H. S. Traynor

Harry S. Traynor was born in Lexington, Kentucky, on September 4, 1911. Died, March 9, 1998. United States Government official. University of Kentucky, B.Sc. in M.E., 1935.

After graduation he joined the Aerofin Corporation of Newark, New Jersey. Later he transferred to the International Division of the Carrier Corporation of Syracuse, New York as an air conditioning and refrigeration sales engineer.

He reported for duty in March 1942 to General Kenneth D. Nichols. As an officer in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II, he was assigned to the Manhattan Project at New York, NY and Oak Ridge, Tennessee as Project Chief for three major production facilities in the U.S. and one in Canada. He was the Chief of the Heavy Water Project. He also served on the staff of the project commanding general Groves as “Special Assistant” in Washington, D.C. and in the European Theater. While there, Groves assigned Major Harry Traynor from Oak Ridge to assist US Ambassador John Winant to secure and create agreements for combined uranium ore control with the Belgian government.

After the war, he joined the Regent Knitting Company of Syracuse, NY as President and General Manager, serving 1946-1950. For four years, he was Contract Sales Manager of the Remington Corporation, Auburn, NY. During this period, he was recalled to active Army duty during the Korean conflict and assigned to the guided missile programs in the Office of the Secretary of Defense 1950-1954. He served as Special Assistant to the Director of Guided Missiles in the Department of Defense.

From 1954 to 1971, he was with the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission as a Special Assistant to the General Manager, and as Assistant General Manager and Assistant General Manager for administration. During this time he participated in the events noted.

Mentions of Harry S. Traynor in literature:

The Road to Trinity by General Kenneth D. Nichols

Heisenberg’s War: The Secret History of the German Bomb by Thomas Powers

Now It Can Be Told: The Story of the Manhattan Project by General Leslie Groves

Gathering Rare Ores: The Diplomacy of Uranium Acquisition by Jonathan E. Helmreich

Unclassified documents mentioning Harry S. Traynor:

Clearance for Special Intelligence:

https://www.nsa.gov/portals/75/documents/news-features/declassified-documents/friedman-documents/panel-committee-board/FOLDER_308/41733799077303.pdf

First International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy 1955 Geneva, Switzerland:

https://www.osti.gov/opennet/servlets/purl/16295117/16295117.pdf

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1749815

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp61-00549r000300100011-0