What was the tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki ?

In August 1945, the US Air Force dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Due to the design of the weapon, only about 1% of the uranium inside the atomic bomb that detonated over Hiroshima underwent fission. The rest of the material scattered uselessly.

They caused hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties and were shortly followed by the surrender of Japan and the end of World War 2.

It was the first and only time that atomic bombs have been used in a war.

In August 1945, the US Air Force dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

They caused hundreds of thousands of civilian casualties and were shortly followed by the surrender of Japan and the end of World War 2.

Before destroying the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with nuclear bombs U.S dropped fliers warning the civilians of a possible bombing at all the military centers of Japan so that the innocent civilians could evacuate and save their lives.

It was the first and only time that atomic bombs have been used in a war.

Since 1964 a flame of peace has been burning in Hiroshima, Japan to honor the victims of the nuclear bombing. This flame will be extinguished only when the nuclear threat has been completely eliminated from the face of the Earth.

Looking at what happened to these cities is probably the best way of understanding the death and damage that will be caused if there is another nuclear conflict.

All thanks to the efforts of a brave policeman who survived the Hiroshima bombing, no policeman died in Nagasaki’s atomic blast. The policeman who survived Hiroshima episode went to Nagasaki to teach the police about the duck and cover technique that saved them from the attack.

Deciding whether to use the bombs was like calculating an equation.

Nerium oleander flowersThe oleander flower was the first thing to bloom after the atomic blast in 1945; therefore it is now the official flower of Hiroshima.

The Americans believed the number of people saved by ending World War 2 quickly would be greater than the number of people killed by the atomic bombs.

Enola Gay carrying the A-bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima carried 12 cyanide pills. Incase anything went wrong during the mission the pilots were instructed to take the pills kept in the cockpit.

At Hiroshima, the blast flattened buildings within a 2.5 km radius of the bomb. At Nagasaki the hilly landscape meant the destruction was less widespread.

Little boy and Fat man dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were quite different from one another. US used these bombings to figure out the potential of each. Little Boy was based on enriched Uranium-235 and Fat Man on Plutonium-239.

The bombs killed about 240,000 people. Around 120,000 were killed outright by the bombs, and a similar number died of injuries and radiation sickness in the weeks, months and years that followed.

Although Fat man that was dropped on Nagasaki was more powerful it led to 60,000-80,000 deaths as compared to 90,000-166,000 caused by little boy dropped on Hiroshima. The reason was Fat man missed its intended targeted location in Nagasaki by 3 km as a result of bad weather. The bombing was therefore confined to the narrow Urakami Valley and hillsides.

Japan was at war with America and its allies, which included Britain and Russia.

The allies were winning the war and the Japanese forces had been pushed back from many locations.

Though 141 pounds of Uranium was used to make the bomb that hit Hiroshima, the huge explosion was caused just by 0.7g of Uranium. Most of the uranium had blown apart before the bomb reached its “supercritical” phase.

However fighting was still very fierce and soldiers and civilians were dying every day.

In charge of the mission, Captain Parsons thought that if something went wrong or the plane crashed during the take-off it would wipe off entire US base and kill thousands of soldiers with it. To avoid this it was decided that the bomb will be finally assembled on the flight. The air crew had to arm the bomb while it was hanging from a hook in the plane while flying over enemy territory.

The atomic bomb was a deadly new weapon. Truman hoped the massive destruction it caused would shock the Japanese into realising they had to surrender.