Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

HIROSHIMA NAGASAKI

During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings
against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan.

After six months of intense strategic fire-bombing of 67 Japanese cities the Japanese government
ignored an ultimatum given by the Potsdam Declaration. By executive order of President Harry S.
Truman the US dropped the nuclear weapon "Little Boy" on the city of Hiroshima on Monday, August
6, 1945,[1][2] followed by the detonation of "Fat Man" over Nagasaki on August 9. These two events are
the only active deployments of nuclear weapons in war.[3] The target of Hiroshima was a city of
considerable military importance, containing Japan's Second Army Headquarters, as well as being a
communications center and storage depot.[4]

Within the first two to four months of the bombings, the acute effects killed 90,000–166,000 people in
Hiroshima and 60,000–80,000 in Nagasaki,[5] with roughly half of the deaths in each city occurring on
the first day. The Hiroshima prefectural health department estimates that, of the people who died on the
day of the explosion, 60% died from flash or flame burns, 30% from falling debris and 10% from other
causes. During the following months, large numbers died from the effect of burns, radiation sickness,
and other injuries, compounded by illness. In a more plausible estimate of the total immediate and short
term cause of death, 15–20% died from radiation sickness, 20–30% from flash burns, and 50–60%
from other injuries, compounded by illness.[6] In both cities, most of the dead were civilians.[7][8][9]

Six days after the detonation over Nagasaki, on August 15, Japan announced its surrender to the Allied
Powers, signing the Instrument of Surrender on September 2, officially ending the Pacific War and
therefore World War II. Germany had signed its Instrument of Surrender on May 7, ending the war in
Europe. The bombings led, in part, to post-war Japan adopting Three Non-Nuclear Principles,
forbidding the nation from nuclear armament.[10] The role of the bombings in Japan's surrender and the
US's ethical justification for them, as well as their strategical importance, is still debated

The Manhattan Project

The US, in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada, with their respective secret
projects Tube Alloys and Chalk River Laboratories,[13][14] designed and built the first atomic
bombs under what was called the Manhattan Project. The scientific research was directed by
American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and the overall project was under the authority of
General Leslie Groves, of the US Army Corps of Engineers. The Hiroshima bomb, a gun-type
bomb called "Little Boy," was made with uranium-235, a rare isotope of uranium extracted in
giant factories in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. The atomic bomb was first tested at Trinity Site, on
July 16, 1945, near Alamogordo, New Mexico. The test weapon, "the gadget," and the
Nagasaki bomb, "Fat Man," were both implosion-type devices made primarily of plutonium-
239, a synthetic element created in nuclear reactors at Hanford, Washington.[1

Potsdam Declaration

On July 26, Truman and other allied leaders issued the Potsdam Declaration outlining terms of
surrender for Japan. It was presented as an ultimatum and stated that without a surrender, the Allies
would attack Japan, resulting in "the inevitable and complete destruction of the Japanese armed forces
and just as inevitably the utter devastation of the Japanese homeland". The atomic bomb was not
mentioned in the communique. On July 28, Japanese papers reported that the declaration had been
rejected by the Japanese government. That afternoon, Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki declared at a
press conference that the Potsdam Declaration was no more than a rehash (yakinaoshi) of the Cairo
Declaration and that the government intended to ignore it (mokusatsu lit. "kill by silence").[19] The
statement was taken by both Japanese and foreign papers as a clear rejection of the declaration.
Emperor Hirohito, who was waiting for a Soviet reply to noncommittal Japanese peace feelers, made
no move to change the government position.[20] On July 31, he made clear to his advisor Kōichi Kido
that the Imperial Regalia of Japan had to be defended at all costs.[21]

In early July, on his way to Potsdam, Truman had re-examined the decision to use the bomb. In the
end, Truman made the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. His stated intention in ordering the
bombings was to bring about a quick resolution of the war by inflicting destruction and instilling fear
of further destruction in sufficient strength to cause Japan to surrender.[22]

Hiroshima during World War II

At the time of its bombing, Hiroshima was a city of some industrial and military significance. A
number of military camps were located nearby, including the headquarters of the Fifth Division and
Field Marshal Shunroku Hata's 2nd General Army Headquarters, which commanded the defense of all
of southern Japan. Hiroshima was a minor supply and logistics base for the Japanese military. The city
was a communications center, a storage point, and an assembly area for troops. It was one of several
Japanese cities left deliberately untouched by American bombing, allowing a pristine environment to
measure the damage caused by the atomic bomb.[23][24]

The center of the city contained several reinforced concrete buildings and lighter structures. Outside the
center, the area was congested by a dense collection of small wooden workshops set among Japanese
houses. A few larger industrial plants lay near the outskirts of the city. The houses were constructed of
wood with tile roofs, and many of the industrial buildings were also built around wood frames. The city
as a whole was highly susceptible to fire damage.

