this may indicate the reorientation of "pure" science in the practical military field.

In October-November 1942, the foreign intelligence service of the NKVD reported to L.P. Beria, all available information about work in the field of nuclear research, obtained by illegal intelligence officers in England and the USA, on the basis of which the People's Commissar writes a memorandum to the head of state.

At the end of September 1942, I.V. Stalin signs the resolution of the State Defense Committee on the resumption and intensification of "works on uranium", and in February 1943, after studying the materials submitted by L.P. Beria, a decision is made to transfer all research on the creation of nuclear weapons (atomic bombs) into a "practical channel". General management and coordination of all types of work were entrusted to the Deputy Chairman of the GKO V.M. Molotov, the scientific management of the project was entrusted to I.V. Kurchatov. The management of work on the search for deposits and the extraction of uranium ore was entrusted to A.P. Zavenyagin, M.G. was responsible for the creation of enterprises for the enrichment of uranium and the production of heavy water. Pervukhin, and the People's Commissar of Nonferrous Metallurgy P.F. Lomako "trusted" by 1944 to accumulate 0.5 tons of metallic (enriched to the required standards) uranium.

At this, the first stage (the deadlines for which were disrupted), providing for the creation of an atomic bomb in the USSR, was completed.

After the United States dropped atomic bombs on Japanese cities, the leadership of the USSR saw firsthand the backlog of scientific research and practical work to create nuclear weapons from their competitors. To intensify and create an atomic bomb as soon as possible, on August 20, 1945, a special decree of the GKO was issued on the creation of Special Committee No. 1, whose functions included organizing and coordinating all types of work to create a nuclear bomb. L.P. is appointed the head of this emergency body with unlimited powers. Beria, the scientific leadership is entrusted to I.V. Kurchatov. Direct management of all research, design and manufacturing enterprises was supposed to be carried out by the People's Commissar of Arms B.L. Vannikov.

Due to the fact that scientific, theoretical and experimental studies were completed, intelligence data on the organization of industrial production of uranium and plutonium were obtained, the scouts obtained schemes for American atomic bombs, the greatest difficulty was the transfer of all types of work to an industrial basis. To create enterprises for the production of plutonium, the city of Chelyabinsk - 40 was built from scratch (scientific supervisor I.V. Kurchatov). In the village of Sarov (future Arzamas - 16), a plant was built for the assembly and production on an industrial scale of the atomic bombs themselves (supervisor - chief designer Yu.B. Khariton).

Thanks to the optimization of all types of work and strict control over them by L.P. Beria, who, however, did not interfere with the creative development of the ideas embedded in the projects, in July 1946, technical specifications for the creation of the first two Soviet atomic bombs were developed:

• "RDS - 1" - a bomb with a plutonium charge, the explosion of which was carried out according to the implosive type;
• "RDS - 2" - a bomb with a cannon detonation of a uranium charge.

I.V. Kurchatov.

Paternity rights

Tests of the first atomic bomb created in the USSR "RDS - 1" (the abbreviation in different sources stands for - "jet engine C" or "Russia makes itself") took place in the last days of August 1949 in Semipalatinsk under the direct supervision of Yu.B. Khariton. The power of the nuclear charge was 22 kilotons. However, from the point of view of modern copyright law, it is impossible to attribute paternity to this product to any of the Russian (Soviet) citizens. Earlier, when developing the first practical model suitable for military use, the Government of the USSR and the leadership of Special Project No. 1 decided to copy as much as possible the domestic implosion bomb with a plutonium charge from the American Fat Man prototype dropped on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. Thus, the “fatherhood” of the first nuclear bomb of the USSR rather belongs to General Leslie Groves, the military leader of the Manhattan project, and Robert Oppenheimer, known throughout the world as the “father of the atomic bomb” and who provided scientific leadership on the project. "Manhattan". The main difference between the Soviet model and the American one is the use of domestic electronics in the detonation system and a change in the aerodynamic shape of the bomb body.

