Creation of the Soviet nuclear power plant. Ussr became a nuclear power

The emergence of such a powerful weapon as a nuclear bomb was the result of the interaction of global factors of an objective and subjective nature. Objectively, its creation was caused by rapid development science, which began with the fundamental discoveries of physics in the first half of the twentieth century. The strongest subjective factor was the military-political situation of the 40s, when the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition - the USA, Great Britain, the USSR - tried to get ahead of each other in the development of nuclear weapons.

Prerequisites for the creation of a nuclear bomb

The starting point of the scientific path to the creation of atomic weapons began in 1896, when the French chemist A. Becquerel discovered the radioactivity of uranium. It was the chain reaction of this element that formed the basis for the development of a terrible weapon.

At the end of the 19th century and in the first decades of the 20th century, scientists discovered alpha, beta, and gamma rays, discovered many radioactive isotopes of chemical elements, the law of radioactive decay, and laid the foundation for the study of nuclear isometry. In the 1930s, the neutron and positron became known, and for the first time the nucleus of a uranium atom was split with the absorption of neutrons. This was the impetus for the beginning of the creation of nuclear weapons. The first invented and in 1939 patented the design of a nuclear bomb was the French physicist Frederic Joliot-Curie.

As a result of further development, nuclear weapons have become a historically unprecedented military-political and strategic phenomenon capable of ensuring the national security of the possessing state and minimizing the capabilities of all other weapons systems.

The design of an atomic bomb consists of a number of different components, among which there are two main ones:

frame,
automation system.

Automation, together with a nuclear charge, is located in a housing that protects them from various influences (mechanical, thermal, etc.). The automation system controls that the explosion occurs at a strictly set time. It consists of the following elements:

emergency blasting;
protection and cocking device;
power supply;
charge detonation sensors.

The delivery of atomic charges is carried out using aviation, ballistic and cruise missiles. In this case, nuclear ammunition can be an element of a land mine, torpedo, aerial bomb, etc.

Nuclear bomb detonation systems are different. The simplest is the injection device, in which hitting the target and the subsequent formation of a supercritical mass becomes the impetus for the explosion.

Another characteristic of atomic weapons is the size of the caliber: small, medium, large. Most often, the power of the explosion is characterized in TNT equivalent. A small caliber of nuclear weapons implies a charge capacity of several thousand tons of TNT. The average caliber is already equal to tens of thousands of tons of TNT, the large one is measured in millions.

Operating principle

The atomic bomb scheme is based on the principle of using nuclear energy released during a nuclear chain reaction. This is the process of fission of heavy nuclei or synthesis of light nuclei. Due to the release of a huge amount of intranuclear energy in the shortest period of time, a nuclear bomb is classified as a weapon of mass destruction.

In the course of this process, two key points are distinguished:

the center of a nuclear explosion, in which the process directly proceeds;
the epicenter, which is the projection of this process onto the surface (land or water).

A nuclear explosion releases an amount of energy that, when projected onto the ground, causes seismic shocks. The range of their propagation is very long, but significant harm environment applied at a distance of only a few hundred meters.

Atomic weapons have several types of destruction:

light emission,
radioactive contamination,
shock wave,
penetrating radiation,
electromagnetic pulse.

A nuclear explosion is accompanied by a bright flash, which is formed due to the release a large number light and heat energy. The power of this flash is many times higher than the power of the sun's rays, so the danger of being hit by light and heat spreads over several kilometers.

Another very dangerous factor in the impact of a nuclear bomb is the radiation generated by the explosion. It works only for the first 60 seconds, but has maximum penetrating power.

The shock wave has great power and significant destructive effect, therefore, in a matter of seconds, it causes tremendous harm to people, equipment, and buildings.

Penetrating radiation is dangerous for living organisms and is the reason for the development of radiation sickness in humans. The electromagnetic pulse only affects equipment.

All these types of damage combined make the atomic bomb a very dangerous weapon.

First nuclear bomb tests

The United States was the first to show the greatest interest in atomic weapons. At the end of 1941, huge funds and resources were allocated in the country to create nuclear weapons... The work resulted in the first tests of an atomic bomb with an explosive device "Gadget", which took place on July 16, 1945 in the American state of New Mexico.

The time has come for the US to act. For the victorious end of the Second World War, it was decided to defeat the ally of Hitlerite Germany - Japan. The Pentagon chose targets for the first nuclear strikes in which the United States wanted to demonstrate how powerful a weapon it possesses.

On August 6 of the same year, the first atomic bomb named "Kid" was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, and on August 9, a bomb named "Fat Man" fell on Nagasaki.

The hit in Hiroshima was deemed ideal: the nuclear device exploded at an altitude of 200 meters. The blast wave overturned coal-fired stoves in Japanese homes. This led to numerous fires, even in urban areas far from the epicenter.

The initial flash was followed by a heat wave that lasted for seconds, but its power, covering a radius of 4 km, melted the tiles and quartz in the granite slabs, incinerated the telegraph poles. A shock wave followed the heat wave. The wind speed was 800 km / h, and its gust blew away almost everything in the city. Of the 76 thousand buildings, 70 thousand were completely destroyed.

A few minutes later, a strange rain came from large drops of black color. It was caused by condensation formed in the colder layers of the atmosphere from steam and ash.

People hit by a fireball at a distance of 800 meters were burned and turned into dust. Some of the burned skin was ripped off by the shock wave. Drops of black radioactive rain left incurable burns.

The survivors fell ill with a previously unknown disease. They developed nausea, vomiting, fever, and bouts of weakness. The level of white cells in the blood fell sharply. These were the first signs of radiation sickness.

Three days after the bombing of Hiroshima, a bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. It had the same power and caused similar consequences.

Two atomic bombs destroyed hundreds of thousands of people in seconds. The first city was practically obliterated by the shock wave from the face of the earth. More than half of the civilians (about 240 thousand people) died immediately from their wounds. Many people were exposed to radiation, which led to radiation sickness, cancer, infertility. In Nagasaki, 73 thousand people were killed in the early days, and after a while another 35 thousand people died in great pain.

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RDS-37 tests

The creation of the atomic bomb in Russia

The consequences of the bombing and the history of the inhabitants of Japanese cities shocked J. Stalin. It became clear that the creation of our own nuclear weapons is a matter of national security. On August 20, 1945, the Atomic Energy Committee began its work in Russia, headed by L. Beria.

