U.S. Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
A Brief Summary
During WWII, the U.S. had gained a new weapon; the atomic bomb. They had used it to destroy Hiroshima, Japan, and Nagasaki, Japan. The bombs also created a new man-made disease; radiation sickness. Six days after the destruction of Nagasaki, Japan surrendered to the U.S.
During WWII, the U.S. had gained a new weapon; the atomic bomb. They had used it to destroy Hiroshima, Japan, and Nagasaki, Japan. The bombs also created a new man-made disease; radiation sickness. Six days after the destruction of Nagasaki, Japan surrendered to the U.S.
Bombing of Hiroshima
On August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber Enola Gay took off from the island of Tinian and headed north by northwest toward Japan. The bomber’s target was Hiroshima, located on southwestern Honshu Island facing the Inland Sea. At 8:15 a.m. Hiroshima time the Enola Gay released “Little Boy,” its 9,700- pound uranium gun-type bomb over the city. 43 seconds later, Little Boy detonated 1,900 feet above the city. After a second shock wave reflected from the ground hit the plane, the crew looked back at Hiroshima.
On August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber Enola Gay took off from the island of Tinian and headed north by northwest toward Japan. The bomber’s target was Hiroshima, located on southwestern Honshu Island facing the Inland Sea. At 8:15 a.m. Hiroshima time the Enola Gay released “Little Boy,” its 9,700- pound uranium gun-type bomb over the city. 43 seconds later, Little Boy detonated 1,900 feet above the city. After a second shock wave reflected from the ground hit the plane, the crew looked back at Hiroshima.
“The city was hidden under the giant cloud… boiling up, mushrooming, terrible and incredibly tall,” Tibbets recalled. The explosion yield was estimated as much as 15,000 tons of TNT. Dark patterns of clothing burned into skin. Survivors outdoors close to the blast generally describe a literally blinding light combined with a sudden and overwhelming wave of heat. Those indoors were usually spared from the flash burns, but flying glass from windows filled most rooms. Within minutes, 9 out of 10 people half a mile or less from ground zero were dead. Roughly half of the city’s population was dead or injured. In those areas most seriously affected virtually no one escaped serious injury. The numerous fires that erupted in the city, eventually became one large firestorm, creating extremely strong winds that blew toward the fire. Eventually the firestorm overtook 4.4 square miles of the city, killing anyone who hadn’t escaped the first few minutes after the attack. Less than 4.5 percent suffered leg fractures. It wasn’t uncommon, but most victims who couldn’t walk were engulfed by the firestorm.
Hours after the attack, the Japanese government didn’t really know what was going on. Eventually, a Japanese staff officer was dispatched by plane to survey what had happened overhead. While he was still nearly 100 miles from the city, he began to report a huge cloud of smoke over the city. The first confirmation was sixteen hours later with the announcement of a bombing attack by the United States. Several days after the blast, medical staff began to recognize the first symptoms of radiation sickness among the survivors. Soon the death rate climbed again as the survivors who seemed to be recovering began suffering by this new illness. Deaths from radiation sickness did not peak until three or four weeks after the attack, and did not taper off until seven or eight weeks after the attack. Some 70,000 died of the blast, heat, and radiation effects, including 20 American airmen being held prisoner in the city. By the end of 1945, because of the lingering effects of radioactive fallout and other after effects, the Hiroshima death toll was something around 100,000. The five-year death total might have even reached or exceeded 200,000, as cancer and other long term effects took hold.
At 11 AM, August 6 (Washington DC time), radio stations played a prepared statement from President Truman inform in the American public that they have dropped a new type of bomb on Hiroshima- an “atomic bomb.” Truman warned that if Japan still refused to surrender unconditionally, the U.S. would attack additional targets with equally devastating results. Two days later, on August 8, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan and attacked Japanese forces in Manchuria.
Bombing of Nagasaki
In August, 1945, Nagasaki suffered a severe bomb attack similar to the one that affected Hiroshima, causing it to surrender, as the bombing of Nagasaki is the last major act of World War II. Scientists at Los Alamos were intrigued as to which type of bomb was better- a uranium-type of bomb, or a geranium-type bomb. “Little Boy” showed its effectiveness at Hiroshima, but another bomb was needed to be tested for the effectiveness of a uranium-type bomb. The main target was not Nagasaki, but was Kokura. Three potential targets for the second atomic bomb were Kokura, Kyoto, and Niigata. Nagasaki only became a target when Kyoto was withdrawn because of its religious association. Niigata was withdrawn because the distance was thought to be too great. It left the Americans with the last two remaining targets; Kokura and Nagasaki. Nagasaki was a major shipbuilding city and large military port, but it was not a favored target since it was bombed five times in the previous twelve months and any damage caused by the bomb would be difficult to asses, plus the way Nagasaki had grown as a port might mean the impact of a powerful bomb would be difficult to asses, plus the way Nagasaki has grown as a port meant that any damage might be dissipated as the city had grown across hills and valleys. The city was also broken up across stretches of waters.
In August, 1945, Nagasaki suffered a severe bomb attack similar to the one that affected Hiroshima, causing it to surrender, as the bombing of Nagasaki is the last major act of World War II. Scientists at Los Alamos were intrigued as to which type of bomb was better- a uranium-type of bomb, or a geranium-type bomb. “Little Boy” showed its effectiveness at Hiroshima, but another bomb was needed to be tested for the effectiveness of a uranium-type bomb. The main target was not Nagasaki, but was Kokura. Three potential targets for the second atomic bomb were Kokura, Kyoto, and Niigata. Nagasaki only became a target when Kyoto was withdrawn because of its religious association. Niigata was withdrawn because the distance was thought to be too great. It left the Americans with the last two remaining targets; Kokura and Nagasaki. Nagasaki was a major shipbuilding city and large military port, but it was not a favored target since it was bombed five times in the previous twelve months and any damage caused by the bomb would be difficult to asses, plus the way Nagasaki had grown as a port might mean the impact of a powerful bomb would be difficult to asses, plus the way Nagasaki has grown as a port meant that any damage might be dissipated as the city had grown across hills and valleys. The city was also broken up across stretches of waters.
The plane flown for the Nagasaki mission was the Bockscar. Even though the Enola Gay didn’t have an eventful journey, the same was not true for the Bockscar. “Fat Man,” the atomic bomb used in the Nagasaki mission, was not a gun-type bomb but used the implosion method that it had a circle of 64 detonators that would drive pieces of plutonium together into super-critical mass. Since Nagasaki had been targeted in the past, people in the city had become blase when the air raid siren sounded. The same was true August 9th. The irony was that Nagasaki was well served with good bomb shelters and far fewer people would have been killed or injured if the air raid sirens had been listened to. “Fat Man” was a very effective bomb. The explosion was larger than “Little Boy’s” but it’s impact was reduced by the city’s natural topography. An area about 2.3 miles by 1.9 miles was destroyed, but the rest of the city was saved from the blast.
The train service in Nagasaki was not interrupted and the firestorm in Hiroshima did not enter Nagasaki, since many parts of the city was broken up by water, but considerable damage was done to the city. The awful injuries in Hiroshima were also found in Nagasaki, but not all the medical facilities were destroyed like in Hiroshima, but nobody was capable of treating the injured. Death and injury in Nagasaki depended on where people lived. Those who lived on the Koba hillside, three and a half miles away from ground zero, were protected from the blast by a mountain. People caught in the blast went to Koba for help.
Much like Hiroshima, many people died after the immediate impact of the bomb from radiation sickness. Nobody knew how to treat those with this new illness.