Fat Man - Interior of Bomb

Interior of Bomb

The original blueprints of the interior of both Fat Man and Little Boy have been classified since World War II. However, much information about the main parts is available in the unclassified public literature. Of particular interest is a description of Fat Man sent to Moscow by Soviet spies at Los Alamos in 1945. It was released by the Russian government in 1992.

Below is a diagram of the main parts of the "Fat Man" device itself, followed by a more detailed look at the different materials used in the physics package of the device (the part responsible for the nuclear initiation).

  1. AN 219 contact fuze (four)
  2. Archie radar antenna
  3. Plate with batteries (to detonate charge surrounding nuclear components)
  4. X-Unit, a firing set placed near the charge
  5. Hinge fixing the two ellipsoidal parts of the bomb
  6. Physics package (see details below)
  7. Plate with instruments (radars, baroswitches and timers)
  8. Barotube collector
  9. California Parachute tail assembly (0.20-inch (5.1 mm) aluminium sheet)

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