What happened to Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Why was a nuclear attack chosen?

Friends, before presenting a photo selection dedicated to the tragic events for Japan in early August 1945, a short excursion into history.

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In fact, from a military point of view, there was no need for these bombings. The entry of the USSR into the war, and an agreement on this was reached several months earlier, would have led to the complete surrender of Japan. The purpose of this inhumane act was to test the Americans atomic bomb in real conditions and a demonstration of military power for the USSR.

As early as 1965, historian Gar Alperovitz stated that the atomic attacks on Japan had little military significance. English researcher Ward Wilson, in his recently published book “Five Myths about Nuclear Weapons,” also comes to the conclusion that it was not American bombs that influenced the Japanese’s determination to fight.

The use of atomic bombs did not really frighten the Japanese. They didn't even fully understand what it was. Yes, it became clear that powerful weapons were used. But no one knew about radiation then. In addition, the Americans dropped bombs not on armed forces, but to peaceful cities. Military factories and naval bases were damaged, but mostly civilians died, and the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army was not greatly affected.

Quite recently, the authoritative American magazine "Foreign Policy" published a piece of Ward Wilson's book "5 Myths about Nuclear Weapons", where he, quite boldly for American historiography, questions the well-known American myth that Japan capitulated in 1945 because it 2 nuclear bombs were dropped, which finally broke the confidence of the Japanese government that the war could be continued further.

The author essentially turns to the well-known Soviet interpretation of these events and reasonably points out that it was not nuclear weapons, but the USSR’s entry into the war, as well as the growing consequences of the defeat of the Kwantung group, that destroyed the hopes of the Japanese to continue the war relying on the vast territories captured in China and Manchuria .

The title of the publication of an excerpt from Ward Wilson's book in Foreign Policy magazine says it all:

"The victory over Japan was not won by the bomb, but by Stalin"
(original, translation).

1. A Japanese woman with her son against the background of the destroyed Hiroshima. December 1945

2. A resident of Hiroshima, I. Terawama, who survived the atomic bombing. June 1945

3. American bomber B-29 "Enola Gay" (Boeing B-29 Superfortness "Enola Gay") lands after returning from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

4. A building destroyed by the atomic bomb on the Hiroshima waterfront. 1945

5. View of the Geibi area in Hiroshima after the atomic bombing. 1945

6. A building in Hiroshima damaged by the atomic bomb. 1945

7. One of the few surviving buildings in Hiroshima after the atomic explosion on August 6, 1945 is the Exhibition Center of the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 1945

8. Allied war correspondent on the street of the destroyed city of Hiroshima at the Exhibition Center of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry about a month after the atomic bombing. September 1945

9. View of the bridge over the Ota River in the destroyed city of Hiroshima. 1945

10. View of the ruins of Hiroshima the day after the atomic bombing. 08/07/1945

11. Japanese military doctors provide assistance to victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 08/06/1945

12. View of the cloud of the atomic explosion in Hiroshima from a distance of about 20 km from the naval arsenal in Kure. 08/06/1945

13. B-29 bombers (Boeing B-29 Superfortness) “Enola Gay” (foreground right) and “Great Artist” (Great Artist) of the 509th mixed air group at the airfield in Tinian (Mariana Islands) for several days before the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. August 2-6, 1945

14. Victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in a hospital in a former bank building. September 1945

15. A Japanese man injured in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima lies on the floor of a hospital in a former bank building. September 1945

16. Radiation and thermal burns on the legs of a victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 1945

17. Radiation and thermal burns on the hands of a victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 1945

18. Radiation and thermal burns on the body of a victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 1945

19. American engineer Commander Francis Birch (1903-1992) marks the atomic bomb “Little Boy” with the inscription “L11”. To his right is Norman Foster Ramsey, Jr., 1915-2011.

