little boy and fat man

[brandy]

i was just wondereing if anyone knew the costs involved in making little boy (hiroshima bomb) or fat man (nagasaki bomb). like what sort of prices do plutonium 238 and uranium 235 and which one do you reckon was more expensive

[Overmind]

The total estimated cost of the Atomic program through August 1945 in WWII was $20 billion ! This included the research, materials, plants and people. The estimated cost for each bomb was $5 billion.

Reference for the above information:
Richard G. Hewlett and Oscar E. Anderson, Jr., The New World: A History of the United States Atomic Energy Commission, Volume 1, 1939/1946 (Oak Ridge, Tennessee: U.S. AEC Technical Information Center, 1972), pp. 723-724.