I recall reading a book about the Manhattan project, where it mentioned that Truman rushed the testing of the bomb so that he could tell Stalin at an upcoming meeting that the US had one tested and working. Cold War anticipation was absolutely a factor.
I recall reading a book about the Manhattan project, where it mentioned that Truman rushed the testing of the bomb so that he could tell Stalin at an upcoming meeting that the US had one tested and working. Cold War anticipation was absolutely a factor.
IIRC he didn't rush the test, he pushed back the conference with Churchill and Stalin.
I wasn't sure so I decided to look it up
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_(nuclear_test)#Detonation
Wikipedia says that they detonated it a few days before ideal weather conditions to have the test done before the Potsdam conference.
I stand corrected! I was doubly wrong because I thought it was the conference at Yalta, which I now see was still under FDR.