TERRIBLE ANGLE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 80, 9 August 1945, Page 5

TERRIBLE ANGLE

HIT AREA FATAL FOR MANY YEARS Washington, Aug. 8. Perhaps the most fantastic and terrible angle of the atomic bomb was revealed to-day by an American scientist, Dr. Harold Jacobson, who spent two years working on its construction. He said: “Any area struck by th e bomb will remain saturated with death for many human beings who enter it for many years to come. The scientific reason for this is that the terrific explosion eradicates every piece of matter in the area and that secondary Irradiation will kill anyone entering the area. In other words, everything in the affected area is now dead and any Japanese going in to Investigate the damage will die.”

Brigadier-General Thomas Farrell aide to Major-General Leslie Groves, who is in charge of atomic bomb development, disclosed that the date for dropping the first bomb was set well over a year ago. The British and American scientists thought for a while that they were racing against time with the Germans, who were known to have begun work on a similar bomb.

Allied bombs last March destroyed a laboratory at Oranienburg in which the German scientists were working on the atomic bomb. When they I heard about the laboratory Generals Marshall and Arnold sent a courier from Washington with oral orders to General Spaatz to destroy the building. General Farrell added that the Allies after entering Germany learned lhat the Nazis were years behind the British and American scientists. DIFFICULT AIR TASK Captain Parsons, who designed the atomic bomb, said he began work in June, 1943, to perfect an that could be carried in comparative safety in a plane for the length of time required to fly from Mariannes to Japan. He explained: “The bomb cannot be controlled like other bombs. It still must be checked and patted to the last minute by the weaponeer. This will b e true till it is mor e fully developed. However, we could not delay its use for further development, because it is worth too much to end the war.”

He added that though he was close to the project he was in the dark about some of the phases, and said: “I have learned a lot from the handout given to correspondents.”