Early life of Parsons William was born on November 26, 1901, in Evanston, Illinois, to Harry and Clara Parsons. pg. 7 Due to his family moving to New Mexico, Parsons started his formal education late, at the age of eight pg. 9 William passed the entrance exam for the Naval Academy at the age of sixteen. pg. 14 Despite being shorter and smaller then most cadets, Parsons argued before an examining board that he these were both due to him being two years young than most cadets, and he was accepted into the academy. pg. 15 Parsons attended the Naval Academy, where he was an above-average student, but he did not particularly stand out. In 1922, he graduated from the academy. pg. 20 After graduation from the Navy In 1927, Deak returned to Annapolis, to study ordnance at the Naval Postgraduate School. …show more content…
pg. 30 8. Ordnance deals with developing and improving weapons and other war supplies. pg. 30 In the ordnance program, William learned how to create and improve guns, ammo, and explosives, while also learning how to defend against these. William married Martha Cluverius in November of 1929. pg. 34 After getting through the Naval Postgraduate school, Deak was sent to the naval Proving Ground of Dahlgren for his ordnance-related postgraduate research project pg. 36 His Ordnance Related Career Highlights Parsons got the Naval Research Laboratory to support the creation of radar systems for naval ships. pg. 51 He suggested to Merle Tuve the use of radio proximity fuzes in artillery missiles, so that the fuzes would be able to tell through radar when the projectile should exploded by how near it was to an airplane. pg. 80 Parsons then tested the first proximity fuzes over water. pg. 82 Parsons was appointed by Vannevar Bush as military overseer of the production of the proximity fuzes, known as Section T. pg. 88 Parsons demonstrated the effectiveness of the proximity fuzes on the USS Cleveland, where the fuzes took out three pilotless drones. pg. 94 Parsons start at Project Y After the formation of Los Alamos, codenamed Project Y, Vannevar Bush suggested Deak Parsons as the head of ordnance. pg. 106-107 pg. 106-107 He was the head of the ordinance division and second overall in command to J. Robert Oppenheimer at Los Alamos, the lab in charge of creating the atomic bomb. As the head of ordinance, Parsons was in charge of researching how to assemble atomic bombs in a gun-type design. The original challenges included making the gun safe and reliable and the use of newly discovered metals uranium-235 and plutonium. pg. 114 Members of the ordnance division of Project Y The ordnance division included scientists and ordnance experts, such as Dr. Thompson, Dr. Charles Critchfield, Edwin Rose, and Ed McMillan. pg. 120 Within the ordnance division, Parsons created six groups: “the Proving Ground Group,” “the Projectile, Target, and Source Group,” “the Implosion Experimentation Group.” “the Instrumentation Group,” “the Fuze Development Group,” “the Engineering Group” and “a Delivery Group.” These were headed by Edwin McMillan, Charles Critchfield, Seth Neddermeyer, Kenneth Bainbridge, Robert Brode, George Chadwick, and Norman Ramsey, respectively. pg. 121-122 The most controversial was Neddermeyer’s group that worked on an alternative to the gun-type design of the atomic bomb called implosion, which involved “the use of ordinary to explosives to create a nuclear explosion by blowing a shell of fissionable material together in the center of sphere.” pg. 122-125 By August of 1943, Parsons had over 100 people working under him in the ordnance division. pg. 131 Problems with Plutonium Bomb The first test of a scale model for the plutonium bomb was categorized as a failure because of its unusual flat spinning on a test. pg. 128 Despite preferring a gun-style rather than implosion design for the atomic bomb, Parsons brought in John R. von Neumann to assist Seth Neddermeyer with implosion research. pg. 136 Parsons then started supporting von Neumann’s new idea of “fast” implosion, which involved, according to Christman, “precisely shaped sections of high explosives designed to focus the detonation waves on a ball of plutonium at the center of a sphere.” pg. 136 Deak then got George Kistiakowsky as the head of implosion. pg. 138 Further Issues with the Atomic Bombs In June 1943, Parsons got the Army Air Forces to agree to modify a B-29 so that it could drop tests of the uranium and plutonium bombs. pg. 140 The Gun Group also attempted to solve the issue of firing “a plutonium projectile at 3,000 feet per second into a plutonium target a dozen or so feet away in a manner that would not shatter the target before a neutron source had initiated a nuclear reaction.” pg. 144 The group then found that in “pile-produced plutonium” there was plutonium-240 in addition to plutonium-239, “whose fast neutrons could cause predetonation--that is, a fizzle--in the Thin Man gun.” pg. 144 In July 1944, Parsons found out that the plutonium bomb had “to use the implosion method” because of predetonation in the gun-type design. pg. 146 Changes in the Ordnance Division In August of 1944, there was reorganization within the Ordnance Division as Parsons became solely focused gun-type uranium bomb, and design of both bombs, while Robert Bacher took charge of the applied physics involved with the implosion bomb and Kistiakowsky developed its “explosive lenses.” pg. 148 After giving up on Thin Man, the plutonium gun-type bomb, Parsons focused on Little boy, which was a “gun-type bomb with a uranium-235 bullet.” pg. 149 Due to a much lower velocity needed, “1,000 per second, or one-third the velocity specified for Thin Man,” Little Boy needed only a gun that was six feet long rath seventeen. The entire bomb ended up being ten feet long, which is not abnormal. pg. 149 Parsons and his group decided that it was unnecessary to test Little Boy before using it in war. pg. 149 In February of 1945, Parsons told Oppenheimer that there needed to be more research done into a “nonlens implosion model” for Fat Man since the explosive lenses had failed in thousands of tests. pg. 160 Parsons’ Role in Project Alberta In March of 1945, Oppenheimer put Parsons in charge of Project Alberta, which dealt with getting first atomic bomb ready for use in war. pg. 162 Within this project Parsons was responsible for making the nuclear bombs “into weapons with predictable ballistics,” getting aircrafts that could carry the bombs, testing full-size models of the bombs, selecting where to have the bombs flown out from, and developing the facilities needed to assemble the bombs outside of the U.S. pg. 162 Parsons’ group decided on Tinian, an island 1500 miles away from Japan, as their site to create and launch the bombs. pg. 163 He had the non-nuclear parts of the bombs tested to the point that the failure rate was less than .1 %.
pg. 165 In regards to the Trinity test, Parsons helped select the original target date in July and make a schedule to ensure that Fat Man was ready in time. pg. 168 On July 16, 1945, the Trinity test date, he then witnessed the explosion of the implosion bomb from a B-29. pg. 171 Parsons’ role at Tinian leading up to the bombing of Hiroshima At Tinian, Parsons, “Brig. Gen. T. F. Farrell,” and “Rear Admiral Purnell” were in charge of the use of the first atomic bomb in the war. pg. 176 Over the course of the next few months, this group oversaw the assemblage of the Little Boy and Fat Man, as the nuclear components arrived from the states. pg. 178-179 On August 5, 1945, due to several B-29 crashes during take-offs, Parsons decided that Little Boy should be armed in flight on Enola Gay in order to avoid the detonation of the bomb on Tinian if the plane did crash. On August 6, 1945, Parsons went into Enola Gay’s bomb bay and used a detailed list of instructions to ready Little Boy for “its deadly mission.” Following his approval, the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima at 8:15
A.M. Parson’s role after Hiroshima Over next fews days, Parsons oversaw the assembly of Fat Man at Tinian. pg. 199 The day after Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki, Parsons became a commodore. pg. 202 On September 2, 1945, William watched “the formal signing of the japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri.” pg. 203 Post-War Life Following the end of WWII, Parsons held a number of positions in the military and participated in research involved with atomic bombs and atomic power. On January 9, 1946, William became a rear admiral. pg. 215 28. On February 2, 1951 Parsons got back to see when he was put in charge of Cruiser Division Six. pg. 243 Parsons chest pains started on December 4, 1953, after hearing about Oppenheimer’s loss of security clearance. pg. 249 Then with his wife persuasion he went to the naval hospital when his chest pains continued on December 5. There he died of a heart attack. pg. 249-250 Conclusion
A young scientist who was very smart and intelligent was the creator of a bomb that killed millions. The bomb was the most powerful weapon that was ever manufactured. He changed the course of World War II. This man is Robert Oppenheimer, creator of the atomic bomb. The book “Bomb” by Steve Sheinkin, is a book that includes teamwork and how Americans made a deadly bomb that changed the course of the war. The book engages the reader through how spies share secret information with enemies. Because the physicists were specifically told not to share any information, they were not justified in supplying the Soviet Union with the bomb technology.
The place we call earth was changed forever on August 6, 1945 when, for the first time in history, we viewed the power of the atomic bomb. It all started when a US aircraft named the “Enola Gay” flew off from a small island in the Pacific Ocean with a clear path to Japan. The end result was the atomic bomb, nicknamed Little Boy being dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Those in the aircraft watched as the city, home for 350,000 people, disappeared into thin air. The bomb caused
The world as we know it was built with events and circumstances that many of us are unaware of. One of the most powerful and deadliest discoveries of the human race in the twentieth century was the development of the atomic bomb. Many are aware that we dropped two atomic bombs on Japan in the end of the Second World War, but what many do not know are the extensive research operations that evaluated the technology to be used in future military operations. In the summer of 1946, American Government and Military forces conducted this research in Operation: Crossroads which was performed in the Bikini Islands. More than 40 years later in 1988 director Robert Stone directed and produced a documentary on these tests which was named Radio Bikini: the most terrifying and unbelievable story of the nuclear age. The film was hailed by critics for the content of the film and its use of newsreels and military film for the movie as one critic said, “Wha...
In 1947, Knowles graduated a year early due to his enrollment in the Anticipatory Program during the summer. This session was similar to Devon’s “Summer Session” which was meant to prepare boys for the military. Another similarity, was two rivers at Devon that actually exist at Phillips Exeter College. He joined the milita...