Research in nuclear physics has been carried out in the USSR since 1918. In 1938, a commission on the atomic nucleus was created at the Academy of Sciences. But with the beginning of the war, almost all work in this direction was suspended.

In 1943, Soviet intelligence officers transferred from England closed scientific works on atomic energy, from which it followed that the creation of the atomic bomb in the West had advanced far ahead. At the same time in the United States, reliable agents were introduced into several centers of American nuclear research. They passed information on the atomic bomb to Soviet scientists.

The technical assignment for the development of two variants of the atomic bomb was drawn up by their creator and one of the scientific leaders, Yu. Khariton. In accordance with it, it was planned to create an RDS ("special jet engine") with index 1 and 2:

RDS-1 - a bomb with a charge of plutonium, which was supposed to be detonated by spherical compression. His device was transferred by Russian intelligence.
RDS-2 is a cannon bomb with two parts of a uranium charge, which must approach each other in the barrel of the cannon before creating a critical mass.

In the history of the famous RDS, the most common decoding - "Russia makes itself" - was invented by Y. Khariton's deputy for scientific work K. Shchelkin. These words very accurately convey the essence of the work.

The information that the USSR had mastered the secrets of nuclear weapons caused the United States to rush to the earliest possible start of a preemptive war. In July 1949, the "Troyan" plan appeared, according to which hostilities were planned to begin on January 1, 1950. Then the date of the attack was postponed to January 1, 1957 with the condition that all NATO countries entered the war.

Information obtained through intelligence channels hastened the work of Soviet scientists. According to Western experts, Soviet nuclear weapons could have been created not earlier than 1954-1955. However, the test of the first atomic bomb took place in the USSR at the end of August 1949.

On August 29, 1949, the nuclear device RDS-1, the first Soviet atomic bomb invented by a team of scientists headed by I. Kurchatov and Yu. Khariton, was detonated at the Semipalatinsk test site. The explosion had a power of 22 Kt. The design of the charge imitated the American "Fat Man", and electronic filling was created by Soviet scientists.

The Troyan plan, according to which the Americans were going to drop atomic bombs on 70 cities of the USSR, was thwarted due to the likelihood of a retaliatory strike. The event at the Semipalatinsk test site informed the world that the Soviet atomic bomb put an end to the American monopoly on the possession of new weapons. This invention completely destroyed the militaristic plan of the USA and NATO and prevented the development of the Third World War. Started new story- the era of world peace, which exists under the threat of total destruction.

"Nuclear club" of the world

The Nuclear Club is a shorthand for several states that possess nuclear weapons. Today there are such weapons:

in the USA (since 1945)
in Russia (originally USSR, since 1949)
in Great Britain (since 1952)
in France (since 1960)
in China (since 1964)
in India (since 1974)
in Pakistan (since 1998)
in the DPRK (since 2006)

Israel is also considered to have nuclear weapons, although the country's leadership does not comment on their presence. In addition, on the territory of NATO member states (Germany, Italy, Turkey, Belgium, the Netherlands, Canada) and allies (Japan, South Korea despite the official refusal) is located US nuclear weapons.

Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Belarus, which possessed some of the nuclear weapons after the collapse of the USSR, in the 90s transferred them to Russia, which became the only heir to the Soviet nuclear arsenal.

Atomic (nuclear) weapons are the most powerful instrument of global politics, which has firmly entered the arsenal of relations between states. On the one hand, it is effective remedy intimidation, on the other - a weighty argument for preventing military conflict and strengthening peace between the powers that own these weapons. This is a symbol of an entire era in the history of mankind and international relations which must be handled very wisely.

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The creation of a Soviet nuclear bomb in terms of the complexity of scientific, technical and engineering tasks- a significant, truly unique event that influenced the balance of political forces in the world after the Second World War. The solution of this problem in our country, which has not yet recovered from the terrible destruction and shocks of the four war years, became possible as a result of the heroic efforts of scientists, production organizers, engineers, workers and the whole people. The implementation of the Soviet atomic project required a real scientific, technological and industrial revolution, which led to the emergence of the domestic nuclear industry. This labor feat justified itself. Having mastered the secrets of the production of nuclear weapons, our Motherland for many years ensured the military-defense parity of the two leading states of the world - the USSR and the USA. The nuclear shield, the first link of which was the legendary product RDS-1, still protects Russia.
I. Kurchatov was appointed the head of the Atomic Project. From the end of 1942, he began to gather the scientists and specialists needed to solve the problem. Initially, the general leadership of the atomic problem was carried out by V. Molotov. But on August 20, 1945 (a few days after the atomic bombing of Japanese cities), the State Defense Committee decided to create a Special Committee, headed by L. Beria. It was he who began to lead the Soviet atomic project.
The first domestic atomic bomb had the official designation RDS-1. It was deciphered in different ways: "Russia makes itself", "Motherland gives to Stalin", etc. But in the official decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of June 21, 1946, the RDS received the wording - "Jet engine" C ".
The tactical and technical assignment (TTZ) indicated that the atomic bomb was being developed in two versions: with the use of "heavy fuel" (plutonium) and with the use of "light fuel" (uranium-235). The writing of the technical specification for the RDS-1 and the subsequent development of the first Soviet atomic bomb RDS-1 was carried out taking into account the available materials according to the scheme of the US plutonium bomb tested in 1945. These materials were provided by the Soviet foreign intelligence... An important source of information was K. Fuchs, a German physicist, a participant in the nuclear programs of the USA and England.
Intelligence materials on the US plutonium bomb made it possible to avoid a number of mistakes in the creation of the RDS-1, significantly reduce the time for its development, and reduce costs. At the same time, it was clear from the very beginning that many technical solutions of the American prototype were not the best. Even at the initial stages, Soviet specialists could offer best solutions both the charge as a whole and its individual nodes. But the unconditional demand of the country's leadership was that it would be guaranteed and with the least risk of getting a working bomb before its first test.
The nuclear bomb was to be made in the form of an aerial bomb weighing no more than 5 tons, no more than 1.5 meters in diameter and no more than 5 meters in length. These restrictions were due to the fact that the bomb was developed in relation to the TU-4 aircraft, the bomb bay of which allowed the placement of a "product" with a diameter of no more than 1.5 meters.
As the work progressed, the need for a special research organization for the design and development of the "product" itself became apparent. A number of studies carried out by Laboratory No. 2 of the USSR Academy of Sciences required their deployment in a "remote and isolated location." This meant: it was necessary to create a special research and production center for the development of the atomic bomb.