The first "purely" Soviet atomic bomb can be considered the product "RDS - 2". Despite the fact that it was originally planned to copy the American uranium prototype "Kid", the Soviet uranium atomic bomb "RDS - 2" was created in an implosive version, which had no analogues at that time. L.P. participated in its creation. Beria - general project management, I.V. Kurchatov is the scientific supervisor of all types of work and Yu.B. Khariton is the scientific adviser and chief designer responsible for the manufacture of a practical sample of the bomb and its testing.

Speaking about who is the father of the first Soviet atomic bomb, one should not lose sight of the fact that both RDS - 1 and RDS - 2 were blown up at the test site. The first atomic bomb dropped from the Tu - 4 bomber was the RDS - 3 product. Its design repeated the RDS-2 implosion bomb, but had a combined uranium-plutonium charge, thanks to which it was possible to increase its power, with the same dimensions, up to 40 kilotons. Therefore, in many publications, Academician Igor Kurchatov is considered the “scientific” father of the first atomic bomb actually dropped from an aircraft, since his colleague in the scientific workshop, Yuli Khariton, was categorically against making any changes. The fact that in the entire history of the USSR L.P. Beria and I.V. Kurchatov were the only ones who in 1949 were awarded the title of Honorary Citizen of the USSR - "... for the implementation of the Soviet atomic project, the creation of an atomic bomb."

Under what conditions and with what efforts the country that survived the most terrible war XX century, created its own atomic shield
Almost seven decades ago, on October 29, 1949, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued four top-secret decrees on awarding 845 people with the titles of Heroes of Socialist Labor, the Orders of Lenin, the Red Banner of Labor and the Badge of Honor. In none of them, in relation to any of the awardees, was it said what exactly he was awarded for: everywhere there was a standard wording “for exceptional services to the state in the performance of a special task.” Even for the Soviet Union, accustomed to secrecy, this was a rare occurrence. Meanwhile, the recipients themselves knew perfectly well, of course, what kind of "exceptional merits" they meant. All 845 people were, to a greater or lesser extent, directly connected with the creation of the first Soviet nuclear bomb.

For the awardees, it was not strange that both the project itself and its success were shrouded in a thick veil of secrecy. After all, they all knew very well that they owed their success to a large extent to the courage and professionalism of Soviet intelligence officers, who for eight years had been supplying scientists and engineers with top-secret information from abroad. And such a high assessment, which the creators of the Soviet atomic bomb deserved, was not exaggerated. As one of the creators of the bomb, academician Yuli Khariton, recalled, at the presentation ceremony, Stalin suddenly said: "If we were late for one to a year and a half, then we would probably try this charge on ourselves." And this is not an exaggeration...

Atomic bomb sample ... 1940

The idea of ​​creating a bomb that uses the energy of a nuclear chain reaction came to the Soviet Union almost simultaneously with Germany and the United States. The first officially considered project of this type of weapons was presented in 1940 by a group of scientists from the Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology led by Friedrich Lange. It was in this project that, for the first time in the USSR, a scheme, which later became classic for all nuclear weapons, was proposed for detonating conventional explosives, due to which two subcritical masses of uranium almost instantly form a supercritical one.

The project received negative reviews and was not considered further. But the work on which it was based continued, and not only in Kharkov. In the pre-war USSR, at least four large institutes dealt with nuclear issues - in Leningrad, Kharkov and Moscow, and Vyacheslav Molotov, chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, supervised the work. Shortly after the presentation of the Lange project, in January 1941, the Soviet government made a logical decision to classify domestic atomic research. It was clear that they could indeed lead to the creation of a new type of powerful one, and such information should not be scattered, all the more so since it was at that time that the first intelligence on the American atomic project was received - and Moscow did not want to risk theirs.

The natural course of events interrupted the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. But, despite the fact that the entire Soviet industry and science were very quickly transferred to a military footing and began to provide the army with the most vital developments and inventions, forces and means were also found to continue the atomic project. Although not immediately. The resumption of research should be counted from the decision of the State Defense Committee of February 11, 1943, which stipulated the start of practical work on the creation of an atomic bomb.

