Manhattan Project
In 1942, this physicist combined two loves of his life—physics and New Mexico—in endorsing Los Alamos to be the home of the Manhattan Project.
Who is J. Robert Oppenheimer?
A U-boat is attacking a convoy at night on the surface, moving rapidly from the rear to infiltrate between columns to sink a merchant ship before escaping. Based on our latest analysis, what is the most effective immediate counter-maneuver to turn the tables and catch the U-boat, as developed in the 'Raspberry' exercise
Would it be to have the rear escorts immediately fire starshells and close the convoy at 15 knots, with one escort sweeping the stern while the others sweep the flank, forcing the U-boat to submerge into our trap?
This key wargame director visited the German U-boat HQ in Flensburg in May 1945 and was shocked to see a photograph of himself labeled "This is your enemy".
Who is Gilbert Roberts?
In 1945, the director of the WRNS, Vera Laughton Mathews, was made a Dame. After WATU formally shut down in 1945, these young women returned to civilian life. Later, Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) paid tribute to their covert contributions, noting that these tacticians had successfully forged distinct,independent lives after their wartime service
Who are the Wrens (Women's Royal Naval Service)?
In 1945, Director of the WRNS Vera Laughton Mathews received this royal honor for her immense contribution to the Women's Royal Naval Service
What is a Dame?
The world's first production plutonium reactors were at this Washington site that still has a lot of cleanup to do
What is Hanford?
What was the critical flaw in the early 'Buttercup' maneuver that led to it being replaced by 'Raspberry'
Was it that 'Buttercup' only allowed the escort commander to order the maneuver, resulting in a fatal delay and restricting the search area too much?
After WATU closed, this was the post-war fate of Captain Gilbert Roberts, who later felt bitter that his role was not recognized until a 1965 knighthood was promised then retracted.
What is becoming a bitter man who felt his role was not fully recognized (before later acknowledgement)?
Bound by the Official Secrets Act, many of these brilliant naval veterans seamlessly transitioned into private professions after 1945, keeping their monumental tactical achievements quiet for decades. One was Dame Vera Laughton Mathews. What was her notable post-war career focus
What is the Gas Industry / Smoke Abatement Society?
The Women's Royal Naval Service earned high praise in a wartime speech by this royal figure, who reassured them that their ashore calculations were "just as much war work" as the men engaging the enemy
Who is Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother?
The project, which employed nearly 130,000 people and cost nearly $2 billion, achieved success in 1945 with this, the first detonation of an atomic bomb in New Mexico.
What is the Trinity Test?
Following a torpedo hit, where did U-boats frequently hide according to 1942 intelligence
Were they hiding inside the convoy lanes themselves, having approached from the stern on the surface?
Upon WATU's closure, this Admiral sent a message praising the "magnificent work" of the staff in contributing to Germany's final defeat.
Who is Admiral Max Horton?
This 19-year-old rating spent the war commanding imaginary U-boats on the floorboards of Derby House. Post-war, she lived quietly in Liverpool, remaining a competitive bridge player never too far from WATU headquarters.
Who is Janet Okell?
This brilliant Chief Petty Officer Wren returned to her hometown in the northwest to live with her husband Beryl, leaving her former life so completely that they never once discussed their world-altering work at the dinner table or in bed
Who is Jean Laidlaw?
Chien-Shiung Wu, the first lady of physics, worked on this project from 1942 to 1947 and was the first female president of the American Physical Society.
What is the Manhattan Project?
What is the key to defeating a U-boat attack
Is it to force the submarine to submerge, thereby blinding it, and then using concentrated ASDIC (sonar) searches to destroy it?
When the war ended, most of this unit's 36 female wargamers returned to civilian life, though they had recently developed anti-submarine tactics that even King George VI came to study
What happened to the Women's Royal Naval Service (Wrens) at WATU?
This Scottish-born chartered accountant was the very first Wren to join WATU and invented successful anti-submarine countermeasures like "Operation Raspberry." After the war, she left military life behind, became the first woman to qualify as a chartered accountant in the UK, and enjoyed a quiet life with her husband, Beryl
Who is Jean Laidlaw?
She was a loving stepmother to her husband's children, socially known as Mrs. Roberts, and provided crucial care and support throughout his post-war health and professional struggles
Who is Jean Warren?
The Manhattan Project was an unprecedented, top-secret program implemented in the United States during World War II to design and build this type of weapon.
What is an atomic bomb?
After WATU was disbanded in July 1945, what was the immediate final mission assigned to Captain Gilbert Roberts by the Admiralty regarding German U-boat commanders
Did Roberts travel to Flensburg, Germany, in May 1945 to interview U-boat officers and verify that WATU's tactics had correctly identified German attacking methods?
Led by Dame Vera Laughton Mathews, this group of mathematically gifted women famously used floorboards and chalk to devise anti-submarine tactics. Honored by a famous speech by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, these unsung heroes were formally stood down after the war's end in July 1945
Who are the Wrens (or the Western Approaches Tactical Unit / WATU)?
After helping defeat U-boats, she returned to her life as a chartered accountant, living quietly with her husband Beryl in a union where they never discussed their pivotal wartime strategies at the dinner table
Who is Jean Laidlaw?
According to her husband, Beryl, this former Wren never spoke about her vital U-boat-sinking tactics at the dinner table, but she kept a model ship, WATU photos, and memorabilia beside their wedding picture
Who is the first female chartered accountant recruit at WATU?