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Manhattan District History

The Manhattan District History is a multi-volume work commissioned by General Leslie R. Groves in late 1944, while the Manhattan Project was still ongoing. Paragraph 1-2, of SECTION 1, INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY, Book I - General, Volume 1 - General, describes the work as follows:

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1-2. Purpose and General Scope of the History.

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a. What, How, When, Where - The Manhattan District History, most of which is, and may remain, a classified secret document, is intended to describe, in simple terms, easily understood by the average reader, just what the Manhattan District did, and how, when, and where. 

The U. S. Department of Energy is custodian of one of the few copies of the work still extant, and their Office of Classification and Office of History and Heritage Resources, in collaboration with the Department's Office of Scientific and Technical Information, has made the full-text of the entire thirty-six volume Manhattan District History available on the departments OpenNet website, where the collection is described as follows: 

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"General Leslie Groves, head of the Manhattan Engineer District, in late 1944 commissioned a multi-volume history of the Manhattan Project called the Manhattan District History. Prepared by multiple authors under the general editorship of Gavin Hadden, a longtime civil employee of the Army Corps of Engineers, the classified history was 'intended to describe, in simple terms, easily understood by the average reader, just what the Manhattan District did, and how, when, and where.' 

 

The volumes record the Manhattan Project's activities and achievements in research, design, construction, operation, and administration, assembling a vast amount of information in a systematic, readily available form. The Manhattan District History contains extensive annotations, statistical tables, charts, engineering drawings, maps, photographs, and detailed indices. Only a handful of copies of the history were prepared. The Department of Energy's Office of History and Heritage Resources is custodian of one of these copies.

 

The history is arranged in thirty-six volumes grouped in eight books. Some of the volumes were further divided into stand-alone chapters. Several of the volumes and stand-alone chapters were never security classified. Many of the volumes and chapters were declassified at various times and were available to the public on microfilm. Parts of approximately a third of the volumes remain classified."​

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Below is the list of volumes as it appears on their website. All Volumes and Chapters on their website have links to downloadable pdf copies except for Volumes 2 and 3 of Book I. I opted not to include direct links on this website out of respect for Paragraph 9, Website Policies and Important Links, OSTI.gov, which reads, in part:

 

"Links may be made to the OSTI website from other personal and organizational websites as long as OSTI endorsement or approval is not implied. We request that you link to the OSTI site rather than downloading portions of it to another web server, so that our viewers will see our most up-to-date information."

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NOTE: The image quality of the Manhattan District History series leaves a lot to be desired, but the volumes are readable if you make a determined effort.

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  • Book I General

    • Volume 1 - General

    • Volume 1 - General Appendix E; General Index

    • Volumes 2 and 3 were not prepared by the Manhattan Engineer District

    • Volume 4 - Auxiliary Activities

      • Chapter 1 - Legislative Contacts of Manhattan District

      • Chapters 2 through Chapter 5 - Foundation of the National Laboratories (Ch. 2); Program for Production and distribution of radioisotopes (Ch. 3); Research and Development of Atomic Energy for Power (Ch. 4); and Declassification and Distribution of Project Information (Ch. 5)

      • Chapter 6 - Investigation of the After Effects of the Bombing in Japan

      • Chapter 7 - Contributions of Representatives of the Manhattan District to the Discussions and Proposals for International Control

      • Chapter 8 - Press Releases - Part 1

      • Chapter 8 - Press Releases - Part 2

      • Chapter 9 & 10 - Assistance on the Canadian Pile Project (Ch. 9); and the Oak Ridge Institute of Nuclear Studies (Ch. 10)

      • Chapter 11 - Ames Project

      • Chapter 12 - Activities of the National Bureau of Standards

      • Chapter 13 - Preparation and Publication of the Smyth Report

      • Chapter 14 - Investigation of Miscellaneous Processes of Separation of Uranium Isotopes

    • Volume 5 - Fiscal Procedures

    • Volume 5 - Fiscal Procedures Appendices

    • Volume 6 - Insurance Program and Supplement

    • Volume 7 - Medical Program

    • Volume 7 - Medical Program Supplement

    • Volume 8 - Personnel

    • Volume 9 - Priorities Program

    • Volume 10 - Land Acquisition CEW

    • Volume 10 - Land Acquisition CEW Appendices

    • Volume 11 - Safety Program

    • Volume 11 - Safety Program Appendix G

    • Volume 12 - Clinton Engineer Work - Central Facilities

    • Volume 12 - Clinton Engineer Work - Central Facilities Appendices A, B, & C

    • Volume 12 - Clinton Engineer Work - Central Facilities Appendices D

    • Volume 13 - Patents

    • Volume 14 - Intelligence & Security

    • Volume 14 - Intelligence & Security- Supplement (w/Appendices)

    • Volume 14 - Intelligence & Security - Foreign Intelligence Supplement No. 1

    • Volume 14 - Intelligence & Security - Foreign Intelligence Supplements Nos. 2 & 3

    • Volume 14 - Intelligence & Security - Top Secret Appendix to Supplement

  • Book II Gaseous Diffusion (K-25) Project

    • Volume 1 - General Features

    • Volume 2 - Research

    • Volume 3 - Design

    • Volume 4 - Construction

    • Volume 5 - Operations

    • Volume 5 - Operations - Supplement No. 1

    • Volume 5 - Operations - Appendix

  • Book III The P-9 Project

  • Book IV Pile Project X-10

    • Volume 1 - General Features

    • Volume 2 - Research Part I - Metallurgical Laboratory

    • Volume 2 - Research Part II - Clinton Laboratories

    • Volume 2 - Research Part II - Clinton Laboratories - Top Secret Appendix

    • Volume 3 - Design

    • Volume 3 - Design Appendices A, B, C, D

    • Volume 4 - Land Acquisition, HEW

    • Volume 4 - Land Acquisition, HEW Appendices A, B, C, D, E

    • Volume 5 - Construction

    • Volume 5 - Construction - Appendix A

    • Volume 5 - Construction - Appendices B, C, D, & E

    • Volume 6 - Operation

    • Volume 6 - Operations - Appendix A

    • Volume 6 - Operations - Appendices B, C, D, E

    • Volume 6 - Operations - Top Secret Appendix

  • Book V Electromagnetic Project

    • Volume 1 - General Features

    • Volume 2 - Research

    • Volume 3 - Design

    • Volume 4 - Silver Program

    • Volume 5 - Construction

    • Volume 6 - Operation

  • Book VI Liquid Thermal Diffusion (S-50) Project - Secret Supplement

  • Book VII Feed Materials, Special Procurement, and Geographical Exploration

    • Volume 1 - Feed Materials and Special Procurement

    • Volume 2 - Geographical Exploration

  • Book VIII Los Alamos Project (Y)

    • Volume 1 - General

    • Volume 1 - General Appendices A, B, C, D

    • Volume 1 - General Appendices E, F

    • Volume 2 - Technical

    • Volume 2 - Technical Supplement

    • Volume 3 - Auxiliary Activities

      • Chapter 1 - Los Angeles Procurement Office

      • Chapter 2 - Project Camel

      • Chapter 3 - Activities of Ohio State University Cryogenic Laboratory

      • Chapter 4 - Dayton Project

      • Chapter 5 and 6 - Navy Participation (Ch. 5) and Sandia (Ch. 6)

      • Chapter 7 - Boron

      • Chapter 8 - Operation Crossroads

      • Chapter 9 - Supplementary Activities

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History of the Activities of the Manhattan District Research

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