Manhattan Project

The Manhattan Project was a top secret U.S. project during World War II from 1942-1946 that focused on developing the first atomic bombs. The project was led by General Leslie Groves and physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and involved many scientists like Albert Einstein. It had several key facilities, including Los Alamos, New Mexico where nuclear weapons were assembled, and produced the first atomic bombs - "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" - that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, helping to end World War II. However, the bombs also led to massive death and destruction.