20. The Little Boy atomic bomb lies on a trailer shortly before the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Main characteristics: length - 3 m, diameter - 0.71 m, weight - 4.4 tons. The power of the explosion is 13-18 kilotons of TNT. August 1945

21. American bomber B-29 “Enola Gay” (Boeing B-29 Superfortness “Enola Gay”) at the airfield in Tinian on the Mariana Islands on the day of return from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 08/06/1945

22. American bomber B-29 "Enola Gay" (Boeing B-29 Superfortness "Enola Gay") stands at the airfield in Tinian in the Mariana Islands, from which the plane took off with an atomic bomb to bomb the Japanese city of Hiroshima. 1945

23. Panorama of the destroyed Japanese city of Hiroshima after the atomic bombing. The photo shows the destruction of the city of Hiroshima about 500 meters from the center of the explosion. 1945

24. Panorama of the destruction of the Motomachi district of Hiroshima, destroyed by the explosion of an atomic bomb. Taken from the roof of the Hiroshima Prefectural Commerce Association building at a distance of 260 meters (285 yards) from the epicenter of the explosion. To the left of the center of the panorama is the Hiroshima Chamber of Industry building, now known as the "Nuclear Dome". The epicenter of the explosion was 160 meters further and slightly to the left of the building, closer to the Motoyasu Bridge at an altitude of 600 meters. The Aioi Bridge with tram tracks (on the right in the photo) was the aiming point for the bombardier of the Enola Gay plane, which dropped an atomic bomb on the city. October 1945

25. One of the few surviving buildings in Hiroshima after the atomic explosion on August 6, 1945 is the Exhibition Center of the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry. As a result of the atomic bombing, it was severely damaged, but survived, despite the fact that it was only 160 meters from the epicenter. The building partially collapsed from the shock wave and burned out from the fire; all people who were in the building at the time of the explosion died. After the war, the "Genbaku Dome" ("Atomic Explosion Dome", "Atomic Dome") was strengthened to prevent further destruction and became the most famous exhibit related to the atomic explosion. August 1945

26. Street of the Japanese city of Hiroshima after the American atomic bombing. August 1945

27. The explosion of the atomic bomb “Little”, dropped by an American bomber on Hiroshima. 08/06/1945

28. Paul Tibbetts (1915-2007) waves from the cockpit of a B-29 bomber before flying to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Paul Tibbetts named his aircraft the Enola Gay on August 5, 1945, in honor of his mother, Enola Gay Tibbetts. 08/06/1945

29. A Japanese soldier walks through a desert area in Hiroshima. September 1945

30. Data from the US Air Force - map of Hiroshima before the bombing, on which you can see a circle at intervals of 304 m from the epicenter, which instantly disappeared from the face of the earth.

31. Photo taken from one of two American bombers of the 509th Integrated Group shortly after 8:15 a.m. on August 5, 1945, showing smoke rising from the explosion over the city of Hiroshima. By the time the photo was taken, there had already been a flash of light and heat from the 370 m diameter fireball, and the blast wave was quickly dissipating, having already caused most of the damage to buildings and people within a 3.2 km radius.

32. View of the epicenter of Hiroshima in the fall of 1945 - complete destruction after the dropping of the first atomic bomb. The photo shows the hypocenter (the center point of the explosion) - approximately above the Y-shaped intersection in the center left.

33. Destroyed Hiroshima in March 1946.

35. Destroyed street in Hiroshima. Look how the sidewalk has been raised and there's a drainpipe. Scientists say this was due to the vacuum created by the pressure from the atomic explosion.

36. This patient (photo taken by the Japanese military on October 3, 1945) was approximately 1,981.20 m from the epicenter when the radiation rays overtook him from the left. The cap protected part of the head from burns.

37. Twisted iron beams are all that remains of the theater building, which was located about 800 meters from the epicenter.

38. Fire department Hiroshima lost its only car when the western station was destroyed by an atomic bomb. The station was located 1,200 meters from the epicenter.

39. Ruins of central Hiroshima in the fall of 1945.

40. “Shadow” of a valve handle on the painted wall of a gas tank after the tragic events in Hiroshima. The radiation heat instantly burned the paint where the radiation rays passed unhindered. 1,920 m from the epicenter.

41. View from above of the destroyed industrial area of ​​Hiroshima in the fall of 1945.

42. View of Hiroshima and the mountains in the background in the fall of 1945. The image was taken from the ruins of the Red Cross hospital, less than 1.60 km from the hypocenter.

