by Brooke Kennedy
During World War II, a complex legacy would take shape and usher in a new age. With the implementation of the Manhattan Project came the introduction of the first nuclear weapons, and it stands as one of the most important moments of the 20th century.
Despite the project’s secrecy, the government enlisted over 130,000 workers1 across the country and sought out businesses to help with the building process. Countless parts and prototypes were created and tested before their complete construction, and one manufacturing company is now sharing some one-of-a-kind pieces and documents the world has never seen.
Entering The Nuclear Age
Though the United States did not formally enter the war until 1941 after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the catalyst for building the atom bomb came a few years prior.
After the discovery of nuclear fission by German scientists in December 1938, Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard reached out to renowned scientist Albert Einstein with a warning. Szilard asked Einstein to sign and send a letter to then President Franklin D. Roosevelt that warned of the construction of an “extremely powerful bomb.” With the fear of Nazi Germany developing these dangerous weapons, Roosevelt formed the Advisory Committee on Uranium, kickstarting the government’s endeavor to end the war – the Manhattan Project.
The Army Corp of Engineers established the Manhattan Engineer district with Brigadier General Leslie Groves leading the project. In addition to the three main sites of operation – OakRidge, Tennessee, Hanford, Washington, and Los Alamos, New Mexico – private businesses were sought out for assistance in the building process.2 Several building sites were located in Michigan which, at the time, had a large community of machine workers who could handle building the ten-foot-long bombs.3 This included lesser known project sites like the Chrysler Corporation located in Detroit.4
“Every industrial enterprise from the big auto companies,” according to Greg Sumner, Professor of history at the University of Detroit Mercy. “Every little tool and die shop it seems converted almost overnight to war production.”
Building the Prototypes
After patenting his groundbreaking process of spinning steel, Reynold G. Nelson founded the G. E. Nelson Company in the 1940s in Holly, Michigan along with his sons Gilbert and Milt. The company specialized in heavy and precision metal spinning, and their clients included major industrial companies like General Motors, Wright Aeronautical, and – crucially – the Navy. Early in their inception, the company had begun producing materials including shell points, torpedo noses, battleship motor housings, artillery shell points, and other parts for the military.
The company began working with the University of Michigan’s Department of Engineering Research. Several staff members of the university lent their knowledge to the Manhattan Project efforts. Ten days after Japan’s surrender, Commanding General of the Army Service Forces, Brehon B. Somervell, sent a letter of thanks to university president Alexander Ruthven for contributions made by the institution.5
“Your institution has played a very important part in producing the material which has been such a decisive factor in winning the war,” said Somervell. “You and your associates must have a deep sense of satisfaction as you look back upon your accomplishments for your country.”
For their part, the G. E. Nelson Company was tasked with the construction of pieces for the bombs known as “Fat Man” and “Little Boy.”
One document dated April 19, 1945 – four months prior to the detonation of the bombs over Japan – mentions the code names of the bombs “Fat Man” and “Little Boy,” irrefutably proving company’s involvement. Several drawings were provided by the university for the following prototype parts, “Shell Nose,” “Fat Man Dummy,” “Little Boy Drop Dummy Design 2A,” and “Mounting Ring.”
Several copper prototype spheres were produced as part of the development of “Fat Man.” The spheres were designed to house the bomb’s plutonium core and increase the efficiency of the blast by accelerating the nuclear chain reaction. These spherical prototypes became the basis for the core of “Fat Man,” though depleted uranium was used for the final build as opposed to copper.
In addition, a ‘shell nose’ prototype for the bomb was produced based on government-provided building plans. Measuring an impressive 52 inches wide and 12 inches tall, this nose is presumably the same one referred to in the document regarding the delivery of drawings.
Inside The Facilities
With their reputation for high quality products and their military connections, the company was scouted by trenchcoat-wearing government agents to take part in their efforts to end World War II. As the Nelson family legend goes, the company was issued 24 hour security and fenced in to ensure complete confidentiality.
“These security concerns are evidenced in included documents from October 1944,” writes RR Auction in their description, “which required a questionnaire to be submitted in order to ‘meet National Security requirements,’ involving inquiries about the citizenship of corporate officers and the employment of organized labor.”
According to other letters from the University of Michigan, four more individuals employed in their engineering research department were no longer “permitted to have access to any work performed in your plant…nor to any papers pertaining thereto.” No concrete reasons are given for their leave, but a separate notice from the University provides one possible reason.
“During the past month or two, two identification cards for former employees of this office have been lost,” the notice states. “It is requested that these cards not be honored in the event they are presented at your place of business. It is also requested that this office be notified immediately if such presentation is made.”
The End of the War
By 1945, drop tests of “Fat Man’ and “Little Boy” dummy bombs had been taking place for about a year. Extensive studies on their ballistic properties were carried out to ensure complete flight accuracy and better handling of the five ton weapons.
It wouldn’t be until July 16, 1945 that a plutonium implosion device of the “Fat Man” bomb design would be tested at the Trinity site in New Mexico – marking the first ever detonation of a nuclear weapon. It was during this test that J. Robert Oppenheimer recited the infamous quote from the Bhagavad Gita, “now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.” Less than one month later on August 9th, “Fat Man” would detonate over Nagasaki, forcing Japan to surrender and effectively ending World War II.6
Carrying on Tradition
After the war, the G. E. Nelson Company continued business operations, and the business is now run by the fourth generation of family members. After Reynold’s passing, his son, Gilbert, passed the prototype spheres down to his son, Robert, who in turn gave them to his daughters, Pollyanna and Brandy.
“It was always our families best kept secret. It was not something our grandfather would talk about,” said Pollyanna, current co-owner of the company, “he knew the ‘government project’ was important, but not until August 6th 1945 when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.”
Nearly 80 years after G. E. Nelson’s work on the Manhattan Project, the copper core spheres – along with various pieces of company correspondence – will go to auction for the first time ever in September 2023.
Footnotes
- “Manhattan Project Background Information and Preservation Work,” Energy.Gov. Office of Legacy Management, accessed Sept. 8, 2023, https://www.energy.gov/lm/manhattan-project-background-information-and-preservation-work#:~:text=At%20its%20peak%2C%20the%20project,the%20 Manhattan%20Project%20 is%20 immense. ↩︎
- “What is the Manhattan Project?” National Park Service, last updated May 16, 2023, https://www.nps.gov/mapr/learn/manhattan-project.htm. ↩︎
- Jouppi, Shelby, “The Detroit Origins of Atomic Bomb “Little Boy,” Setroit’s NPR Station, WDET, published May 27, 2016, https://wdet.org/2016/05/27/the-detroit-origins-of-atomic-bomb-little-boy/. ↩︎
- Haddad, Ken, “The Manhattan Project: Behind the secret mission to build first atom bomb, Detroit connection,” Click On Detroit, Graham Media Group, last updated July 16, 2021, https://www.clickondetroit.com/features/2020/01/27/the-manhattan-project-behind-the-secret-mission-to-build-first-atomic-bomb-detroit-connection/. ↩︎
- Tobin, James, “The Campus at War,” Heritage Project, University of Michigan, accessed Sept. 9, 2023, https://heritage.umich.edu/stories/the-campus-at-war/#:~:text=U%2DM%20contributed%20to%20radar%20technology,by%20the%20Army%20Air%20Corps. ↩︎
- Vergun, David, “Significant Events of World War II,” U.S. Department of Defense, published Aug. 14, 2020, https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/article/2293108/. ↩︎
