What were the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were American bombing raids on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II, which marked the first use of atomic weapons in war. Little Boy, the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, was a gun-assembly fission bomb using uranium, whereas Fat Man, the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, was an implosion fission bomb utilizing plutonium.


When were the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

The first atomic bomb, named Little Boy, was dropped on Hiroshima from the Enola Gay, a B-29 bomber, at 8:15 AM on August 6, 1945. The second bomb, named Fat Man, was dropped on Nagasaki from the Bockscar, also a B-29 bomber, at 11:02 AM on August 9, 1945.


Who was involved in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

American physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer headed the Manhattan Project to develop atomic bombs for the United States, and Edward Teller was among the first scientists recruited for the project. Leo Szilard and Enrico Fermi built the first nuclear reactor. Ernest Orlando Lawrence was program chief in charge of the development of the electromagnetic process of separating uranium-235. The person who oversaw the project, however, was not a scientist.  He was U.S. Army Brigadier General Leslie R. Groves. In all, more than one hundred thousand people were employed for the Manhattan Project. The bombings themselves were carried out by the pilot of the Enola Gay Colonel Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr., and pilot of the Bockscar Major Charles W. Sweeney and their respective crews.


Why did the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki happen?

A number of factors contributed to the United States’ decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan. One reason was Japan’s unwillingness to surrender unconditionally. Japan wanted to keep their emperor and conduct their own war trials and did not want to be occupied by U.S. forces. However, the United States wanted unconditional surrender, which thus meant the continuation of the war. Japan refused to surrender after multiple firebombing campaigns such as the Bombing of Tokyo on March 9–10, 1945. The Bombing of Tokyo alone claimed tens of thousands of lives and is often cited as one of the most destructive acts of war in history. Although the precise death toll is unknown, conservative estimates suggest that the firestorm caused by incendiary bombs killed at least 80,000 people, likely more than 100,000, in a single night; some one million people were left homeless. It looked increasingly likely that the United States would have to commit itself to a land invasion, which could have claimed many American lives. Instead, the atomic bomb served as a tool to bring the war in the Pacific to a close sooner.

Another reason why the United States dropped the atomic bombs—and, specifically, the second one on Nagasaki—has to do with the Soviet Union. On August 8, 1945, two days after the Hiroshima bombing, as agreed to by Joseph Stalin during the Tehrān and Yalta conferences in 1943 and 1945, respectively, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. It is possible that U.S. President Harry Truman ordered the atomic bomb to be dropped on Nagasaki not only to further force Japan to surrender but also to keep the Soviets out of Japan by displaying American military power. Distrust and a sense of rivalry had been built up between the two superpowers that ultimately culminated in the Cold War.



What were the results of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?


The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki produced effects in Japan and around the world that changed the course of history. Tens of thousands of people were killed in the initial explosions (an estimated 70,000 in Hiroshima and 40,000 in Nagasaki), and many more later succumbed to burns, injuries, and radiation poisoning. On August 10, 1945, one day after the bombing of Nagasaki, the Japanese government issued a statement agreeing to accept the Allied surrender terms that had been dictated in the Potsdam Declaration. The United States gained wide-reaching influence in Japan during its occupation and as a result of its installation of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, a title held by the American general Douglas MacArthur. The U.S. occupation of Japan had long and lasting effects on daily life in Japan as well as on Japan’s economy, military, and government. For example, MacArthur directed his staff to draft a new constitution for Japan, which has remained in place since 1947.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki also caused global effects such as the Cold War and the proliferation of nuclear weapons around the world. The Cold War was a rivalry that saw the world’s two remaining superpowers after World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union, as well as their respective allies, “battle” for political, economic, and nuclear superiority. Today more countries possess nuclear weapons, but such weapons have not been used in warfare since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.



the info

courtesy: This information has been taken from the several research and articles.