6. The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
On the morning of 6 August 1945, an American B-29 aircraft named the ‘Enola Gay’ dropped the main nuclear bomb that was used as a part of the war on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The bomb was dropped by parachute and blasted 580 m (1,900ft) over the ground. The bomb resulted in the immediate deaths of some 60,000 to 80,000 individuals. The extreme heat from the bomb was so intense that scores of people just vanished in the blast. The impact devastated more than ten square kilometers (six square miles) of the city.
Hiroshima was chosen because it had not been focused amid the US Air Force’s standard bombarding attacks on Japan. It was therefore deemed to be a reasonable location to test the impacts of a nuclear bomb. The bomb served to demonstrate America’s powers to the rest of the world and caused substantial shock, fear and turmoil across the globe.
On the morning of 9 August, the Americans dropped a second, greater nuclear bomb. The first target was Kokura, but because of cloud coverage, the bomb was dropped on adjacent Nagasaki, a major Japanese port. Around 40,000 individuals were killed immediately, and 33% of the city was obliterated. On 14 August, Japan consented to the Allies’ expressions of surrender. In the early afternoon on the next day, Emperor Hirohito communicated the news to the nation and it was the first time that his voice had been heard on the radio. After the war, Hiroshima was rebuilt as a peace remembrance city and the nearest surviving working to the epicenter was assigned the Hiroshima Peace Memorial. Nagasaki remains a vital piece of military history, demonstrating the power and devastation of previous wars and the potential destruction of future battles.
Surprise Fact: The Man Who Survived Two Atomic Bomb Blasts.