Countdown to Atomgeddon

The story leading to the development and the first test of the atomic bomb is a complicated study in human endeavor under strict security and secrecy. During the later months of World War II in Europe, there was a growing concern that many of the scientists in Germany were in the process of developing a similar weapon that the United States was developing and eventually tested and deployed to end the war in the Pacific arena. Many scientists immigrated to.....

Countdown to Atomgeddon – Europe

Countdown to Atomgeddon – Europe fictionalizes the Alsos Missions, an important part of the Manhattan project participated by leading western countries to create the atomic bomb. The book details the effort to procure many of the scientists, research materials and laboratory equipment from Germany, which, prior to the birth of the Alsos, was very close to developing the weapon that it would have insured world dominance by the Third Reich. The story unfolds through the narrative of two journalists from.....

Countdown to Atomgeddon – The Pacific War

The latest historical fiction of author James Howell Countdown to Atomgeddon: The Pacific War recreates the dark and delicate situation of the recent past—a play of bombs, wars, and duel with death.

The German submarine U-234 left Norway on April 14, 1945, on its last mission to Japan with a cargo of uranium and other strategic military supplies. The cargo included a complete jet aircraft and several tons of documents and plans to build a jet aircraft and other German aircraft in a plant to be built in Japan.

Japan and Germany had cooperated in their efforts to build the first atomic bomb by sharing precious raw materials and technology. The Allies had effectively blocked thousands of tons of seagoing strategic military supplies, and later in the war, Germany had invaded the previously neutral country of Russia, cutting off the other route for supplies traffic via the Trans-Siberian Railway.

At the time, there were no aircraft capable of large shipments of cargo over such distances, and the only option was shipping by the only route left: underwater by submarine. The U-234 was the last resort to ship large quantities of cargo over long distances. Aboard the submarine were forty-five crewmen, a German general, three German officers, and two high-ranking Japanese naval officers.
On 8 May, 1945, the submarine was ordered to surrender to the Allies as it plied the cold waters of the North Atlantic.

The war had ended in Germany, and the submarine surrendered to the USS Sutton. The surrender of the submarine and its cargo was accomplished with the aid of the Alsos Missions as part of the Manhattan Project. The Alsos Missions continued works in the Pacific to assist the Allies develop and eventually deploy the first atomic bomb.