Creation of KB-11

Since the end of 1945, there has been a search for a location for a top-secret facility. Considered different options... At the end of April 1946, Yu. Khariton and P. Zernov examined Sarov, where the monastery was formerly located, and now the plant N 550 of the People's Commissariat of Ammunition was located. As a result, the choice was settled on this place, which was removed from large cities and at the same time had an initial production infrastructure.
The scientific and production activities of KB-11 were subject to the strictest secrecy. Its character and purpose were a state secret of paramount importance. From the first days, the issues of object security were in the center of attention.

April 9, 1946 a closed resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR was adopted on the establishment Design Bureau(KB-11) at Laboratory No. 2 of the USSR Academy of Sciences. P. Zernov was appointed chief of KB-11, and Yu. Khariton was appointed chief designer.

The decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of June 21, 1946 determined the strict deadlines for the creation of the facility: the first stage was to go into operation on October 1, 1946, the second - on May 1, 1947. Construction of KB-11 ("object") was entrusted to the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. The "object" was supposed to occupy up to 100 sq. kilometers of forests in the zone of the Mordovian nature reserve and up to 10 sq. kilometers in the Gorky region.
The construction was carried out without projects and preliminary estimates, the cost of the work was taken at the actual costs. The construction team was formed with the involvement of a "special contingent" - this is how the prisoners were designated in official documents. The government created special conditions construction support. Nevertheless, construction went on with difficulty, the first production buildings were ready only at the beginning of 1947. Some of the laboratories are located in the monastery buildings.

Volume construction works was great. Reconstruction of plant No. 550 was planned for the construction of a pilot plant on the existing areas. The power plant needed updating. It was necessary to build a foundry and press shop for working with explosives, as well as a number of buildings for experimental laboratories, test towers, casemates, warehouses. To carry out blasting operations, it was required to clear and equip large areas in the forest.
Special premises for research laboratories on initial stage was not foreseen - the scientists were to occupy twenty rooms in the main design building. The designers, as well as the administrative services of KB-11, were to be accommodated in the reconstructed premises of the former monastery. The need to create conditions for arriving specialists and workers forced to devote everything more attention residential community, which gradually acquired the features small town... Simultaneously with the construction of housing, a medical town was erected, a library, a cinema club, a stadium, a park and a theater were built.

On February 17, 1947, by a decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR signed by Stalin, KB-11 was classified as a highly secure enterprise with the transformation of its territory into a closed restricted zone. Sarov was removed from the administrative subordination of the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and excluded from all records. In the summer of 1947, the perimeter of the zone was taken under military protection.

Works in KB-11

The mobilization of specialists to the nuclear center was carried out regardless of their departmental affiliation. The heads of KB-11 were looking for young and promising scientists, engineers, workers in literally all institutions and organizations of the country. All candidates for work in KB-11 underwent a special check in the state security services.
The creation of atomic weapons was the result of the work of a large team. But it did not consist of faceless "staff units", but of outstanding personalities, many of whom left a noticeable mark on the history of Russian and world science. Here, significant potential was concentrated, both scientific, design, and executive, working.

In 1947, 36 scientific workers arrived at KB-11. They were seconded from various institutes, mainly from the USSR Academy of Sciences: the Institute of Chemical Physics, Laboratory No. 2, NII-6 and the Institute of Mechanical Engineering. In 1947, KB-11 employed 86 engineers and technicians.
Taking into account the problems that were to be solved in KB-11, the sequence of formation of its main structural divisions was outlined. The first research laboratories began to work in the spring of 1947 in the following areas:
laboratory N1 (supervisor - M. Ya.Vasiliev) - testing structural elements explosive charges providing a spherically converging detonation wave;
laboratory N2 (A.F.Belyaev) - explosive detonation research;
laboratory N3 (V.A. Tsukerman) - X-ray studies of explosive processes;
laboratory N4 (L. V. Altshuler) - determination of equations of state;
laboratory N5 (K. I. Shchelkin) - full-scale tests;
laboratory N6 (E.K. Zavoisky) - measurements of the compression of the central part;
laboratory N7 (A. Ya. Apin) - development of a neutron fuse;
laboratory N8 (N. V. Ageev) - study of the properties and characteristics of plutonium and uranium for use in bomb construction.
The beginning of full-scale work of the first domestic atomic charge can be attributed to July 1946. During this period, in accordance with the decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of June 21, 1946, Yu. B. Khariton prepared a "Tactical and technical assignment for an atomic bomb."

The TTZ indicated that the atomic bomb is being developed in two versions. In the first of them, the working substance should be plutonium (RDS-1), in the second - uranium-235 (RDS-2). In a plutonium bomb, the transition through the critical state must be achieved by symmetric compression of the spherical plutonium with an ordinary explosive (implosive version). In the second variant, the transition through the critical state is provided by combining the masses of uranium-235 with the help of an explosive ("cannon version").
At the beginning of 1947, the formation of design divisions began. Initially all design work were concentrated in a single scientific and design sector (NKS) KB-11, which was headed by V.A.Turbiner.
The intensity of work in KB-11 from the very beginning was very high and constantly increased, since the initial plans, which were very extensive from the very beginning, increased every day in terms of volume and depth of development.
Explosive experiments with large explosive charges began in the spring of 1947 at the KB-11 experimental sites still under construction. The largest volume of research was to be carried out in the gas-dynamic sector. In this regard, there in 1947 was sent big number specialists: K. I. Shchelkin, L. V. Altshuler, V. K. Bobolev, S. N. Matveev, V. M. Nekrutkin, P. I. Roy, N. D. Kazachenko, V. I. Zhuchikhin, A. T. Zavgorodniy, K. K. Krupnikov, B. N. Ledenev, V. M. Malygin, V. M. Bezotosny, D. M. Tarasov, K. I. Panevkin, B. A. Terletskaya and others.
Experimental studies of the gas dynamics of the charge were carried out under the leadership of K.I.Shchelkin, and theoretical questions were developed by a group located in Moscow, headed by Ya. B. Zel'dovich. The work was carried out in close cooperation with designers and technologists.

