ald ranch house.

The next morning the
entir e bomb was raised to th
e top of the 100-f
oot steel tower

and placed

in a small shelter. A crew then attached all the detonators and by 5 p.m. it was complete. The 1 00-foot steel tower at ground zero. At the top is a small shelter to protect the bomb during final assembly. The bomb was not dropped from the tower but was stationary at detonation. The tower was vaporized in the blast. (The test) Three observation points were established at 10,000 yards from ground zero. None of the manned bunkers are left. These were wooden shelters protected by concrete and earth. The south bunker served as the control center for the test. The automatic firing device was triggered from there as key men such as Dr. Robert Oppenheimer, head of Los Alamos, watched. Many scientists and support personnel, including Maj. Gen. Leslie Groves, head of the Manhattan Project, watched the explosion from base camp which was ten miles southwest of ground zero. All the buildings at base camp were removed after the test. Most visiting VIPs, like Edward Teller, watched from Compania Hill, 20 miles northwest of ground zero. The test was scheduled for 4 a.m. July 16, but rain and lightning early that morning caused

itDTS to be postponed. The device could not be exploded under rainy conditions because rain and winds would increase the danger from radioactive fallout and interfere with observation of the test. At 4:45 a.m. the crucial weather report came through announcing calm to light winds with broken clouds for the following two hours. At 5: 10 a.m. the countdown started and at 5:29:45 the