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In this case there is no danger of fire setting off the gun and the accelerations should be sufficiently small to prevent seating of the projectile by the impact. The best emergency procedure that has so far been proposed is considered to be the removal of the gunpowder from the gun and the execution of a crash landing. In the case of the Little Boy the situation is considerably more complicated since water leaking into the Little boy will set off a nuclear reaction, and since the American held territory in the vicinity of the base is so densely filled that no suitable jettisoning ground for the Little Boy has been found which is sufficiently devoid of moisture, which is sufficiently soft that the projectile is sure not to seat from the impact, and which is sufficiently remote from extremely important American installations whose damage by a nuclear explosion would seriously affect the American war effort. Tests on this will be carried out with both inert and live units. In the case of the Fat Man this can probably best be accomplished by dropping the bomb into shallow water from a low altitude. In case the aircraft returns to its base and then finds that it cannot make a normal landing it may be necessary to jettison the bomb. Training in landing with the unit should be given to all crews who carry an active unit.ī. However, the chance of a crash when the aircraft is in good condition and the chances of a crash initiating a high order explosion are both sufficiently small that it was the view of those present that the landing operation with the unit under these circumstances was a justifiable risk. This operation will inevitably involve some risks to the base and to the other aircraft parked on the field.
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It was agreed that if the aircraft has to return to its base with the gadget and if it is in good condition when it has reached there, it should make a normal landing with the greatest possible care and with such precautions as stand-by fire equipment being held in readiness on the ground. The "gadget" was an atomic bomb.įrom the minutes of the Target Committee for :Ī.