A.Ya. Apin, V.A. Alexandrovich and designer A.I. Abramov. To achieve the desired result, it was required to master new technology the use of polonium, which has a sufficiently high radioactivity. At the same time, it was necessary to develop complex system protection of materials in contact with polonium from its alpha radiation.
In KB-11 long time research and development of the most precise element of the charge-capsule-detonator were carried out. This important direction was led by A.Ya. Apin, I.P. Sukhov, M.I. Puzyrev, I.P. Kolesov and others. The development of research required the territorial approximation of theoretical physicists to the research, design and production base of KB-11. In March 1948, a theoretical department began to form in KB-11 under the leadership of Ya.B. Zeldovich.
Due to the great urgency and high complexity of work in KB-11, new laboratories and production sites began to be created, and seconded to them the best specialists Soviet Union mastered new high standards and tough production conditions.

The plans, drawn up in 1946, could not take into account the many difficulties that opened up to the participants in the atomic project as they moved forward. Resolution CM N 234-98 ss / op dated 02/08/1948 late date- by the time the plutonium charge parts are ready at Combine No. 817.
With regard to the RDS-2 option, by this time it became clear that it was inappropriate to bring it to the test stage due to the relatively low efficiency of this option in comparison with the cost of nuclear materials. Work on the RDS-2 was discontinued in mid-1948.

By the decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated June 10, 1948, they were appointed: first deputy chief designer of the "object" - Kirill Ivanovich Shchelkin; deputies of the chief designer of the object - Alferov Vladimir Ivanovich, Dukhov Nikolay Leonidovich.
In February 1948, 11 scientific laboratories worked intensively at KB-11, including theorists under the leadership of Ya.B. Zeldovich, who moved to the facility from Moscow. His group included D. D. Frank-Kamenetsky, N. D. Dmitriev, V. Yu. Gavrilov. Experimenters did not lag behind theorists. The most important works were carried out in the departments of KB-11, which were responsible for detonating a nuclear charge. Its design was clear, the detonation mechanism was also clear. In theory. In practice, it was required to carry out checks again and again, to carry out complex experiments.
Production workers also worked very actively - those who had to translate the ideas of scientists and designers into reality. A. K Bessarabenko was appointed the head of the plant in July 1947, N. A. Petrov became the chief engineer, P. D. Panasyuk, V. D. Shcheglov, A. I. Novitsky, G. A. Savosin, A. Ya. Ignatiev, V. S. Lyubertsev.

In 1947, a second experimental plant appeared in the KB-11 structure - for the production of parts from explosives, the assembly of experimental product units and the solution of many others. important tasks... The results of calculations and design studies were quickly embodied in specific parts, assemblies, blocks. This by the highest standards important work was carried out by two factories at KB-11. Plant No. 1 made many parts and assemblies of the RDS-1 and then assembled them. Plant No. 2 (A. Ya. Malsky became its director) was engaged in the practical solution of various problems associated with the receipt and processing of parts from explosives. The assembly of the explosive charge was carried out in a workshop headed by M.A.Kvasov.

Each stage passed set new tasks for researchers, designers, engineers, workers. People worked 14-16 hours a day, completely devoted to their work. On August 5, 1949, a plutonium charge manufactured at Combine No. 817 was accepted by a commission headed by Khariton and then sent by a letter train to KB-11. Here, on the night of August 10-11, a control assembly of the nuclear charge was carried out. She showed: RDS-1 corresponds technical requirements, the product is suitable for testing at the proving ground.

In the USA and the USSR, work began at the same time on the projects of the atomic bomb. In 1942, in August, in one of the buildings located in the courtyard of Kazan University, a secret Laboratory No. 2 began to operate. The head of this facility was Igor Kurchatov, the Russian "father" of the atomic bomb. At the same time in August, near Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the building of a former local school, the Metallurgical Laboratory, also secret, was opened. It was led by Robert Oppenheimer, the "father" of the atomic bomb from America.

It took a total of three years to complete the task. The first US was blown up at the test site in July 1945. Two more were dropped in August on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It took seven years for the birth of the atomic bomb in the USSR. The first explosion took place in 1949.

Igor Kurchatov: a short biography

The "father" of the atomic bomb in the USSR was born in 1903, on January 12. This event took place in the Ufa province, in the present-day city of Sim. Kurchatov is considered one of the founders of peaceful purposes.

He graduated with honors from the Simferopol men's gymnasium, as well as a vocational school. Kurchatov in 1920 entered the Tavrichesky University, the physics and mathematics department. Already 3 years later, he successfully graduated from this university ahead of schedule. In 1930, the "father" of the atomic bomb began working at the Physics and Technology Institute of Leningrad, where he headed the physics department.

The era before Kurchatov

Back in the 1930s, work began in the USSR related to atomic energy. Chemists and physicists from various scientific centers, as well as specialists from other countries, took part in all-Union conferences organized by the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

Radium samples were obtained in 1932. And in 1939 the chain reaction of fission of heavy atoms was calculated. 1940 became a landmark year in the nuclear field: the design of the atomic bomb was created, and methods for producing uranium-235 were proposed. Conventional explosives were first proposed to be used as a fuse to initiate a chain reaction. Also in 1940, Kurchatov presented his report on the fission of heavy nuclei.

Research during the Great Patriotic War

After the Germans attacked the USSR in 1941, nuclear research was suspended. The main Leningrad and Moscow institutes, which dealt with the problems of nuclear physics, were urgently evacuated.

The head of strategic intelligence, Beria, knew that Western physicists believed that atomic weapons were an achievable reality. According to historical data, Robert Oppenheimer, the head of the work on the creation of the atomic bomb in America, came incognito to the USSR in September 1939. The Soviet leadership could learn about the possibility of obtaining this weapon from the information provided by this "father" of the atomic bomb.

In 1941, intelligence data began to arrive in the USSR from Great Britain and the United States. According to this information, intensive work has been launched in the West, the purpose of which is the creation of nuclear weapons.

In the spring of 1943, Laboratory No. 2 was created for the production of the first atomic bomb in the USSR. The question arose as to whom to entrust the leadership of it. The list of candidates initially included about 50 names. Beria, however, chose Kurchatov. He was summoned in October 1943 to a bride in Moscow. Today the scientific center that grew out of this laboratory bears his name - "Kurchatov Institute".

In 1946, on April 9, a decree was issued on the creation of a design bureau at Laboratory No. 2. Only at the beginning of 1947, the first production buildings were ready, which were located in the zone of the Mordovian nature reserve. Some of the laboratories were located in the monastery buildings.

RDS-1, the first Russian atomic bomb

They called the Soviet prototype RDS-1, which, according to one version, meant a special one. "After a while this abbreviation began to decipher a little differently - "Stalin's jet engine". In documents to ensure secrecy Soviet bomb was called a "rocket engine".

