DEMOBILIZATION OF OSRD 3O9 



that time. He suggested the assumption that organized resistance of the 

 Japanese would have substantially ceased by the summer of 1947, which, 

 in view of the inherent lag between research and actual field use, indi- 

 cated that OSRD research and development on new weapons should ter- 

 minate by June 30, 1946. Field service activities in the analysis of the 

 use of new weapons and in their effective introduction into combat should 

 continue, however, until the end of hostilities against an organized enemy. 

 This point of view was concurred in by NDRC at its meeting on June i 

 and communicated to the Division Chiefs for their guidance. 



July I, 1945, brought a new fiscal year with hostilities still continuing 

 in the Pacific. At its meeting on July 7, 1945, NDRC adopted tentative 

 divisional budgets for the period ending February 28, 1946, aggregating 

 $35,606,000. Those budgets were recommended on a basis which contem- 

 plated that expenditures from March i, 1946, to the end of the fiscal year 

 would be at approximately 50 per cent of the rate through February 28, 

 1946. At the same meeting the Committee agreed to receive proposals from 

 the divisions for new contracts and extensions of contracts to February 28, 

 1946. 



The meeting on August 3, 1945, devoted considerable time to a discus- 

 sion of the action which the Committee might take with respect to projects 

 and contracts if the defeat of Japan should come unexpectedly. Definite 

 decisions were postponed until the next meeting of the Committee. Recom- 

 mendations were adopted for the extension of a large number of contracts 

 to February 28, 1946, in view of the fact that they were presently sched- 

 uled to terminate on August 31, 1945, or less than one month from the 

 date of the Committee meeting. Bush, Conant, and Tolman had been 

 high in the councils on the development of the atomic bomb and knew 

 that the stage was being set for the initial use of the bomb over Japan. 

 Although the Committee adopted the recommendations for contract ex- 

 tensions, Bush delayed acting upon the recommendations except for a few 

 urgent cases. When the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was fol- 

 lowed after a short interval by the cessation of hostilities against Japan, 

 Bush withheld his approval from the August 3 recommendations. 



The atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6. On August 7, 

 Bush sent a memorandum to the members of NDRC stating that the in- 

 troduction of atomic bombs required a re-examination of termination plans. 

 Japan surrendered on August 14. 



On August 16 Bush informed NDRC and CMR that he would transmit 

 to them the orders from the President regarding termination as soon as 

 they were received. He suggested that the Committees prepare to put the 

 presidential policies into effect by delegating most of the determination 

 to the Executive Officer of NDRC and the medical administrative officer 

 of CMR under the general supervision of the respective Chairmen and in 



