Hiroshima and the Aftermath of the Atomic Bomb: "Little Boy's" Legacy

Nicknamed "Little Boy," the first atomic bomb to be used against an enemy was dropped over the skies of Hiroshima, Japan, shortly after 8:00 on the morning of August 6, 1945. Exactly one month earlier, one of three atomic bombs had been tested in the New Mexico desert near Alamogordo. The decision to use such a devastating weapon was not made lightly by President Harry S. Truman and his advisers. But after nearly four years of bloody conflict, America would settle for nothing less than unconditional surrender from the Empire of the Sun. Warned about the dire consequences should they fail to comply, the Japanese nonetheless refused the Allies' terms.

Flanked by two other B-29 bombers who were to act as observers, Colonel Paul W. Tibbets piloted the Enola Gay -which had been named after his mother- on the fateful morning. On board was the airplane's deadly payload -a four-and-a-half ton incendiary device with a Uranium-235 core. Hiroshima, Japan's seventh largest city and a seaport of some strategic significance, had been selected as one of four possible targets. Everyone connected with the mission hoped that a second bombing mission would not be necessary.

Dropped from an altitude of about 32,000 feet, Little Boy detonated approximately half a mile above the ground, with a blinding flash accompanied by a deafening boom. The explosion had the force of 20,000 tons of dynamite. Within minutes, a mushroom-shaped column of smoke and debris rose nine miles into the sky.

Nearly everything within a five-mile radius of ground zero was destroyed; people were burned beyond recognition or outright vaporized. Two-thirds of the buildings and other structures within a ten-mile radius were demolished. Photographs of the affected area reveal a nearly flat landscape, with former edifices reduced to mere splinters. The military planners had misjudged somewhat, however, as most of the munitions factories in Hiroshima were located a fair distance from the center of the blast, and were spared. Tragically, one-third of the victims were school children (Bauer: 658).

Casualty figures varied, but between 60,000 to 70,000 Japanese were killed and an equal number injured. Survivors suffered horrific burns, and others succumbed to radiation sickness in the weeks following. Incredibly, Japanese authorities remained unconvinced that they should surrender. Where they had first announced to the public that the Allies could not have possessed such an instrument of destruction, they now proclaimed that the Allies could not possibly have a second such device. How wrong they were.

Sources

Bauer, Eddy. The History of World War II. New York: Galahad Books, 1966, 1979. 656-660.

Ward, Geoffrey C. & Ken Burns. The War. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. 413-419.