It was a device with a capacity of 22 kilotons. Its development of atomic weapons was carried out in the USSR, but the need to catch up with the United States, which had gone ahead during the war, forced domestic science to use the data obtained by intelligence. The first Russian atomic bomb was based on the "Fat Man" developed by the Americans (pictured below).

It was he who was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 by the United States. Worked "Fat Man" on the decay of plutonium-239. The detonation scheme was implosive: the charges exploded along the perimeter of the fissile material and created a blast wave that "squeezed" the substance in the center and caused a chain reaction. This scheme was later recognized as ineffective.

The Soviet RDS-1 was made in the form of a large diameter and mass of a free-fall bomb. A charge of an atomic explosive device was made from plutonium. The electrical equipment, as well as the RDS-1 ballistic body, were of domestic design. The bomb consisted of a ballistic body, a nuclear charge, an explosive device, as well as equipment for automatic charge detonation systems.

Uranium deficit

Soviet physics, taking the plutonium bomb of the Americans as a basis, faced a problem that had to be solved in an extremely short time: the production of plutonium had not yet begun in the USSR at the time of development. Therefore, trophy uranium was originally used. However, the reactor required at least 150 tons of this substance. In 1945, mines in East Germany and Czechoslovakia resumed their work. Uranium deposits in the Chita region, Kolyma, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, the North Caucasus and Ukraine were found in 1946.

In the Urals, near the city of Kyshtym (not far from Chelyabinsk), they began to build "Mayak" - a radiochemical plant, and the first industrial reactor in the USSR. Kurchatov personally supervised the laying of uranium. Construction was launched in 1947 in three more locations: two in the Middle Urals and one in the Gorky Region.

Construction work proceeded at a fast pace, but uranium was still in short supply. The first industrial reactor could not be launched even by 1948. Only on June 7 of this year the uranium was loaded.

Nuclear reactor start-up experiment

The "father" of the Soviet atomic bomb personally took over the duties of the chief operator at the control panel of the nuclear reactor. On June 7, between 11 and 12 o'clock in the morning, Kurchatov began an experiment to launch it. The reactor reached 100 kilowatts on June 8. After that, the "father" of the Soviet atomic bomb drowned out the chain reaction that had begun. The next stage of preparation of the nuclear reactor lasted for two days. After cooling water was supplied, it became clear that the available uranium was insufficient to carry out the experiment. The reactor reached a critical state only after loading the fifth portion of the substance. The chain reaction became possible again. It happened at 8 o'clock in the morning on June 10.

On the 17th of the same month, Kurchatov, the creator of the atomic bomb in the USSR, made an entry in the shift supervisor's journal in which he warned that the water supply should in no case be stopped, otherwise an explosion would occur. On June 19, 1938 at 12:45, the industrial start-up of the nuclear reactor, the first in Eurasia, took place.

Successful bomb tests

In June 1949, the USSR accumulated 10 kg of plutonium - the amount that was planted in the bomb by the Americans. Kurchatov, the creator of the atomic bomb in the USSR, following Beria's decree, ordered a test of the RDS-1 for August 29.

A section of the Irtysh waterless steppe, located in Kazakhstan, not far from Semipalatinsk, was set aside for a test site. In the center of this experimental field, the diameter of which was about 20 km, a metal tower 37.5 meters high was constructed. RDS-1 was installed on it.

The charge used in the bomb was of a multilayer design. In it, the transfer to the critical state of the active substance was carried out by compressing it using a spherical converging detonation wave, which was formed in the explosive.

Explosion consequences

The tower was completely destroyed after the explosion. A funnel appeared in its place. However, the main damage was caused by the shock wave. According to eyewitnesses, when a trip to the explosion site took place on August 30, the experimental field was a terrible picture. Highway and railway bridges were thrown at a distance of 20-30 m and distorted. Cars and wagons are scattered at a distance of 50-80 m from the place where they were, residential buildings were completely destroyed. The tanks used to test the force of the blow lay with knocked down turrets on their sides, and the cannons became a heap of twisted metal. Also, 10 Pobeda cars, specially brought here for the experiment, burned down.

A total of 5 RDS-1 bombs were manufactured. They were not transferred to the Air Force, but were stored in Arzamas-16. Today in Sarov, which was previously Arzamas-16 (the laboratory is shown in the photo below), a model of the bomb is on display. It is in the local nuclear weapons museum.

"Fathers" of the atomic bomb

Only 12 Nobel laureates, future and present, participated in the creation of the American atomic bomb. In addition, they were assisted by a group of scientists from Great Britain, which was sent to Los Alamos in 1943.

In Soviet times, it was believed that the USSR completely independently solved the atomic problem. Everywhere it was said that Kurchatov, the creator of the atomic bomb in the USSR, was its "father". Although rumors of secrets stolen from the Americans occasionally leaked out. And only in 1990, 50 years later, Julius Khariton - one of the main participants in the events of that time - spoke about the great role of intelligence in the creation of the Soviet project. The technical and scientific results of the Americans were obtained by Klaus Fuchs, who arrived in an English group.

Therefore, Oppenheimer can be considered the "father" of bombs that were created on both sides of the ocean. We can say that he was the creator of the first atomic bomb in the USSR. Both projects, American and Russian, were based on his ideas. It is wrong to regard Kurchatov and Oppenheimer as only outstanding organizers. We have already talked about the Soviet scientist, as well as about the contribution made by the creator of the first atomic bomb in the USSR. Oppenheimer's major accomplishments were scientific. It was thanks to them that he turned out to be the head of the atomic project, as did the creator of the atomic bomb in the USSR.

Short biography of Robert Oppenheimer

This scientist was born in 1904, on April 22, in New York. in 1925 he graduated from Harvard University. The future creator of the first atomic bomb underwent an internship for a year at the Cavendish Laboratory near Rutherford. A year later, the scientist moved to the University of Göttingen. Here, under the guidance of M. Born, he defended his doctoral dissertation. In 1928, the scientist returned to the United States. The "father" of the American atomic bomb from 1929 to 1947 taught at two universities in this country - the California Institute of Technology and the University of California.

On July 16, 1945, the first bomb was successfully tested in the United States, and shortly thereafter, Oppenheimer, along with other members of the Provisional Committee created under President Truman, was forced to select targets for future atomic bombing. Many of his colleagues by that time actively opposed the use of dangerous nuclear weapons, which were not necessary, since Japan's surrender was a foregone conclusion. Oppenheimer did not join them.

