TNT Test Trinity. The Manhattan Project was a research and development program by the US with the UK and Canada that produced the first atomic bomb during WWII. From 1942-46, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army Corps of Engineers. Because of the complexity of an implosion-style weapon, it was decided that an initial test would be required. Groves approved the test, subject to the active material being recovered. Consideration was therefore given to a controlled fizzle, but Oppenheimer opted instead for a full-scale nuclear test, codenamed Trinity. Bainbridge selected the bombing range near Alamogordo Army Airfield as the site for the test. A base camp was built to house staff. A one-hundred foot shot tower was designed and constructed at ground zero. Concrete bunkers to house cameras and other diagnostic equipment popped up in a rough circle around ground zero. A commitment had been made to test the gadget "as soon after July 15th as possible," and before or during the upcoming Potsdam Conference. TNT Trinity Test occured on July 16th.