43. Members of the US Army explore the area around the Hiroshima epicenter in the fall of 1945.

44. Victims of the atomic bombing. 1945

45. A victim of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki feeds her child. 08/10/1945

46. ​​The bodies of tram passengers in Nagasaki who died during the atomic bombing. 09/01/1945

47. Ruins of Nagasaki after the atomic bombing. September 1945

48. Ruins of Nagasaki after the atomic bombing. September 1945.

49. Japanese civilians walk along the street of destroyed Nagasaki. August 1945

50. Japanese doctor Nagai examines the ruins of Nagasaki. 09/11/1945

51. View of the cloud of the atomic explosion in Nagasaki from a distance of 15 km from Koyaji-Jima. 08/09/1945

52. Japanese woman and her son who survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. The photograph was taken the day after the bombing, southwest of the center of the explosion at a distance of 1 mile from it. A woman and son are holding rice in their hands. 08/10/1945

53. Japanese military and civilians walk along the street of Nagasaki, destroyed by the atomic bomb. August 1945

54. A trailer with an atomic bomb “Fat man” stands in front of the warehouse gate. The main characteristics of the atomic bomb “Fat Man”: length - 3.3 m, largest diameter - 1.5 m, weight - 4.633 tons. Explosion power - 21 kilotons of TNT. Plutonium-239 was used. August 1945

55. Inscriptions on the stabilizer of the atomic bomb “Fat Man”, made by American military personnel shortly before its use in the Japanese city of Nagasaki. August 1945

56. The Fat Man atomic bomb, dropped from an American B-29 bomber, exploded at an altitude of 300 meters above the Nagasaki Valley. The “atomic mushroom” of the explosion - a column of smoke, hot particles, dust and debris - rose to a height of 20 kilometers. The photograph shows the wing of the aircraft from which the photograph was taken. 08/09/1945

57. Drawing on the nose of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress “Bockscar” bomber, painted after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It shows the "route" from Salt Lake City to Nagasaki. In Utah, of which Salt Lake City is the capital, Wendover was the training base for the 509th Composite Group, which included the 393rd Squadron, to which the aircraft was transferred before moving to the Pacific. The serial number of the machine is 44-27297. 1945

65. Ruins of a Catholic church in the Japanese city of Nagasaki, destroyed by the explosion of an American atomic bomb. Urakami Catholic Cathedral was built in 1925 and was the largest Catholic cathedral in Southeast Asia until August 9, 1945. August 1945

66. The Fat Man atomic bomb, dropped from an American B-29 bomber, exploded at an altitude of 300 meters above the Nagasaki Valley. The “atomic mushroom” of the explosion - a column of smoke, hot particles, dust and debris - rose to a height of 20 kilometers. 08/09/1945

67. Nagasaki one and a half months after the atomic bombing on August 9, 1945. In the foreground is a destroyed temple. 09/24/1945

Work on the creation of a nuclear bomb started in the USA in September 1943, based on the research of scientists different countries, started back in 1939.

In parallel with this, a search was carried out for the pilots who were supposed to reset it. From the thousands of dossiers reviewed, several hundred were selected. Following an extremely tough selection process, Air Force Colonel Paul Tibbetts, who had served as a test pilot of Bi-29 aircraft since 1943, was appointed commander of the future formation. He was given the task: to create a combat unit of pilots to deliver the bomb to its destination.

Preliminary calculations showed that the bomber dropping the bomb would have only 43 seconds to leave the danger zone before the explosion occurred. Flight training continued daily for many months in the strictest secrecy.

Target Selection

On June 21, 1945, US Secretary of War Stimson held a meeting to discuss the choice of future targets:

• Hiroshima is a large industrial center, population about 400 thousand people;
• Kokura is an important strategic point, steel and chemical plants, population 173 thousand people;
• Nagasaki is the largest shipyard, population 300 thousand people.

Kyoto and Niigata were also on the list of potential targets, but serious controversy erupted over them. It was proposed to exclude Niigata due to the fact that the city was located much further north than the others and was relatively small, and the destruction of Kyoto, which was a holy city, could embitter the Japanese and lead to increased resistance.

On the other hand, Kyoto, with its large area, was of interest as an object for assessing the power of the bomb. Proponents of choosing this city as a target, among other things, were interested in accumulating statistical data, since until that moment atomic weapons had never been used in combat conditions, but only at test sites. The bombing was required not only to physically destroy the chosen target, but to demonstrate the strength and power of the new weapon, as well as to have the greatest possible psychological effect on the population and government of Japan.

