Project Y telephone booth. Courtesy/LAHS Archives

LAHS News:

WGN’s new series, Manhattan, a fictionalized look at life in Los Alamos during the Manhattan Project, only has one episode in the season left.

The Los Alamos Historical Society wants to continue to thank everyone who comes to our viewings and discussions for contributing their thoughts, questions, and experiences. The Society looks forward to the season finale on Sunday. Every week the Society updates a bulletin board in the Museum to continue exploring questions and reactions as the 13-episode series continues.

Previous episodes are discussed at www.losalamoshistory.org, on the Historical Society’s facebook page and in the museum. 

Join the Los Alamos Historical Society 8-9:30 p.m., Sunday at Time Out Pizzeria in Los Alamos for a viewing and discussion of Manhattan’s season finale (TV-14 rating).

Ep. 112: “The Gun Model”

How was uranium transported to Los Alamos from Oak Ridge?

Uranium was transported to Los Alamos from Oak Ridge using a truck, not on the train. A flatbed truck carried the container and was followed by a car. The car that followed was there so that the passenger and driver in the truck could trade with the passenger and driver in the car so their radiation levels did not get too high.

The container on the truck was about three feet tall and three feet in diameter. It was made of solid lead with an opening in the top that was sealed with a lead plug. It weighed almost two tons and only carried a very small amount of material. However, the material did increase in radioactivity during the 48-hour trip. There was an instrument in the truck that showed the radiation level and let the GIs know when they had to move to the car. By the time they reached Los Alamos, they could only be in the truck for one hour at a time because the radiation levels were very high. Upon arriving in Santa Fe, they would meet officers who took the truck to Los Alamos themselves and then would return the truck the next day. 

Did taxis travel up to Los Alamos?

No. Taxis did not travel up the hill to Los Alamos. Only Dorothy McKibbin could arrange for civilians to visit Los Alamos. They had to have a pass from her and then the military would have brought them up to Project Y. To work on the Project, the newcomer had to be cleared by security, which could take up to two weeks. During that time they stayed in Santa Fe. 

Telephones in Los Alamos?

There was at least one telephone booth in Los Alamos. Almost all the telephone lines were in the offices, but a few houses for essential personnel had telephones in them. Only a few lines were connected interoffice and so secretaries often had to find the person and take them to the correct telephone for their phone call. Coiled telephone cords as we know them today were invented in the 1950’s. In 1937, a retractable, elastic phone cord was invented. Straight phone cords (often wrapped) were probably most prevalent during the 1940’s.

Notables

• Oppenheimer’s secretaries included: Priscilla Greene Duffield, Beverly Agnew, and Anne Wilson. No Gertrude.
• George Zucco, the actor mentioned by Fritz, seems to have been one of the most prolific actors of the 1940s. He made six movies every year in 1943, 1944 and 1945.
• In 1912, mail delivery on Sundays ended. In Los Alamos, the military would have been in charge of mail delivery as they closely monitored and censored mail both incoming and outgoing. 
• Reed Akley told Frank 80 percent of US soldiers intentionally did not shoot enemy soldiers during WWII. In his 1947 book Men Against Fire, combat historian Brig. Gen. S.L.A. Marshall claimed that this percentage was 75-80 percent, though his methodology is now contested by historians.
• Frank was sitting on a box labeled “COMP B.” Composition B is a castable explosive used from early in WWII, and was used in the explosive lenses in Fat Man.
• Oppenheimer was a rock collector.
• The first town council was appointed by the Army, but it was replaced by an elected six-member council in June 1943. By the fourth Town Council election, the membership was increased from six to eight to better represent the growing community.