Atomic Bomb Island

Tinian, the Last Stage of the Manhattan Project, and the Dropping of the Atomic Bombs on Japan in World War II

Don A. Farrell

• Publisher: Stackpole Books
• Year: 2021
• Topic: History
• eBook ISBN:
  9780811769310
• Subtopic: World War II
• Index: History

Atomic Bomb Island tells the story of an elite, top-secret team of sailors, airmen, scientists, technicians, and engineers who came to Tinian in the Marianas in the middle of 1945 to prepare the island for delivery of the atomic bombs then being developed in New Mexico, to finalize the designs of the bombs themselves, and to launch the missions that would unleash hell on Japan. Almost exactly a year before the atomic bombs were dropped, strategically important Tinian was captured by Marines—because it was only 1,500 miles from Japan and its terrain afforded ideal runways from which the new B-29 bombers could pound Japan. In the months that followed, the U.S. turned virtually all of Tinian into a giant airbase, with streets named after those of Manhattan Island—a Marianas city where the bombs could be assembled, the heavily laden B-29s could be launched, and the Manhattan Project scientists could do their last work. Don Farrell has done this story incredible justice for the 75th anniversary. The book is a thoroughly researched, beautifully illustrated mosaic of the final phase of the Manhattan Project, from the Battle of Tinian and the USS Indianapolis to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Table of contents

• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Foreword
• Author’s Note
• CHAPTER 1 The Race Begins December 1938 - December 1944
• CHAPTER 2 Picking “Papacy” December 30, 1944 - February 22, 1945
• CHAPTER 3 Developing Manhattan West February 23 - April 23, 1945
• CHAPTER 4 Moving to the Zone of Combat April 24 to June 30, 1945
• CHAPTER 5 Gearing Up for Centerboard June 31 - July 15, 1945
• CHAPTER 6 The Trinity Test & Project Alberta Moves to Tinian July 16 - August 3, 1945
• CHAPTER 7 Enola Gay, Little Boy and Hiroshima August 4 - 6, 1945
• CHAPTER 8 Bockscar, Fat Man and Nagasaki August 7 - 9, 1945
• CHAPTER 9 “Gifts from Heaven” August 10 - August 15, 1945
• CHAPTER 10 Project “Sneeze of God” and Demobilization August 16 to October 12, 1945
• Epilogue
• References Cited