Rare Manhattan Project report signed by Oppenheimer and written just one month before America dropped 'Little Boy' on Hiroshima is up for auction and already busting through $25,000 reserve price

The first atomic bomb report accessible to the public, written weeks before the World War II bombing of Japan and signed by Robert Oppenheimer being auctioned.

The historic document detailing the development of the Manhattan Project, penned in 1945 by American physicist Henry D Smyth, is already the subject of bids over $35,000.

The project culminated with the United States dropping the 'Little Boy' bomb on the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, with the second 'Fat Man' dropped on Nagasaki three days later, leading to Japan's surrender and the end of the war.

The report, written prior to the testing of the first bomb at the Alamogordo 'Trinity' test site, has a preface by the author, dated July 1, 1945, and a front page adorned by signatures gathered by Nellie V. Sanderson, General Leslie Groves' War Department secretary.

RR Auction says: 'What makes this document truly extraordinary is not only its content but also the signatures adorning its cover - 24 of the most eminent minds behind the Manhattan Project, including luminaries such as J. Robert Oppenheimer, Enrico Fermi, Ernest Lawrence, James Chadwick, Harold Urey, and Isidor I. Rabi.'

An atomic bomb report (title page pictured), titled 'Atomic Bombs: A General Account of the Development of Methods of Using Atomic Energy for Military Purposes Under the Auspices of the United States Government, 1940-1945', written weeks before the World War II bombing of Japan and signed by is to be auctioned, with bidding at over $35,000 at time of writing

The signatures adorning its cover are of 24 of the most eminent minds behind the Manhattan Project including Robert Oppenheimer (sixth down on the left)

Oppenheimer (pictured) directed the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos laboratory as the atomic bomb was developed

Titled 'Atomic Bombs: A General Account of the Development of Methods of Using Atomic Energy for Military Purposes Under the Auspices of the United States Government, 1940-1945', the report was commissioned by Groves to serve as an overview of the development and implementation of the first atom bombs.

Groves anticipated needing a sanitized history of the project for public consumption, via the press. 

Among the distinguished signatories are Enrico Fermi, renowned for creating the world's first nuclear reactor; J. Robert Oppenheimer, the visionary physicist who directed the Los Alamos Laboratory; Ernest Lawrence, Nobel laureate and pioneer of the cyclotron; James Chadwick, discoverer of the neutron; and Harold Urey, a Nobel Prize recipient and expert in isotope separation.

Also included in this esteemed list are Richard C. Tolman, John H. Manley, Samuel T. Arnold, Gen. Kenneth D. Nichols, Robert F. Bacher, Adm. William R.. Purnell, Adm. William S. Parsons, Samuel K. Allison, Adm. Frederick L. Ashworth, Gen. Thomas F. Farrell, Col. Elmer E. Kirkpatrick, William Shurcliff, Col. Franklin T. Matthias, Isidor I. Rabi, James B. Conant, George L. Harrison, and Stafford L. Warren, each contributing significantly to the project's success.

Oppenheimer's contributions extends beyond the pages of history, with the events immortalized in Christopher Nolan's 2023 film, Oppenheimer.

The movie - with its star cast including Cillian Murphy as the titular character - garnered widespread acclaim during this year's awards season, with nominations at the Oscars and various prestigious film awards.

Its box office success will have doubtless brought extra attention to the rare document's auction, and perhaps even had a knock-on effect on its desirability to would-be buyers. 

The document is being sold in a lot together with a collection of letters and other documents as part of Boston-based RR Auction's Fine Autograph and Artifacts event.

Having been given a reserve price of $25,000, the lot is sitting at a current bit of over $35,000 at time of writing, and the auction will conclude on March 14.

Christopher Nolan's hugely successful biopic on the physicist last year, starring Cillian Murphy as the lead, will have only added to the RR Auction lot's appeal

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress 'Enola Gay' landing after it dropped the 'Little Boy' atom bomb on Hiroshima, August 6, 1945

Paul Tibbets captained the flight and is seen waving out of the cockpit ahead of takeoff

The 'Little Boy' was the less powerful of the two atomic bombs used in World War II, but still packed the force of 15,000 tonnes-worth of dynamite

Hiroshima (seen after the attack) was flattened, and the death toll surpassed 100,000

The 200-page headline report came just two weeks before the first detonation of the nuclear weapon - in New Mexico - and, according to the auctioneer, was very likely the first publicly available report on the creation of the bomb at its release to press on August 12, 1945.

Another few weeks after the July 16 test, the Enola Gay - a Boeing B-29 Superfortress piloted by Paul Tibbets - took off from Tinian Island in Northern Marianas for Hiroshima, Japan.

The city of over 300,000 was targeted as it was the base of Japan's 2nd General Army, as well as being an economic hub which had been the focus of little attention from previous allied air raids.

'Little Boy' was dropped later that day and flattened an estimated area of 4.7 square miles with a force of more than 15,000 tonnes-worth of dynamite. The death toll surpassed 100,000.

Three days later the Bockscar, another B-29 - this time piloted by Charles Sweeney and carrying a Fat Man bomb - took off for Kokura.

However, cloud cover on August 9 meant that the attack could not be carried out as intended, so the crew changed course for Nagasaki.

The second bomb used was the 'Fat Man'. A replica is seen (right) next to a replica of the Little Boy

The second bomb, on Nagasaki, was even more powerful, but killed comparatively few as it was dropped in the city's industrial valley. The mushroom cloud above Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, is pictured

Kyoto was originally chosen as a key target of the Manhattan Project, but it was eventually ruled out based on its religious and cultural significance, making way for the eventual second bomb site.

The Fat Man was dropped on the city's industrial valley with an even greater force than that of the Little Boy, although much of the city was protected by the surrounding hills.

As a result there was a comparatively low death toll of roughly 40,000. 

Even more atomic bombs were scheduled to be dropped, but President Harry Truman ordered the end of the bombing before the planned third assault on August 19 and Japan announced its surrender on August 15.