issue, President Truman ordered the Conmission to proceed with the
development. of a hydrogen batb on January 31, 1950.8
The President's order put the Commission in a difficut position.
To produce the large quantities of tritium that the hydrogen bomb would
require, the Commission would have to reduce plutonium production at
Banford and switch reactors to tritium production.
duction dropped,
If plutonium pro-
so would the production of Wezpcns. ~ The Commission
Gecided in May 1950, therefore, to build two reactors at a new site
(Savannah River was later selected) to proé:ce tritium for the hydrogen
bamnb program.”
The Korean War
On June 25, 1950, North Korear. forces attacked South Korea.
Within
days the United States had camricted air, naval, and ground forces to
the Korean War.
Once again +. 2 nation was at war and the Joint Chiefs
of Staff had to send what few -2serves of trained infantry units America
possessed into action.
Secause of fears that the Korean War easily
could escalate into a general war, the Commission felt even greater
urgency for the mucl<ear weapon program.
' President Tran soon decided to reinforce overstretched American
troops with atomic muscle.
With the "very safety of the nation .
in the balance," the Joint Chiefs of Staff asked the Commissicn to
transfer ncnnuclear weapon components to military bases in the United
Kingdom -n early July.
Only nuclear cores would then have to be rushed
across the Atlantic should the Commimists attack in Europe.
Because che
process of arming the bombs and loading them onto airplanes wes so
ponderous,
the move
constituted
a
significant
increase
in American
iD