How far were the Nazis to actually to develop an atomic bomb with their hydroelectic plants in occupied Norway?

by invictusducemw

What was the importance of Operation Gunnerside in Norway, and did it prevent the development of nuclear weapons or dangerous bombs that could have altered the result of World War 2? How far were the nazis to actually to develop these bombs?

restricteddata

The Nazis were not anywhere close to getting a nuclear weapon during World War II. They did not have a nuclear weapon production program at all; they had a very modest nuclear reactor research program. So even if they had decided they really wanted to make nuclear weapons (which is what they specifically didn't do), it would have taken them years to actually acquire the fuel necessary for them.

Which takes away some of the narrative urgency of the Norsk Hydro sabotage, which is why you never hear that much about that when you learn about said sabotage, especially through popular sources. "This exciting and daring and deadly action... was actually not necessary, but the people doing it didn't know that at the time," does not sell shows. To be sure, the people involved in the sabotage absolutely thought it was necessary and timely — the fact that the Germans had decided not to pursue an atomic bomb production program was not known by the Allies until late 1944.

Anyway, the Norsk Hydro sabotage did complicate (though by no means stopped) the acquisition of the heavy water by the Germans, and they were using that heavy water as part of their reactor research program. But even if no sabotage had happened, it would not have gotten them actually any practical amount closer to making a nuclear bomb. They might have made a little more progress on nuclear reactor research. But there would have still been a long distance between that and a weapon.a