Hiroshima and Nagasaki
By savi krumenauer
On the 6th of august 1945, in the end stages of WWII, the USA conducted the first ever in history nuclear attack on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later another more powerful bomb was dropped on a nearby city of Nagasaki, and the two bombs damage combined was severe enough to force the Japanese emperor to surrender. Had he not, the USA operations downfalls were to be estimated to cause 1 million US and 10,000 million Japanese casualties.
The creation of the atomic bomb began in the early stages of WWII in 1939, when Albert Einstein voiced his concerns in a letter to the president of the USA, Franklin Roosevelt. The Germans had the capability of building a nuclear bomb, urging him to consider the construction of a similar weapon.
In 1941 President Roosevelt agreed for the US to fund the project, and the work of the bombs creation started. On July the 16th 1945, three months after Roosevelt had died, taking his place in office, Harry Truman agreed to the first ever nuclear weapon to be detonated in an isolated and uninhabited desert in New Mexico called the Trinity Test Sice. The test was a success and the US had the ability of creating a weapon capable of inflicting devastating damage.
In 1945 an American pilot, Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. flew a bomber plane named Enola Gay, and a team of six others were preparing for a mission that was to bring hell to Japan. For several months before, the US dropped more than six million lee floods across Japan trying to make them surrender. An atomic bomb named Little Boy was to be dropped on Hiroshima, giving the country no other choice to surrender.
President Truman ordered them to drop the bomb as soon as the weather conditions were suitable. On August 6th, approximately at 8:45 in the morning the Little Boy was dropped on Japan. It exploded 11,000 feet over the ground, causing the most damage, spreading 155 kilotons of TNT. Followed by a blinding light and a temperature of 6000 degrees C, and everything in a one mile radius was completely obliterated. This estimated to 80,000 deaths instantly, and 90 % of the towns population were trapped in the rubbish. It was reported that the co-pilot, Robert Louis, looked down and said ”My God, what have we done.”
In order to save his country the Japanese emperor had to surrender, apparently he did not publish his surrender, so the US dropped a second bomb on the city of Nagasaki 3 days later. This one's nickname was Fat Man and it was even more powerful than the previous one. If it were not for the hilly ground, it would not have blocked the blast from spreading.
The surrender prompted American soldiers to celebrate, while being seen dancing and drinking, relieved they had survived the war. Weeks later the poblization of the damage of the bombs began to emerge. In the days and months to follow 10's of thousands of people surrounding the city were starting to feel the effect of radiation exposure. The immediate effects were nausea, hair loss and bleeding, and longer term effects were horrible cataracts, tumors, and increases to lucimia. Around 65% of the people that were affected were nine years of age or younger. 10 years later there was a direct connection of the increase of cancer cases, it was reported that 1,900 cancer deaths were a result of the bombs.
However the Japanese proved their resilience, and over the years they rebuilt their two cities. Today Hiroshima and Nagasaki are bursting with light and life. The country is thriving and despite the fact of their modern military, it maintains its use only would be brought forward for self defence and peace keeping.
“ I made one great mistake in my life… When I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made.” - Albert Einstein
The creation of the atomic bomb began in the early stages of WWII in 1939, when Albert Einstein voiced his concerns in a letter to the president of the USA, Franklin Roosevelt. The Germans had the capability of building a nuclear bomb, urging him to consider the construction of a similar weapon.
In 1941 President Roosevelt agreed for the US to fund the project, and the work of the bombs creation started. On July the 16th 1945, three months after Roosevelt had died, taking his place in office, Harry Truman agreed to the first ever nuclear weapon to be detonated in an isolated and uninhabited desert in New Mexico called the Trinity Test Sice. The test was a success and the US had the ability of creating a weapon capable of inflicting devastating damage.
In 1945 an American pilot, Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. flew a bomber plane named Enola Gay, and a team of six others were preparing for a mission that was to bring hell to Japan. For several months before, the US dropped more than six million lee floods across Japan trying to make them surrender. An atomic bomb named Little Boy was to be dropped on Hiroshima, giving the country no other choice to surrender.
President Truman ordered them to drop the bomb as soon as the weather conditions were suitable. On August 6th, approximately at 8:45 in the morning the Little Boy was dropped on Japan. It exploded 11,000 feet over the ground, causing the most damage, spreading 155 kilotons of TNT. Followed by a blinding light and a temperature of 6000 degrees C, and everything in a one mile radius was completely obliterated. This estimated to 80,000 deaths instantly, and 90 % of the towns population were trapped in the rubbish. It was reported that the co-pilot, Robert Louis, looked down and said ”My God, what have we done.”
In order to save his country the Japanese emperor had to surrender, apparently he did not publish his surrender, so the US dropped a second bomb on the city of Nagasaki 3 days later. This one's nickname was Fat Man and it was even more powerful than the previous one. If it were not for the hilly ground, it would not have blocked the blast from spreading.
The surrender prompted American soldiers to celebrate, while being seen dancing and drinking, relieved they had survived the war. Weeks later the poblization of the damage of the bombs began to emerge. In the days and months to follow 10's of thousands of people surrounding the city were starting to feel the effect of radiation exposure. The immediate effects were nausea, hair loss and bleeding, and longer term effects were horrible cataracts, tumors, and increases to lucimia. Around 65% of the people that were affected were nine years of age or younger. 10 years later there was a direct connection of the increase of cancer cases, it was reported that 1,900 cancer deaths were a result of the bombs.
However the Japanese proved their resilience, and over the years they rebuilt their two cities. Today Hiroshima and Nagasaki are bursting with light and life. The country is thriving and despite the fact of their modern military, it maintains its use only would be brought forward for self defence and peace keeping.
“ I made one great mistake in my life… When I signed the letter to President Roosevelt recommending that atom bombs be made.” - Albert Einstein