Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki
By: Spenser Myers
Real Footage - Atomic Bomb- Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The Little Boy bomb, except for the uranium payload, was ready at the beginning of May 1945. The uranium-235 projectile was completed on June 15, and the target on July 24. The target and bomb pre-assemblies (partly assembled bombs without the fissile components) left California, on July 16 aboard the ship USS arriving July 26. The target inserts followed by air on July 30.
On the morning of August 6th, a B-29 Superfortress from the 509th Composite Group of the 20th Air Force division, named Enola Gay took off from Tinian. At about 8:16 am, the Enola Gay dropped the bomb “Little Boy,” weighing 9,000 lbs. and being ten feet long in length.
Hiroshima was the primary target of the first nuclear bombing mission on August 6, with Kokura and Nagasaki as alternative targets. The 393d Bombardment Squadron B-29 Enola Gay, took off from North Field, Tinian, about six hours flight time from Japan. The Enola Gay was accompanied by two other B-29s.
Due to crossword, the bomb missed the aiming point, the Aioi Bridge, by approximately 800 ft and detonated directly over Shima Surgical Clinic. It created a blast equivalent to 16 kilotons of TNT. The weapon was considered very insufficient, with only 1.7% of its material fissioning. The radius of total destruction was about 1 mile, with resulting fires across 4.4 square miles.
The Manhattan Project was the secret operation that created the atomic bombs. This two billion dollar project began in 1942 when Albert Einstein advised President Theodore Roosevelt that the Germans might be making their own atomic bomb. Once the project began, it was the most secret operation in WWII. On July 16, 1945, the first nuclear bomb in the world was tested in the desert of New Mexico.
When the time was right and the pilot was finally over Nagasaki, the pilot aimed for a large horse track down on the ground. “Fat Man” the name of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, dropped from 28,000 feet. When the bomb hit, buildings melted instantly and a huge cloud of smoke erupted. There were about 60,000-80,000 people killed in Nagasaki, and later studies showed that seventy percent of Nagasaki was destroyed from the bomb.Fat Man had a bigger blast than Little Boy, which was dropped in Hiroshima. Scientists calculated that there were about 90,000-120,000 people killed in the explosion in Hiroshima.
Many people ask why we bombed Japan and if it was necessary but, it was necessary to bomb them. It was necessary because without bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we would’ve had to run the risk of invading Japan. Invading Japan may have led to over one million American deaths and ten times the Japanese deaths. Another main reason was to end World War II and show the enemies who was the most powerful country in the world. Everything on this mission had a reason, from start to finish. The Aioi Bridge was chosen for the drop location because of its large “T” shape.
The United States of America bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, wanting the nation of Japan to suffer and they planned on ending WWII. The United States got their wish and Japan surrendered. Even though the bomb ended WWII, it doesn’t mean that the atomic bomb era has ended. The attack on Japan changed the way of life and history as we know it.