70 years ago on this date, August 6, 1945, Hiroshima, Japan is devastated when the atomic bomb "Little Boy" is dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay. Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning.
I will post information about the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from Wikipedia and other links.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki | |||||||
Part of the Pacific War, World War II | |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Manhattan District: 50 U.S., 2 British 509th Composite Group: 1,770 U.S. | Second General Army: Hiroshima: 40,000 Nagasaki: 9,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
20 U.S., Dutch, British prisoners of war killed | Hiroshima:
Total: 129,000–246,000+ killed | ||||||
In August 1945, during the final stage of the Second World War, the United States dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the only use of nuclear weapons for warfare in history.
As the war entered its sixth and final year, the Allieshad begun to prepare for what was anticipated to be a very costly invasion of the Japanese mainland. This was preceded by an immensely destructive firebombing campaignthat obliterated many Japanese cities. The war in Europe had concluded when Nazi Germany signed its instrument of surrender on May 8, 1945, but with the Japanese refusal to accept the Allies' demands for unconditional surrender, the Pacific Wardragged on. Together with the United Kingdom and China, the United States called for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declarationon July 26, 1945; this was buttressed with the threat of "prompt and utter destruction".
By August 1945, the Allied Manhattan Project had successfully detonated an atomic device in the New Mexico desert and subsequently produced atomic weapons based on two alternate designs. The 509th Composite Group of the U.S. Army Air Forces was equipped with the specialized Silverplate version of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, that could deliver them from Tinian in the Mariana Islands.
A uranium gun-typeatomic bomb (Little Boy) was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, followed by a plutonium implosion-typebomb (Fat Man) on the city of Nagasaki on August 9. Little Boy exploded 2,000 feet above Hiroshima in a blast equal to 12-15,000 tons of TNT, destroying five square miles of the city. Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects of the atomic bombings killed 90,000–166,000 people in Hiroshima and 39,000–80,000 in Nagasaki; roughly half of the deaths in each city occurred on the first day. During the following months, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness, and other injuries, compounded by illness and malnutrition. In both cities, most of the dead were civilians, although Hiroshima had a sizable military garrison.
On August 15, just days after the bombing of Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war, Japan announced its surrenderto the Allies. On September 2, it signed the instrument of surrender, effectively ending World War II. The bombings' role in Japan's surrender and their ethical justification are still debated.
OTHER LINKS: