The Atomic bombing of Germany 1945

By 1942, Iowa State University had refined more pure metallic Uranium than the Germans would do by Wars end.
They weren't even at the starting line, but still putting on their shoes in that race
Hmm, why did the university feel it needed a first-strike capacity?
 
Hmm, why did the university feel it needed a first-strike capacity?

Because they were smart enough to give Frank Spedding a job as Head of the Chemistry Department when he was broke in 1937

He developed a process to refine Uranium Ore to pure metal, going from a cost of dollars per gram to pounds.

He was also able to cast pure industrial sized ingots, rather than the 62% one inch blocks that Westinghouse had been supplying, at a fraction of the cost

In the month of November 1942, his Ames process made 1/3rd the Uranium metal needed, two tons worth, to finish deliveries to the Stagg Field pile Fermi was working on.
By the he was made Director of the Chemistry Division of the Manhattan Project
 
Part VIII
Part VIII: Target Selection

From: “The Allies and the Atomic Bomb” Time Magazine 1995

“William Penney, head of the Manhattan Project’s British delegation had always insisted that the bomb needed to be dropped on a city that wasn’t already heavily damaged. He felt this was the only way to properly assess the damage an atomic bomb would cause. Some of the other Los Alamos scientists disagreed with Penney. One group felt the initial use of the bomb should be a demonstration against an uninhabited target. It was suggested to General Groves that the bomb be dropped in the Black Forest of Germany and on an isolated island off the coast of Japan. Another group felt the bomb should be used against a strictly military target. Some scientists suggested using the bomb on one of the isolated Japanese garrisons in the Pacific. Wake Island was considered a promising target due to its close proximity to Hawaii.”

“There was one suggestion that came from Air Marshal Portal. It was sent in a memo to Winston Churchill after the head of the RAF was told of the existence of the atomic bomb. The Prime Minister never forwarded the memo to America. Portal proposed that an atomic bomb be dropped on the German Battleship Tirpitz which was in occupied Norway. Churchill sent a response back that it would be “bad sport to possibly endanger the lives of our Norwegian allies”.

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With the arrival of the 509th Composite Group in England, General Doolittle, Eighth Air Force commander and RAF Bomber Command Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Sir Arthur Harris were finally fully briefed on the Manhattan Project. Both Doolittle and Harris were asked to submit their recommendations for a target list of German cities to General Eisenhower who in turn would forward the recommendations to Washington D.C.

General Groves already had his own target selection committee in New Mexico. The reason the air commanders in England were being consulted was because General Groves understood that there were very few un-bombed sites left in Germany.

Harris proposed attacking the cities of Berlin, Dresden, Chemnitz and Leipzig. The RAF had come up with a plan in the July 1944 for a massive conventional attack on Berlin known as Operation Thunderclap. Thunderclap was supposed to be a combined assault by the RAF and Eighth Air Force. Harris added the other cities because they were known transportation hubs. Dresden and Chemnitz had also not yet endured major firebombing raids. Ironically General Spaatz chose not to support Operation Thunderclap. He didn’t want the Eighth Air Force being involved in the area bombing of civilians.

Doolittle recommended bombing the German oil production facilities at Magdeburg, the Luena plant at Merseburg and Leipzig. Doolittle felt Berlin should be a last resort target if the Germans refused to surrender after one of the other target cities was hit. General Spaatz agreed with Doolittle and felt the oil production sites should be the primary target.

Both the British and American commanders agreed on one thing: they felt that multiple targets should be hit in one day. If the atomic bombs were dropped one at a time surprise would be achieved the first time. The second time the Germans would do everything in their power to stop a second attack.

On December 16, the Germans launched a counter offensive against the American lines in Belgium. The Battle of the Bulge had begun. By the end of the month the German offensive was smashed. The Allies had been caught off guard by the offensive and now there was a push to end the war swiftly. There were also political reasons for using the bomb now. Winston Churchill now made it clear that he wanted to force the Germans to surrender before the Russians crossed the pre-war German borders. If the Germans did not surrender then he at least wanted to demonstrate to the Soviets that The United States and Great Britain held the upper hand.

In January 1945 Eisenhower sent his proposed list to Washington in the custody of Haywood Hansell. General Hansell presented them at a conference with Hap Arnold and General Groves. These were the recommendations:

1. Dresden (Primary)

2. Chemnitz (Primary)

3. Halle (Primary)

4. Berlin (Primary)

Secondary and targets of opportunity:

1. Magdeburg

2. Leipzig

Dresden Chemnitz and Halle would be the primary targets by default. The three cities were all close enough to each other and Berlin. If one city was blocked by clouds it wouldn’t be a major inconvience to divert to the next one. Most important the Nazi government would be unable to play down the attacks. They would be taking place in their front yard. The RAF and USAAF would save the cities for the atomic bombs. Dresden and Chemnitz would no longer be used as a secondary target for normal operations.

The allied air forces would also cease operations against Berlin. The German capital would be bombed only after at least one of the other three cities. This was to afford the Germans the chance to surrender.

Secretary of War Stimson gave the final approval of the target list and General Hansell was sent rushing back to England.
 
In this timeline Haywood Hansell has not been relieved of command of the XXI Bomber Command. Unfortunately General Wolfe has still been relieved by Curtis LeMay in the Pacific.
 
If a single Fat Man bomb were dropped on Tokyo in March 1945 instead of firebombing, would the Emperor still be safe? Could the bomb be still be dropped far enough from the Imperial Palace so that Hirohito would not be in danger from the blast or would the risk still be too great?
 
If a single Fat Man bomb were dropped on Tokyo in March 1945 instead of firebombing, would the Emperor still be safe? Could the bomb be still be dropped far enough from the Imperial Palace so that Hirohito would not be in danger from the blast?

In theory, yes... the firebombing actually affected a larger area, although it was less lethal on a per capita basis. As one might expect, Alex Wellerstein has more details on his blog. In practice, though, the possibility of bomb drops drifting could complicate things.
 
Why 'only the B29 could carry the bomb' ??? Yes, maybe in the Pacific, because you need the range to Japan .. but in Europe distances are a bit shorter .. and it's not as if the bomb is being kept secret from the British .

Fat Man was 4,670 kg, Little Boy 4,400 kg ... and the British (conventional bomb) 'Tall Boy' was 5,400 kg and dropped by the Lancaster (in service from early 1942) .. later we have the Britsh 'Gram Slam', a 10,000 kg bomb..
 
Why 'only the B29 could carry the bomb' ??? Yes, maybe in the Pacific, because you need the range to Japan .. but in Europe distances are a bit shorter .. and it's not as if the bomb is being kept secret from the British .

Fat Man was 4,670 kg, Little Boy 4,400 kg ... and the British (conventional bomb) 'Tall Boy' was 5,400 kg and dropped by the Lancaster (in service from early 1942) .. later we have the Britsh 'Gram Slam', a 10,000 kg bomb..

IIRC the Lancaster didnt have the speed nor the altitude to escape the blast.
 
That means Berlin gets nuked so not good
OTL on Feb 3, 1945 the Eighth Air Force staged a massive area bombing of Berlin. If multiple atomic bombs are available and you already have them successfully on another target then I think the powers that be would bomb Berlin.
Either way things are not good for Berlin in this alternate 1945. It’s either suffer a nuclear attack or face a Russian ground and air attack.
 
In theory, yes... the firebombing actually affected a larger area, although it was less lethal on a per capita basis. As one might expect, Alex Wellerstein has more details on his blog. In practice, though, the possibility of bomb drops drifting could complicate things.
Good information in that blog post. It would be a gamble to attack Tokyo if you are not trying to kill the Emperor. A bombardier having a bad day and crappy weather means Fat Man lands near the imperial palace. I guess Stimson would not take the chance.
 
If a single Fat Man bomb were dropped on Tokyo in March 1945 instead of firebombing, would the Emperor still be safe? Could the bomb be still be dropped far enough from the Imperial Palace so that Hirohito would not be in danger from the blast or would the risk still be too great?
I'm fairly certain concern about killing Hirohito was part of the reason Tokyo was removed from the list OTL, and I think the firebombers were told to avoid that part of the city for fear of killing him.

Besides, OTL part of the consideration was a nice, undamaged city to full measure the destructive capacity of the bomb. Bouncing rubble won't do it.
 
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