Explaining his behavior later, he said that he relied on politicians and the military, who were better acquainted with the real situation. In October 1945, Oppenheimer ceased to be director of the Los Alamos Laboratory. He began work in Priston as head of the local Research institute... His fame in the United States, as well as outside this country, reached a climax. New York newspapers wrote about him more and more often. President Truman presented Oppenheimer with the Medal of Merit, the highest order in America.

It was written to them, except scientific works, several "Open mind", "Science and everyday knowledge" and others.

This scientist died in 1967, on February 18. Oppenheimer was a heavy smoker from his youth. He was diagnosed with laryngeal cancer in 1965. At the end of 1966, after an operation that did not bring results, he underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. However, the treatment did not give an effect, and on February 18, the scientist died.

So, Kurchatov is the "father" of the atomic bomb in the USSR, Oppenheimer in the USA. Now you know the names of those who pioneered the development of nuclear weapons. Answering the question: "Who is called the father of the atomic bomb?", We talked only about the initial stages of the history of this dangerous weapon. It continues to this day. Moreover, today new developments are being actively pursued in this area. The "father" of the atomic bomb, American Robert Oppenheimer, and Russian scientist Igor Kurchatov were only pioneers in this matter.

The creation of the Soviet nuclear bomb in terms of the complexity of scientific, technical and engineering problems is a significant, truly unique event that influenced the balance of political forces in the world after the Second World War. The solution of this problem in our country, which has not yet recovered from the terrible destruction and shocks of the four war years, became possible as a result of the heroic efforts of scientists, production organizers, engineers, workers and the whole people. The implementation of the Soviet atomic project required a real scientific, technological and industrial revolution, which led to the emergence of the domestic nuclear industry. This labor feat justified itself. Having mastered the secrets of the production of nuclear weapons, our Motherland for many years ensured the military-defense parity of the two leading states of the world - the USSR and the USA. The nuclear shield, the first link of which was the legendary product RDS-1, still protects Russia.
I. Kurchatov was appointed the head of the Atomic Project. From the end of 1942, he began to gather the scientists and specialists needed to solve the problem. Initially, the general leadership of the atomic problem was carried out by V. Molotov. But on August 20, 1945 (a few days after the atomic bombing of Japanese cities), the State Defense Committee decided to create a Special Committee, headed by L. Beria. It was he who began to lead the Soviet atomic project.
The first domestic atomic bomb had the official designation RDS-1. It was deciphered in different ways: "Russia makes itself", "Motherland gives to Stalin", etc. But in the official decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of June 21, 1946, the RDS received the wording - "Jet engine" C ".
The tactical and technical assignment (TTZ) indicated that the atomic bomb was being developed in two versions: with the use of "heavy fuel" (plutonium) and with the use of "light fuel" (uranium-235). The writing of the technical specification for the RDS-1 and the subsequent development of the first Soviet atomic bomb RDS-1 was carried out taking into account the available materials according to the scheme of the US plutonium bomb tested in 1945. These materials were provided by Soviet foreign intelligence. An important source of information was K. Fuchs, a German physicist, a participant in the nuclear programs of the USA and England.
Intelligence materials on the US plutonium bomb made it possible to avoid a number of mistakes in the creation of the RDS-1, significantly reduce the time for its development, and reduce costs. At the same time, it was clear from the very beginning that many technical solutions of the American prototype were not the best. Even at the initial stages, Soviet specialists could offer the best solutions for both the charge as a whole and its individual units. But the unconditional demand of the country's leadership was that it would be guaranteed and with the least risk of getting a working bomb before its first test.
The nuclear bomb was to be made in the form of an aerial bomb weighing no more than 5 tons, no more than 1.5 meters in diameter and no more than 5 meters in length. These restrictions were due to the fact that the bomb was developed in relation to the TU-4 aircraft, the bomb bay of which allowed the placement of a "product" with a diameter of no more than 1.5 meters.
As the work progressed, the need for a special research organization for the design and development of the "product" itself became apparent. A number of studies carried out by Laboratory No. 2 of the USSR Academy of Sciences required their deployment in a "remote and isolated location." This meant: it was necessary to create a special research and production center for the development of the atomic bomb.

Creation of KB-11

Since the end of 1945, there has been a search for a location for a top-secret facility. Various options were considered. At the end of April 1946, Yu. Khariton and P. Zernov examined Sarov, where the monastery was formerly located, and now the plant N 550 of the People's Commissariat of Ammunition was located. As a result, the choice was settled on this place, which was removed from large cities and at the same time had an initial production infrastructure.
The scientific and production activities of KB-11 were subject to the strictest secrecy. Its character and purpose were a state secret of paramount importance. From the first days, the issues of object security were in the center of attention.

April 9, 1946 a closed resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR was adopted on the creation of a Design Bureau (KB-11) at Laboratory No. 2 of the USSR Academy of Sciences. P. Zernov was appointed chief of KB-11, and Yu. Khariton was appointed chief designer.

The decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of June 21, 1946 determined the strict deadlines for the creation of the facility: the first stage was to go into operation on October 1, 1946, the second - on May 1, 1947. Construction of KB-11 ("object") was entrusted to the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. The "object" was supposed to occupy up to 100 sq. kilometers of forests in the zone of the Mordovian nature reserve and up to 10 sq. kilometers in the Gorky region.
The construction was carried out without projects and preliminary estimates, the cost of the work was taken at the actual costs. The construction team was formed with the involvement of a "special contingent" - this is how the prisoners were designated in official documents. The government created special conditions for securing the construction site. Nevertheless, construction went on with difficulty, the first production buildings were ready only at the beginning of 1947. Some of the laboratories are located in the monastery buildings.

The volume of construction work was great. Reconstruction of plant No. 550 was planned for the construction of a pilot plant on the existing areas. The power plant needed updating. It was necessary to build a foundry and press shop for working with explosives, as well as a number of buildings for experimental laboratories, test towers, casemates, warehouses. To carry out blasting operations, it was required to clear and equip large areas in the forest.
At the initial stage, there were no special premises for research laboratories - scientists were supposed to occupy twenty rooms in the main design building. The designers, as well as the administrative services of KB-11, were to be accommodated in the reconstructed premises of the former monastery. The need to create conditions for arriving specialists and workers forced to pay more and more attention to the residential community, which gradually acquired the features of a small town. Simultaneously with the construction of housing, a medical town was erected, a library, a cinema club, a stadium, a park and a theater were built.