Enormous project

By this time, Soviet foreign intelligence was already hard at work on extracting information on the Enormoz project - this is how the American atomic project was called in operational documents. The first meaningful data indicating that the West was seriously engaged in the creation of uranium weapons came from the London station in September 1941. And at the end of the same year, from the same source, a message comes that America and Great Britain agreed to coordinate the efforts of their scientists in the field of atomic energy research. Under war conditions, this could be interpreted in only one way: the allies are working on the creation of atomic weapons. And in February 1942, intelligence received documentary evidence that Germany was actively doing the same.

As the efforts of Soviet scientists, working according to their own plans, advanced, intelligence work also intensified to obtain information about the American and British atomic projects. In December 1942, it became finally clear that the United States was clearly ahead of Britain in this area, and the main efforts were focused on extracting data from across the ocean. In fact, every step of the participants in the "Manhattan Project", as the work on creating an atomic bomb in the United States was called, was tightly controlled Soviet intelligence. Suffice it to say that the most detailed information about the construction of the first real atomic bomb in Moscow was received less than two weeks after it was assembled in America.

That is why the boastful message of the new US President Harry Truman, who decided to stun Stalin at the Potsdam Conference by declaring that America had a new weapon of unprecedented destructive power, did not cause the reaction that the American was counting on. The Soviet leader calmly listened to him, nodded - and did not answer. Foreigners were sure that Stalin simply did not understand anything. In fact, the leader of the USSR sensibly assessed Truman's words and on the same day in the evening demanded that Soviet specialists speed up the work on creating their own atomic bomb as much as possible. But it was no longer possible to overtake America. In less than a month, the first atomic mushroom grew over Hiroshima, three days later - over Nagasaki. And the shadow of a new, atomic war hung over the Soviet Union, and not with anyone, but with former allies.

Time forward!

Now, seventy years later, no one is surprised that the Soviet Union received the much-needed margin of time to create its own super-bomb, despite the sharply deteriorating relations with ex-partners in the anti-Hitler coalition. After all, already on March 5, 1946, six months after the first atomic bombings, Winston Churchill's famous Fulton speech was delivered, which marked the beginning of the Cold War. But according to the plan of Washington and its allies, it should have developed into a hot one later - at the end of 1949. After all, as they calculated overseas, the USSR was not supposed to receive its own atomic weapons before the mid-1950s, which means that there was nowhere to rush.

Atomic bomb tests. Photo: U.S. Air Force / AR

From the height of today, it seems surprising that the date of the start of a new world war - more precisely, one of the dates of one of the main plans, Fleetwood - and the date of testing the first Soviet nuclear bomb: 1949, seems surprising. But in reality, everything is natural. The foreign political situation was heating up quickly, the former allies were talking to each other more and more sharply. And in 1948, it became quite clear that Moscow and Washington, apparently, would not be able to come to an agreement between themselves. Hence, it is necessary to count the time until the start of a new war: a year is the deadline for which countries that have recently emerged from a colossal war can fully prepare for a new one, moreover, with the state that bore the brunt of the Victory on its shoulders. Even the atomic monopoly did not give the United States the opportunity to shorten the period of preparation for war.

Foreign "accents" of the Soviet atomic bomb

All this was perfectly understood by us. Since 1945, all work related to the atomic project has sharply intensified. During the first two post-war years The USSR, tormented by the war, having lost a considerable part of its industrial potential, managed to create a colossal nuclear industry from scratch. Future nuclear centers emerged, such as Chelyabinsk-40, Arzamas-16, Obninsk, large scientific institutes and production capacities.

Not so long ago, a common point of view on the Soviet atomic project was this: they say, if it were not for intelligence, scientists of the USSR would not have been able to create any atomic bomb. In fact, everything was far from being as clear-cut as the revisionists tried to show. national history. In fact, the data obtained by Soviet intelligence about the American atomic project allowed our scientists to avoid many mistakes that inevitably had to be made by their American colleagues who had gone ahead (who, we recall, the war did not interfere with their work in earnest: the enemy did not invade US territory, and the country did not lose several months half of the industry). In addition, intelligence data undoubtedly helped Soviet specialists evaluate the most advantageous designs and technical solutions that made it possible to assemble their own, more advanced atomic bomb.

