Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-08-07


was tense, although his mind was
working at its usual extraordinary
efficiency.
II attempted to shield him from
the evident concern of many of his
assistants, who were disturbed by
the uncertain weather conditions.
By 04:00 we decided that we could
probably fire at 05:30 BY 04:00 the
rain had stopped but the sky was
heavily overcast. Our decision be-
came firmer as time went on.
During most of these hours the
two Of us journeyed from the con-
troll house out into the darkness to
look at the stars and to assure each
other that the one, or two visible
stars were becoming brighter. At
OSLO left DR.. Oppenheimer and
returned to the main observation
point which was 1900 yards from
the point of explosion. In accord
ance with our orders I found all
personnel not otherwise occupied
massed on a bit of high ground.
1.-TWO minutes before the sched-
uled firing time, all persons lay
face down with their feet pointing
towards the explosion. AS the re-
manning time was called over the
loud speaker from the 10,000-yard
control station there was complete
awesome silence. DR.. Conant said
he had never imagined seconds could
be so long. Most of the individuals
In accordance with orders shielded
their eyes in one way or another.
"First came the burst Of light of
brilliance beyond any comparison.
We all rolled over and looked
through dark glasses at the ball of
fire. About 40 seconds later came
the shock wave followed by the
sound. neither of which seemed
startling after our complete aston
ishment at the extraordinary light
ing intensity.
"A massive cloud was formed
which surged and beloved upward
with tremendous power, reaching
the -substratosphere in about 5
minutes.
Other Explosions. ~
1.-TWO supplementary explosions of
minor effects other than the light
ing occurred in the clouds shortly
after the main explosion.
1.-The cloud travelled to a great
height first in the form Of q ball,
then mushroomed, then changed
into a long trailing chimney-shaped
column and finally was sent in sew
eral directions by the variable winds
at the different elevations.
"Dr. Conant reached over and we
shook hands in mutual congratula-
tons. DR.. Bush, who was on the
other side of me, did likewise. The
feeling of the entire assembly, even
the uninitiated, was one of profound
awe. Drs. Conant and Bush and
myself were struck by an even
stronger feeling that the faith of
those who had been responsible for
the initiation and the carrying on
of this Herculean project had been
justified"
Gen. Farrelrs impressions are:
The scene inside the shelter was
dramatic beyond words. In and
around the shelter were some 20
odd people concerned with last
minute arrangements. Included were
DR.. Oppenheimer, the director, who
had borne the great scientific burden
of developing the weapon from the
raw materials processed in Ten
nessee and the State of Washington,
and dozen of his key assistants,
DR.. Kistiakowsky, DR.. cambridge,
who supervised all the detailed ar
rangements for the test; the weather
expert, and several others.
Besides these, there were a hand
full of soldiers, two or three Army
officers and one Naval officer. The
shelter was filled with great vart-
ETY. of instruments and radios.
Hectic Two Hours.
For some hectic two hours pre-
ceding the blast Gen. Groves stayed
with the director. Twenty minutes
before zero hour Gen. Groves left
for his station at the base camp
because it provided a better observa-
ton point.
"Just after Gen. Groves left an
nouncements began to be broadcast
Of the interval remaining before the
blast to the other groups participat-
ing in and observing the test. A;
the time interval grew smaller and
changed from minutes to seconds
the tension increased by leaps ane
bounds. Every one In that room
knew the awful potentialities Of the
thing that they thought was about
to happen. The scientists felt thai
their figuring must be right anc
that the bomb had to 60 oil, but
there was in every ones mind 8
strong measure of doubt.
sWe were, reaching into the un-
known and we did not know what
might come of 1t. If the shot were
successful 1t was a Justification Of
the several years Of intensive effort
of tens Of thousands of people
statesmen, scientists, engineers
manufacturers, soldiers and many
others in every walk of life.
I'm that brief instant in the re.
mote New Mexico desert the tire.
mendous effort Of the brains anc
Drawn Of all these people came sud.
denly and startlingly to the fullest
fruition. DR.. Oppenheimer, or
whom had rested a very heavy bur.
den, grew tenser as the last seconds
licked on. He scarcely breathed
he held on to post to steady him.
self.
For the last few seconds hi
stared directly ahead, and ther
when the announcer shouted
"Now!" and there came this tire.
mendeus burst Of lights, followed
shortly thereafter by the deer
growing roar Of the explosion, hi
face relaxed into an expression 81
tremendous relief Several Of thu
Observers standing back q the shel.