Newman, Robert P. “Hiroshima and the Trashing of Henry Stimson.” New England Quarterly (1998): 5-32.
At the age of thirteen he began working in order to earn money for college. He was a shoe shiner, an elevator boy, and a paper boy. He attended the all-black Armstrong High School, where he acted in plays, was a sergeant in the Cadet Corps, and earned good grades, graduating at the age of 16.
Bill dropped out of high school. He went to be a shoemaker=s helper, but the shoemaker didn=t like it when he nailed the ladies heels onto the mens shoes!Then Bill decided to join the Navy. There he found discipline and no room to joke around. He spent four long years in the Navy but he says that it made him more mature and able to control himself better. He was trained as a physical therapist. Helping men who lost their legs and arms, he finally realized how lucky he was.
Powers, Thomas. "THE BOMB : Hiroshima: Changing the Way We Think About War." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 06 Aug. 1995. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.
William Clark Quantrill was born on July 31, 1837, in Dover, Ohio. Quantrill is the oldest child of Caroline Cornella Clark and Thomas Henry Quantrill. His parents got married on October 11, 1836. His father passed away from tuberculosis when Quantrill was sixteen. When his father passed away he left his family in debt. Quantrill didn’t go to regular school, but he taught himself. After he taught himself he became a school teacher when he was sixteen (sussle.org).
... middle of paper ... ... Operation Crossroads, 1946. Retrieved from U.S. Defense Nuclear Agency website: http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq76-1.htm. John Smitherman.
At midnight on August 6, 1945, the crew of the Enola Gay got the orders to get ready for their mission. By 2:45 AM they were all packed, ready to go, and took off for their intended target (Black & Blashfield, 1993, p. 30). They flew through the darkness of the night sky for many hours. Dawn appeared and finally Enola Gay came close to their future objective. Then, around 7:24 AM, the pilot received a transmission from a weather aircraft, which had flown ahead of them, that there was hardly a cloud in the sky and that they should continue to their goal (p. 30). As they grew closer to Hiroshima, about 30 miles away, the captain gave the controls over to Major Ferebee (p. 30). As the minutes and seconds passed by it seemed perpetual. Finally at 8:15:17 Major Ferebee yelled out, “Bombs away!” (p. 30). It took about 50 seconds for the atomic bomb to fall and reach1,900 feet above the city where it exploded (Langford, 2004, p. 57). One of the crew members commented on it:
William Carlos Williams was born in Rutherford, New Jersey on September 17, 1883. William grew up around different ancestries; His father, William George Williams, was English. His mother, Raquel Helene Hoher, was Puerto Rican (PoemHunter). Williams' parents wanted him to have a very good education and pushed him to become a successful doctor. In order to please his parents, Williams studied hard in school and excelled in math and science. Williams went on to study advanced pediatrics at the University of Pennsylvania. While at college, Williams met a life-long friend Erza Pound who encouraged him to write poetry. After graduating from college, William worked as an intern at a hospital in New York until he got a job at a Nursery and Child’s hospital while he continued to write poetry (Poetry Foundation). Williams planned to study in Germany to further his career, but before he left, Williams proposed to Florence Herman, whose sister had already rejected him and married his brother. Florence agreed to marry William when he returned from studying in Germany. As Williams studied in Germany, he often visited with his college friend Erza. Upon his return in 1910 Williams opened his own medical business. Then after three years of being engaged, Williams married to Florence in 1912. They had their fir...
saving of American lives, achieved by the sudden use of atomic bombs against Japan, may be
When President Truman became president on April 12th he was informed within a few hours that a new bomb was being developed by atomic scientists.
At 2:45 a.m. in the quiet city of Hiroshima, a military base, dawn would be filled with terror that Monday as the Enola Gay took off. A B-29 bomber called the Enola Gay lifted off from Tinian, an island in the Marianas, about 1,500 miles south of Japan. Twelve men were aboard the ship to make sure the mission when off without a hitch. The Enola Gay, was reworked to carry the extremely heavy bomb, and to having stronger engines, propellers, and an opening bomb bay with doors. As the Enola Gay approached Japan, escorted by two other bombers, a ten-foot long atomic bomb, “Little Boy,” awaited its purpose. “Little Boy” was made with uranium-235, which is an extremely radioactive isotope of uranium, costing two billion dollars in research, and had never been tested before. The cities that had been possible targets included the cities of Hiroshima, Kokura, Nagasaki, and Niigata because of their independence from the war. On August 6, 1945, Hiroshima was target with clear weather. At 8:15 a.m. the Enola Gay’s doors opened and dropped “Little Boy,” exploding 1,900 feet about the city, and only missed its target, the Aioi Bridge, by about 800 feet with precise accuracy. The United States attacked the city Hiroshima, Japan with an atomic weapon, the feared atomic bomb. The atomic bomb had the equivalent of 20,000 tons of TNT, and completely flattened the city with thousands of