Figure 1.--.

At the time of World War II there were few sources of uranium ore. The major sources were Canada, Czechoslovakia, and the Belgian Congo. The Germans occupied Czecholovakia (March 1939). They imediately stopped all exports of uranium ore. The Belgian Congo was the major sources of uranium at the time of World War II. The Shinkolobwe Mine was particularly important. After the NAZI invasion of Belgium, authorities in the Congo declared loyalty to the Government in Exile in London. The NAZIs thus had no access to the mines or way to trsnsport prodution. The Belgians had, however, stockples of about 3,500 t of high-grade ore in Belgium when the the NAZIs invaded (May 1940). The Belgians imediately when the Germans invaded evacuated their huge stock of uranium from Brussels to Paris, trying to prevent it from falling into German hands. Within a few weeks France fell. The Belgian uranium was turned over to the the French government. The Juliot-Curies in Paris were engaged in atomic research. The Germans seized the uranium ore (yellow cake). This was more than the Americans had access to until several years later. They stored it in salt mines near Strassfurt, Germany. Professor Dr. Riehl was responsible for uranium during the War. The Germans reportedly refined 600 tons of the Belgian uranium to its oxide form (1941). [Gowing] (Historians disagree as to the amounts and not all the ore has been accounted for.) The oxide form could be ionized into a gas. The uranium/plutoinium isotopes could then be magnetically or thermally separated or the oxide could be reduced to a metal for a reactor pile. For either a uranium or plutonium bomb, it was necessary to create uranium metal. There is some evidence that the Germans were enriching uranium on a massive scale. Such an undertaking would have required a substantial effort. It would have required hundreds if not thousands of technicians and a very large facility or facilties. Some authors believe that I.G. Farben's "Buna" factory at Auschwitz was actually a massive uranium enrichment facility. This is, however, highly speculative. If labor was needed to enrih uranium that would mke sence, but what was needed was vast amounsd of electrity. And this was not avsailanle in Auschwitz. And some authors believe there may even have been a second facility. (We would probably know more about this, but the Soviets after the War may have kept what they learned secret.)

Sources of Uranium

The first problem in building an uranium bomb is of course obtaining uranium. At the time of World War II there were few sources of uranium ore. The major sources were Canada, Czechoslovakia, and the Belgian Congo. The Germans occupied Czecholovakia (March 1939). They imediately stopped all exports of uranium ore. The Belgian Congo was the major sources of uranium at the time of World War II. The Shinkolobwe Mine was particularly important. After the NAZI invasion of Belgium (May 1940), authorities in the Congo declared loyalty to the Belgian Government in Exile in London. The NAZIs thus had no access to the mines or way to trsnsport prodution. The Belgians had, however, stockples of about 3,500 t of high-grade ore in Belgium when the the NAZIs invaded (May 1940). The Belgians imediately when the Germans invaded evacuated their huge stock of uranium from Brussels to Paris, trying to prevent it from falling into German hands. Within a few weeks the unthinkable occurred--France also fell. The Belgian uranium was turned over to the the French government. The Juliot-Curies in Paris were engaged in atomic research. The Germans seized the uranium ore (yellow cake). This was more than the Americans had access to until several years later. The Germans stored it in salt mines near Strassfurt, Germany. Professor Dr. Riehl was responsible for uranium during the War.

Refining Uranium

The Germans reportedly refined 600 tons of the Belgian uranium to its oxide form (1941). [Gowing] (Historians disagree as to the amounts and not all the ore has been accounted for.) The oxide form could be ionized into a gas. The uranium/plutoinium isotopes could then be magnetically or thermally separated or the oxide could be reduced to a metal for a reactor pile. For either a uranium or plutonium bomb, it was necessary to create uranium metal.

Metalurgy

To produce plutonium, U-238 is metalicized. To produce a uranium bomb, U-235 is metalicized. Because of uranium's unique characteristics, however, this metallurgical process is very difficult. The United States struggled with the problem early and still was not successful reducing uranium to its metallic form in large production quantities until late-1942. The German technicians, however, had more sucess early on. They were able to convert 280.6 kilograms into metal, more than a quarter ton (late-1940).

Uranium Enrichment

Most of the uranium occuring naturally is the U-238 isotope. Only U-235, however, is fissiinable. U-235 occurs naturally, but only in very small quantiies. Thus to produce a fission weapon, naturally occuring uranium has to be enriched. There is some evidence that the Germans were enriching uranium on a massive scale. Such an undertaking would have required a substantial effort. It would have required hundreds if not thousands of technicians and a very large facility or facilties. Some authors believe that I.G. Farben's "Buna" factory at Auschwitz was actually a massive uranium enrichment facility. This is, however, highly speculative. If labor was needed to enrih uranium that would make sence, but what was needed was vast amounsd of electrity. And this was not availanle in Auschwitz or anywhere else in the Reich. Some authors believe there may even have been a second facility. (We would probably know more about this if it was in the West, but the Soviets after the War may have kept what they learned secret.) The Germans acquired in occupied countries or built in the Reich four cyclotrons and trialed gaseous and thermal diffusion enrichment equipment. They developed three different centrifugal separation/enrichment methods. The first was developed by Dr Erich Bagge. It was called an isotope sluice. The device spun uranium hexafluoride in a centrifugal container oufitted with six buckets to take up the heavier material spun out. The lighter uranium isotopes were thus separated from the hevier isotopes. The second was developed by Dr Paul Harteck, His device was the uranium ultracentrifuge. This effort used tall, slender centrifuges which spun at 60,000 rpm. This was reportedly 30 times more efficient than gaseous diffusion plants employed by the Manhattan Project. The third was reportedly developed by Dr Hans Martin even though in the West it is known as the Zippe method. We suspect that Dr. Martin after playinga role in the Soviet bomb program after the War, disappeared in the Gulag. This separation/enrichment method used a thermal convection process within a fast spinning centrifuge. This was the method the Soviets chose to use in their uranium enrichnent operations. As far as we know, despite all this effort the Germans never suceeded in producung bomb grade uranium, meaning uranium that was at least 80 percent (some sources say 90 percent) composed of the U-235 isotope. We are not sure just what level of enrichment the Germans achieved.

Fission Device

We do not yet have information on German research on the actual fission device.

Dirty Bomb

Many questions exist about a German dirty bomb. We do not know if German researchers designed a dirty bomb. Unlike a thermo-nuclear fission device, a dirty bomb could be easily designed and built. And the Germans had the enriched uranium to use in a dirty bomb. The V-1 and V-2 also provided the delivery vehicle needed. We also do not know if researchers suggested a dirty bomb to the Wehrmacht or if the idea was passed on to Hitler. Tge idea must have surfaced beyond the research team because the Japanese through their Berlin Embassy requested enriched uranium for theur nuclear weapons program, although we are unsure to what extent the Japanese explained details on the nuclear device they were building.

Sources

Created: 1:59 AM 4/6/2011
Last updated: 1:59 AM 4/6/2011