And if we talk about the degree of foreign influence on the Soviet atomic project, then, rather, we need to remember several hundred German nuclear specialists who worked at two secret facilities near Sukhumi - in the prototype of the future Sukhumi Institute of Physics and Technology. So they really helped a lot to move forward the work on the “product” - the first atomic bomb of the USSR, and so much so that many of them were awarded Soviet orders by the same secret decrees of October 29, 1949. Most of these specialists went back to Germany five years later, mostly settling in the GDR (although there were some who went to the West).

Objectively speaking, the first Soviet atomic bomb had, so to speak, more than one "accent". After all, it was born as a result of the colossal cooperation of the efforts of many people - both those who were involved in the project of their own free will, and those who were recruited to work as prisoners of war or interned specialists. But the country, which by all means needed to get weapons as soon as possible, equalizing its chances with ex-allies, who quickly turned into mortal enemies, had no time for sentimentality.

Russia makes itself!

In documents relating to the creation of the first nuclear bomb of the USSR, the term “product” that later became popular has not yet been encountered. Much more often, it was officially referred to as a "special jet engine", or RDS for short. Although, of course, there was nothing reactive in the work on this design: the whole thing was only in the strictest secrecy requirements.

With the light hand of Academician Yuliy Khariton, the unofficial decoding "Russia does it itself" very quickly stuck to the abbreviation RDS. There was also a considerable amount of irony in this, since everyone knew how much the information obtained by intelligence gave our atomic scientists, but also a large share of truth. After all, if the design of the first Soviet nuclear bomb was very similar to the American one (simply because the most optimal one was chosen, and the laws of physics and mathematics do not have national features), then, say, the ballistic body and the electronic filling of the first bomb were purely domestic development.

When work on the Soviet atomic project progressed far enough, the leadership of the USSR formulated tactical and technical requirements for the first atomic bombs. It was decided to simultaneously refine two types: an implosion-type plutonium bomb and a cannon-type uranium bomb, similar to that used by the Americans. The first received the RDS-1 index, the second, respectively, RDS-2.

According to the plan, the RDS-1 was to be submitted for state testing by explosion in January 1948. But these deadlines could not be met: there were problems with the manufacture and processing of the required amount of weapons-grade plutonium for its equipment. It was received only a year and a half later, in August 1949, and immediately went to Arzamas-16, where the almost finished first Soviet atomic bomb was waiting. Within a few days, the specialists of the future VNIIEF completed the assembly of the “product”, and it went to the Semipalatinsk test site for testing.

The first rivet of Russia's nuclear shield

The first nuclear bomb of the USSR was detonated at seven o'clock in the morning on August 29, 1949. Almost a month passed before overseas recovered from the shock caused by intelligence about the successful testing of our own "big club" in our country. Only on September 23, Harry Truman, who not so long ago boastfully reported to Stalin about America's success in creating atomic weapons, made a statement that the same type of weapons were now available in the USSR.

Presentation of a multimedia installation in honor of the 65th anniversary of the creation of the first Soviet atomic bomb. Photo: Geodakyan Artem / TASS

Oddly enough, Moscow was in no hurry to confirm the Americans' statements. On the contrary, TASS actually came out with a refutation of the American statement, arguing that the whole point is in the colossal scope of construction in the USSR, which also uses blasting using the latest technologies. True, at the end of the Tassov statement there was a more than transparent allusion to the possession of their own nuclear weapons. The agency reminded everyone interested that as early as November 6, 1947, Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov declared that no secret of the atomic bomb had existed for a long time.

And it was twice true. By 1947, no information about atomic weapons was a secret for the USSR, and by the end of the summer of 1949 it was no longer a secret for anyone that the Soviet Union had restored strategic parity with its main rival, the United States. A parity that has been maintained for six decades now. Parity, which is supported by the nuclear shield of Russia and the beginning of which was laid on the eve of the Great Patriotic War.