How did they get 860 tons of graphite for the world's first continuously operated nuclear reactor? February 1943 memo sheds light
Tim Gawne, history buff and vigorous researcher of ORNL archives, passed along a Feb. 20, 1943 memo that provides a glimpse at how things worked during the early days of the World War II Manhattan Project. The once-classified memo details the process for acquiring the enormous amount of graphite that was needed for the Oak Ridge Pile, a.k.a., Site X Pile, Clinton Pile, etc., that ultimately became known as the Graphite Reactor -- the world's first continuously operated nuclear reactor, pilot facility for plutonium production, and a National Historic Landmark. The memo is titled Project 9733.