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28 Mar 1935

United States
  • Dr. Robert H. Goddard recorded the first successful launch of his gyroscopically stabilized rocket, attaining an altitude of 4,800 ft and a speed of 560 mph. ww2dbase [Roswell, New Mexico | AC]
6 Feb 1942

United States
14 May 1942

United States
27 May 1942

United States
10 Jun 1942

United States
6 Nov 1942

United States
16 Nov 1942

United States
  • Robert Oppenheimer, Leslie Groves, and others toured a prospective site for nuclear research in New Mexico, United States. The site would not be selected due to Oppenheimer's opinion that the surrounding high cliffs would cause claustrophobic and thus lower morale, while engineers were concerned with the possibility of flooding. ww2dbase [Robert Oppenheimer | Leslie Groves | Operation Trinity and Manhattan Project | New Mexico | CPC]
21 Nov 1942

United States
24 Mar 1944

United States
  • 417th Bombardment Squadron of 25th Bombardment Group of US Army Air Forces, operating B-18 Bolo bombers, was assigned to Alamogordo Army Air Field in New Mexico, United States. ww2dbase [Alamogordo Army Air Field | Alamogordo, New Mexico | CPC]
25 Mar 1944

United States
5 Apr 1944

United States
  • At Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States, Emilio Segrè received the first sample of reactor-refined plutonium from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States. He would soon discover that the spontaneous fission rate of this plutonium was too high for use in a gun-type fission weapon. ww2dbase [Operation Trinity and Manhattan Project | Los Alamos, New Mexico | CPC]
4 Jul 1944

United States
  • J. Robert Oppenheimer revealed Emilio Segrè's final measurements to the Manhattan Project scientists at Los Alamos, New Mexico, which concluded that the "Thin Man" design for a gun-type plutonium weapon was not feasible. ww2dbase [Operation Trinity and Manhattan Project | Los Alamos, New Mexico | CPC]
20 Jul 1944

United States
24 Aug 1944

United States
28 Feb 1945

United States
16 Apr 1945

United States
  • Alamogordo Army Air Field near Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States was relieved of its training mission and was assigned to Continental Air Forces to become a permanent B-29 bomber base. ww2dbase [Alamogordo Army Air Field | Alamogordo, New Mexico | CPC]
10 May 1945

United States
15 Jul 1945

Photo(s) dated 15 Jul 1945
Physicist Norris Bradbury (left) with atomic bomb Preparing the atomic bomb Oppenheimer inspecting nuclear device “The Gadget” atomic device on 15 Jul 1945 as it being readied for the Trinity Test the following day, Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States.
16 Jul 1945

United States Photo(s) dated 16 Jul 1945
Atomic bomb Early stage of the nuclear explosion during Operation Trinity, 16 Jul 1945Early stage of the nuclear explosion during Operation Trinity, 16 Jul 1945, photo 2 of 2
17 Jul 1945

Photo(s) dated 17 Jul 1945
Aerial view of the aftermath of Operation Trinity, 17 Jul 1945; note the smaller crater on bottom right, which was the crater left by the 7 May 1945 test with 108 tons of TNT
21 Aug 1945

United States
  • At Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States, American physicist Harry Daghlian, Jr. of the Manhattan Project accidentally dropped a tungsten carbide brick onto a plutonium bomb core and received a fatal dose of 510 rems of radiation. ww2dbase [Harry Daghlian | Los Alamos, New Mexico | CPC]
29 Aug 1945

Photo(s) dated 29 Aug 1945
American physicist Harry Daghlian
1 Sep 1945

Photo(s) dated 1 Sep 1945
J. Robert Oppenheimer and Leslie Groves at the Trinity test site during a press visit, New Mexico, United States, 1 Sep 1945, photo 1 of 2J. Robert Oppenheimer and Leslie Groves at the Trinity test site during a press visit, New Mexico, United States, 1 Sep 1945, photo 2 of 2
15 Sep 1945

United States
  • American Manhattan Project physicist Harry Daghlian, Jr., after receiving a fatal dose of radiation during an accident on 21 Aug, died from radiation poisoning in Los Alamos, New Mexico, United States. ww2dbase [Harry Daghlian | Los Alamos, New Mexico | CPC]
16 Oct 1945

United States
17 Oct 1945

United States
30 Jan 1946

United States
  • Alamogordo Army Air Field near Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States was planned to be operated only by a skeleton crew, functioning only as a refuelling station and for emergency landings. ww2dbase [Alamogordo Army Air Field | Alamogordo, New Mexico | CPC]
24 Oct 1946

United States
  • A Devry 35-millimeter movie camera attached to a V2 rocket took the first photograph from space at the altitude of 65 miles. The rocket was captured in Germany in 1945, and was launched by the US Army at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, United States. ww2dbase [Vergeltungswaffe 2 | White Sands, New Mexico | CPC]
Photo(s) dated 24 Oct 1946
The first photo from space, 24 Oct 1946; taken from a Devry 35mm movie camera attached to a V2 rocket at altitude of 65 miles; the rocket was launched from US Army White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, United States
14 Nov 1947

United States
  • Alamogordo Army Air Field near Alamogordo, New Mexico, United States supported Alamogordo Guided Missile Test Base in the launching of the first Boeing Ground-to-Air Pilotless Aircraft. ww2dbase [Alamogordo Army Air Field | Alamogordo, New Mexico | CPC]
13 Jan 1948

United States

Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis




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