Works in KB-11

In 1947, 36 scientific workers arrived at KB-11. They were seconded from various institutes, mainly from the USSR Academy of Sciences: the Institute of Chemical Physics, Laboratory No. 2, NII-6 and the Institute of Mechanical Engineering. In 1947, KB-11 employed 86 engineers and technicians.
Taking into account the problems that were to be solved in KB-11, the sequence of formation of its main structural divisions was outlined. The first research laboratories began to work in the spring of 1947 in the following areas:
laboratory N1 (supervisor - M. Ya. Vasiliev) - development of structural elements of the explosive charge, providing a spherically converging detonation wave;
laboratory N2 (A.F.Belyaev) - explosive detonation research;
laboratory N3 (V.A. Tsukerman) - X-ray studies of explosive processes;
laboratory N4 (L. V. Altshuler) - determination of equations of state;
laboratory N5 (K. I. Shchelkin) - full-scale tests;
laboratory N6 (E.K. Zavoisky) - measurements of the compression of the central part;
laboratory N7 (A. Ya. Apin) - development of a neutron fuse;
laboratory N8 (N. V. Ageev) - study of the properties and characteristics of plutonium and uranium for use in bomb construction.
The beginning of full-scale work of the first domestic atomic charge can be attributed to July 1946. During this period, in accordance with the decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of June 21, 1946, Yu. B. Khariton prepared a "Tactical and technical assignment for an atomic bomb."

The TTZ indicated that the atomic bomb is being developed in two versions. In the first of them, the working substance should be plutonium (RDS-1), in the second - uranium-235 (RDS-2). In a plutonium bomb, the transition through the critical state must be achieved by symmetric compression of the spherical plutonium with an ordinary explosive (implosive version). In the second variant, the transition through the critical state is provided by combining the masses of uranium-235 with the help of an explosive ("cannon version").
At the beginning of 1947, the formation of design divisions began. Initially, all design work was concentrated in a single scientific and design sector (NKS) KB-11, which was headed by V.A.Turbiner.
The intensity of work in KB-11 from the very beginning was very high and constantly increased, since the initial plans, which were very extensive from the very beginning, increased every day in terms of volume and depth of development.
Explosive experiments with large explosive charges began in the spring of 1947 at the KB-11 experimental sites still under construction. The largest volume of research was to be carried out in the gas-dynamic sector. In this regard, a large number of specialists were sent there in 1947: K. I. Shchelkin, L. V. Altshuler, V. K. Bobolev, S. N. Matveev, V. M. Nekrutkin, P. I. Roy, N. D. Kazachenko, V. I. Zhuchikhin, A. T. Zavgorodniy, K. K. Krupnikov, B. N. Ledenev, V. M. Malygin, V. M. Bezotosny, D. M. Tarasov, K. I. Panevkin, B. A. Terletskaya and others.
Experimental studies of the gas dynamics of the charge were carried out under the leadership of K.I.Shchelkin, and theoretical questions were developed by a group located in Moscow, headed by Ya. B. Zel'dovich. The work was carried out in close cooperation with designers and technologists.

A.Ya. Apin, V.A. Alexandrovich and designer A.I. Abramov. To achieve the desired result, it was required to master a new technology for using polonium, which has a sufficiently high radioactivity. At the same time, it was necessary to develop a complex system for protecting materials in contact with polonium from its alpha radiation.
For a long time, KB-11 has been conducting research and development work on the most precise element of the charge-capsule-detonator. This important direction was led by A.Ya. Apin, I.P. Sukhov, M.I. Puzyrev, I.P. Kolesov and others. The development of research required the territorial approximation of theoretical physicists to the research, design and production base of KB-11. In March 1948, a theoretical department began to form in KB-11 under the leadership of Ya.B. Zeldovich.
In view of the great urgency and high complexity of work in KB-11, new laboratories and production sites began to be created, and the best specialists of the Soviet Union seconded to them mastered new high standards and harsh production conditions.

The plans, drawn up in 1946, could not take into account the many difficulties that opened up to the participants in the atomic project as they moved forward. Resolution CM N 234-98 ss / op dated 02/08/1948, the timing of the manufacture of the charge RDS-1 were attributed to a later date - to the time the details of the charge from plutonium were ready at Combine N 817.
With regard to the RDS-2 option, by this time it became clear that it was inappropriate to bring it to the test stage due to the relatively low efficiency of this option in comparison with the cost of nuclear materials. Work on the RDS-2 was discontinued in mid-1948.

By the decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated June 10, 1948, they were appointed: first deputy chief designer of the "object" - Kirill Ivanovich Shchelkin; deputies of the chief designer of the object - Alferov Vladimir Ivanovich, Dukhov Nikolay Leonidovich.
In February 1948, 11 scientific laboratories worked intensively at KB-11, including theorists under the leadership of Ya.B. Zeldovich, who moved to the facility from Moscow. His group included D. D. Frank-Kamenetsky, N. D. Dmitriev, V. Yu. Gavrilov. Experimenters did not lag behind theorists. The most important work was carried out in the departments of KB-11, which were responsible for detonating a nuclear charge. Its design was clear, the detonation mechanism was also clear. In theory. In practice, it was required to carry out checks again and again, to carry out complex experiments.
Production workers also worked very actively - those who had to translate the ideas of scientists and designers into reality. A. K Bessarabenko was appointed the head of the plant in July 1947, N. A. Petrov became the chief engineer, P. D. Panasyuk, V. D. Shcheglov, A. I. Novitsky, G. A. Savosin, A. Ya. Ignatiev, V. S. Lyubertsev.

In 1947, a second experimental plant appeared in the KB-11 structure - for the production of parts from explosives, the assembly of experimental product units and the solution of many other important tasks. The results of calculations and design studies were quickly embodied in specific parts, assemblies, blocks. This by the highest standards important work was carried out by two factories at KB-11. Plant No. 1 made many parts and assemblies of the RDS-1 and then assembled them. Plant No. 2 (A. Ya. Malsky became its director) was engaged in the practical solution of various problems associated with the receipt and processing of parts from explosives. The assembly of the explosive charge was carried out in a workshop headed by M.A.Kvasov.

Each stage passed set new tasks for researchers, designers, engineers, workers. People worked 14-16 hours a day, completely devoted to their work. On August 5, 1949, a plutonium charge manufactured at Combine No. 817 was accepted by a commission headed by Khariton and then sent by a letter train to KB-11. Here, on the night of August 10-11, a control assembly of the nuclear charge was carried out. She showed: RDS-1 meets the technical requirements, the product is suitable for testing at the proving ground.

On February 7, 1960, the famous Soviet scientist Igor Vasilyevich Kurchatov died. An outstanding physicist in the most difficult time created a nuclear shield for his homeland. We will tell you how the first atomic bomb in the USSR was developed

Discovery of a nuclear reaction.

Since 1918 in the USSR, scientists have been conducting research in the field of nuclear physics. But only before the Second World War a positive shift was outlined. Kurchatov started to study radioactive transformations in 1932. And in 1939, he supervised the launch of the first cyclotron in the Soviet Union, which took place at the Radium Institute in Leningrad.

At the time, this cyclotron was the largest in Europe. This was followed by a number of discoveries. Kurchatov discovered the branching of a nuclear reaction when phosphorus was irradiated with neutrons. A year later, the scientist in his report "Fission of heavy nuclei" substantiated the creation of a uranium nuclear reactor. Kurchatov was pursuing a previously unattainable goal, he wanted to show how to use nuclear energy in practice.

War is a stumbling block.

Thanks to Soviet scientists, including Igor Kurchatov, our country in the development of nuclear research at that time came to the fore: there were many scientific developments in this area, personnel were trained. But the outbreak of the war almost canceled out everything. All research in nuclear physics was discontinued. Moscow and Leningrad institutes were evacuated, and the scientists themselves were forced to help the needs of the front. Kurchatov himself worked on protecting ships from mines and even dismantled mines.

The role of intelligence.

Many historians are of the opinion that without intelligence and spies in the West, the atomic bomb in the USSR would not have appeared in such a short time. Since 1939, information on the nuclear issue has been collected by the GRU of the Red Army and the 1st Directorate of the NKVD. The first message about plans to create an atomic bomb in England, which by the beginning of the war was one of the leaders in nuclear research, came in 1940. Among the scientists was a member of the KKE, Fuchs. For some time he transmitted information through spies, but then the connection was interrupted.

Soviet intelligence officer Semyonov worked in the United States. In 1943, he reported that the first nuclear chain reaction had been carried out in Chicago. It is curious that the wife of the famous sculptor Konenkov also worked for exploration. She was friends with famous physicists Oppenheimer and Einstein. In various ways, the Soviet authorities infiltrated their agents into the centers of American nuclear research. And in 1944, a special department was even created in the NKVD to collect information on Western developments on the nuclear issue. In January 1945, Fuchs passed on a description of the design of the first atomic bomb.

So intelligence greatly facilitated and accelerated the work of Soviet scientists. Indeed, the first atomic bomb test took place in 1949, although American experts assumed that this would happen in ten years.

Arms race.

Despite the height of hostilities, in September 1942, Joseph Stalin signed an order to resume work on the nuclear issue. On February 11, laboratory No. 2 was created, and on March 10, 1943 Igor Kurchatov was appointed scientific leader of the project on the use of atomic energy. Kurchatov was given extraordinary powers and promised full support from the government. So, in the shortest possible time, the first nuclear reactor was created and tested. Then Stalin gave two years to create the atomic bomb itself, but in the spring of 1948 this period expired. However, scientists could not demonstrate a bomb, they did not even have the necessary fission materials to make it. The deadlines were pushed back, but not by much - until March 1, 1949.

Of course, the scientific developments of Kurchatov and scientists from his laboratory were not published in open press... They sometimes did not receive proper coverage even in closed reports due to lack of time. Scientists have worked hard to keep up with the competition - Western countries... Especially after the bombings that the US military dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Overcoming difficulties.

The creation of a nuclear explosive device required the construction of an industrial nuclear reactor for its development. But then difficulties arose, because necessary materials for the operation of a nuclear reactor - uranium, graphite - still need to be obtained.

Note that even a small reactor required about 36 tons of uranium, 9 tons of uranium dioxide and about 500 tons of the purest graphite. The shortage of graphite was resolved by mid-1943. Kurchatov participated in the development of all technological process... And in May 1944, the production of graphite was set up at the Moscow Electrode Plant. But the right amount there was no uranium anyway.

A year later, mines in Czechoslovakia and East Germany resumed work, and uranium deposits were discovered in Kolyma, in the Chita region, in Central Asia, in Kazakhstan, in the Ukraine and in the North Caucasus. After that, they began to create atomic cities. The first appeared in the Urals, near the city of Kyshtym. Kurchatov personally supervised the loading of uranium into the reactor. Then three more plants were built - two near Sverdlovsk and one in the Gorky region (Arzamas -16).

Launch of the first nuclear reactor.

Finally, at the beginning of 1948, a group of scientists led by Kurchatov began assembling a nuclear reactor. Igor Vasilyevich was almost constantly at the facility, all responsibility for decisions taken he took over. He personally carried out all the stages of the start-up of the first industrial reactor. There were several attempts. So, on June 8, he began an experiment. When the reactor reached a power of one hundred kilowatts, Kurchatov interrupted the chain reaction, because there was not enough uranium to complete the process. Kurchatov understood the danger of the experiments and on June 17 wrote in the operational journal:

I warn you that if the water supply is stopped, there will be an explosion, therefore, under no circumstances should the water supply be interrupted ... It is necessary to monitor the water level in the emergency tanks and the operation of pumping stations.

Atomic bomb test at the test site near Semipalatinsk

Successful test of the atomic bomb.

By 1947, Kurchatov managed to obtain laboratory plutonium-239 - about 20 μg. It was separated from uranium chemical methods... Two years later, scientists managed to accumulate a sufficient amount. On August 5, 1949, he was sent by train to KB-11. By this time, the experts had finished assembling the explosive device. The nuclear charge, collected on the night of August 10-11, was indexed 501 for the RDS-1 atomic bomb. As soon as they did not decipher this abbreviation: "special jet engine", "Stalin's jet engine", "Russia makes itself."

After the experiments, the device was disassembled and sent to the test site. The test of the first Soviet nuclear charge took place on August 29 at Semipalatinsk polygon. The bomb was installed on a tower 37.5 meters high. When the bomb exploded, the tower collapsed completely, and a crater formed in its place. The next day we went to the field to check the operation of the bomb. The tanks, on which the force of the blow was tested, were overturned, the cannons were twisted by the blast wave, and ten Pobeda vehicles were burned down. Note that the Soviet atomic bomb was made in 2 years 8 months. It took US scientists a month less.

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