During World War II, the Allies were concerned that Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, was close to developing an atomic bomb. To prevent this, the Allies sent soldiers on secret missions to gather intelligence on the Nazi nuclear program. One such mission, Operation Gunnerside, involved a team of Norwegian scientists who infiltrated a heavy water facility in Vemork, Norway, and sabotaged the equipment, setting back the Nazi's nuclear program.
Later, a covert special-ops unit called Lightning A, led by Colonel Boris Pash, was formed to kidnap Hitler's main scientists and capture research files on the Nazi nuclear program. The team successfully captured 25 scientists, including Werner Heisenberg, and uncovered research files that revealed the Nazi's nuclear program was not as advanced as thought.
The investigation revealed that Hitler's lack of focus on the nuclear program, combined with internal divisions among scientists, hindered the development of an atomic bomb. The United States, on the other hand, successfully developed nuclear weapons through the collaborative Manhattan Project.
The Allies' efforts ultimately prevented the Nazis from developing nuclear weapons, and the war was won without the devastating consequences of nuclear warfare.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. The Allies were concerned about the Nazi's nuclear program during World War II.
2. The Nazis started researching nuclear power under the name "uranium project" shortly after the German invasion of Poland in September 1939.
3. The German Army Ordnance started the program by putting physicist Kurt Diebner in charge to investigate the military applications of fission.
4. Diebner worked with physicist Werner Heisenberg to calculate the possibility of using nuclear fission to create a chain reaction.
5. The Nazis understood the basic principles of an atomic bomb, but had not yet been able to weaponize atomic energy.
6. Information from a Norwegian scientist who escaped Nazi-occupied Norway provided vital information on the path the Nazis were planning to take to create their nuclear bomb.
7. The scientist had worked at a facility that specialized in creating heavy water, a water molecule with hydrogen atoms that have a neutron in their nucleus.
8. Heavy water was vital to the Nazi nuclear program because it could be used to create the chain reaction needed for a nuclear explosion.
9. A mission, called Operation Gunnerside, was organized to shut down the heavy water facility in Vemork, Norway.
10. The Norwegian scientists, led by Leif Tronstad, volunteered to spearhead the mission and were trained in Scotland.
11. The team infiltrated the facility, set explosives, and successfully disrupted the Nazi's ability to make heavy water.
12. The Allies were concerned that the Nazis might have already stored up enough heavy water to make an atomic bomb.
13. Intel suggested that there might be an operational nuclear reactor somewhere in Germany.
14. The Allies were making progress across the world, and the United States had completed the testing of their nuclear bombs.
15. Allied forces were advancing on Berlin, and Hitler was backed into a corner.
16. A secret mission, called the Alsos Mission, was formed to kidnap Hitler's main scientists and end the possibility of a Nazi nuclear bomb.
17. The team, led by Colonel Boris Pash, followed the Allied troops to the front lines and interrogated captured scientists for more information about the Nazi nuclear program.
18. The team found a nuclear research facility hidden in a textile mill with laboratories in the surrounding buildings.
19. They captured 25 scientists and uncovered the location of hidden research files.
20. The Nazis had conducted a lot of research around nuclear weapons, but Hitler never really put the energy or effort into developing his nuclear program.
21. The Nazi nuclear program was divided into different camps, with several scientists working on nuclear fission but not collaborating.
22. The United States developed nuclear weapons first by consolidating all research to one project, the Manhattan Project.
23. The second world war was over, and there was no longer any need to worry about Hitler and his nuclear ambitions.
24. The Cold War was about to begin.