The population of Hiroshima had reached a peak of over 381,000 earlier in the war, but prior to the
atomic bombing the population had steadily decreased because of a systematic evacuation ordered by
the Japanese government. At the time of the attack the population was approximately 340,000–
350,000.[5] Because official documents were burned, the exact population is uncertain.

Bombing

Hiroshima was the primary target of the first nuclear bombing mission on August 6, with Kokura and
Nagasaki being alternative targets. August 6 was chosen because clouds had previously obscured the
target. The 393d Bombardment Squadron B-29 Enola Gay, piloted and commanded by 509th
Composite Group commander Colonel Paul Tibbets, was launched from North Field airbase on Tinian
in the West Pacific, about six hours flight time from Japan. The Enola Gay (named after Colonel
Tibbets' mother) was accompanied by two other B-29s. The Great Artiste, commanded by Major
Charles W. Sweeney, carried instrumentation; and a then-nameless aircraft later called Necessary Evil
(the photography aircraft) was commanded by Captain George Marquardt.[25]

After leaving Tinian the aircraft made their way separately to Iwo Jima where they rendezvoused at
2,440 meters (8,010 ft) and set course for Japan. The aircraft arrived over the target in clear visibility at
9,855 meters (32,333 ft). During the journey, Navy Captain William Parsons had armed the bomb,
which had been left unarmed to minimize the risks during takeoff. His assistant, 2nd Lt. Morris
Jeppson, removed the safety devices 30 minutes before reaching the target area.[26]

Nagasaki during World War II

The city of Nagasaki had been one of the largest sea ports in southern Japan and was of great wartime
importance because of its wide-ranging industrial activity, including the production of ordnance, ships,
military equipment, and other war materials.

In contrast to many modern aspects of Hiroshima, almost all of the buildings were of old-fashioned
Japanese construction, consisting of wood or wood-frame buildings with wood walls (with or without
plaster) and tile roofs. Many of the smaller industries and business establishments were also situated in
buildings of wood or other materials not designed to withstand explosions. Nagasaki had been
permitted to grow for many years without conforming to any definite city zoning plan; residences were
erected adjacent to factory buildings and to each other almost as closely as possible throughout the
entire industrial valley.

Nagasaki had never been subjected to large-scale bombing prior to the explosion of a nuclear weapon
there. On August 1, 1945, however, a number of conventional high-explosive bombs were dropped on
the city. A few hit in the shipyards and dock areas in the southwest portion of the city, several hit the
Mitsubishi Steel and Arms Works, and six bombs landed at the Nagasaki Medical School and Hospital,
with three direct hits on buildings there. While the damage from these bombs was relatively small, it
created considerable concern in Nagasaki and many people—principally school children—were
evacuated to rural areas for safety, thus reducing the population in the city at the time of the nuclear
attack.
To the north of Nagasaki there was a camp holding British Commonwealth prisoners of war, some of
whom were working in the coal mines and only found out about the bombing when they came to the
surface.

Bombing
On the morning of August 9, 1945, the US B-29 Superfortress Bockscar, flown by the crew of 393rd
Squadron commander Major Charles W. Sweeney, carried the nuclear bomb code-named "Fat Man",
with Kokura as the primary target and Nagasaki the secondary target. The mission plan for the second
attack was nearly identical to that of the Hiroshima mission, with two B-29s flying an hour ahead as
weather scouts and two additional B-29s in Sweeney's flight for instrumentation and photographic
support of the mission. Sweeney took off with his weapon already armed but with the electrical safety
plugs still engaged.[56]

Observers aboard the weather planes reported both targets clear. When Sweeney's aircraft arrived at the
assembly point for his flight off the coast of Japan, the third plane, Big Stink, flown by the group's
Operations Officer, Lt. Col. James I. Hopkins, Jr. failed to make the rendezvous. Bockscar and the
instrumentation plane circled for 40 minutes without locating Hopkins. Already 30 minutes behind
schedule, Sweeney decided to fly on without Hopkins.[56]