On July 26, the United States, Britain and China adopted the Potsdam Declaration, which demanded unconditional surrender from the Empire. Otherwise, the Allies threatened the rapid and complete destruction of the country. However, this document made no mention of the use of weapons mass destruction. The Japanese government rejected the declaration's demands, and the Americans continued preparations for the operation.

For the most effective bombing, suitable weather and good visibility were required. Based on data from the meteorological service, the first week of August, approximately after the 3rd, was considered the most suitable for the foreseeable future.

Bombing of Hiroshima

On August 2, 1945, Colonel Tibbetts's unit received a secret order for the first atomic bombing in human history, the date of which was set for August 6. Hiroshima was chosen as the main target of the attack, with Kokura and Nagasaki as backup targets (in case visibility conditions worsened). All other American aircraft were prohibited from being within the 80-kilometer radius of these cities during the bombing.

On August 6, before the start of the operation, the pilots received glasses with dark lenses designed to protect their eyes from light radiation. The planes took off from the island of Tinian, where the American military aviation base was located. The island is located 2.5 thousand km from Japan, so the flight took about 6 hours.

Together with the Bi-29 bomber, called the “Enola Gay,” which carried the “Little Boy” barrel-type atomic bomb, 6 more aircraft took to the skies: three reconnaissance aircraft, one spare, and two carrying special measuring equipment.

Visibility over all three cities allowed for bombing, so it was decided not to deviate from the original plan. At 8:15 am there was an explosion - the Enola Gay bomber dropped a 5-ton bomb on Hiroshima, after which it made a 60-degree turn and began to move away at the highest possible speed.

Consequences of the explosion

The bomb exploded 600m from the surface. Most of the houses in the city were equipped with stoves that were heated with charcoal. Many townspeople were just preparing breakfast at the time of the attack. Overturned by a blast wave of incredible force, the stoves caused massive fires in those parts of the city that were not destroyed immediately after the explosion.

The heat wave melted house tiles and granite slabs. Within a radius of 4 km, all wooden telegraph poles were burned. The people who were at the epicenter of the explosion instantly evaporated, enveloped in hot plasma, the temperature of which was about 4000 degrees Celsius. Powerful light radiation left only shadows of human bodies on the walls of houses. 9 out of 10 people within an 800-meter zone from the epicenter of the explosion died instantly. The shock wave swept at a speed of 800 km/h, turning into rubble all buildings within a 4 km radius, except for a few built taking into account increased seismic hazard.

The plasma ball evaporated moisture from the atmosphere. The cloud of steam reached the colder layers and, mixing with dust and ash, immediately poured black rain onto the ground.

Then the wind hit the city, blowing towards the epicenter of the explosion. Due to the heating of the air caused by the flaring fires, the gusts of wind intensified so much that they tore out big trees with roots. Huge waves arose on the river, in which people drowned as they tried to escape in the water from the fire tornado that engulfed the city, destroying 11 km2 of the area. According to various estimates, the number of deaths in Hiroshima was 200-240 thousand people, of which 70-80 thousand died immediately after the explosion.

All communication with the city was severed. In Tokyo, they noticed that the local Hiroshima radio station had disappeared from the air and the telegraph line had stopped working. After some time, information began to arrive from regional railway stations about an explosion of incredible force.

An officer of the General Staff urgently flew to the scene of the tragedy, who later wrote in his memoirs that what struck him most was the lack of streets - the city was evenly covered with rubble, it was not possible to determine where and what was just a few hours ago.

Officials in Tokyo could not believe that damage of such magnitude was caused by just one bomb. Representatives of the Japanese General Staff turned to scientists for clarification on what weapons could cause such destruction. One of the physicists, Dr. I. Nishina, suggested the use of a nuclear bomb, since rumors had been circulating among scientists for some time about attempts by the Americans to create one. The physicist finally confirmed his assumptions after a personal visit to the destroyed Hiroshima, accompanied by military personnel.

On August 8, the US Air Force command was finally able to assess the effect of its operation. Aerial photography showed that 60% of the buildings located on a total area of ​​12 km2 turned into dust, while the rest were left in piles of rubble.

Bombing of Nagasaki

An order was issued to compile leaflets in Japanese with photographs of the destroyed Hiroshima and full description the effect of a nuclear explosion, for their subsequent spread over the territory of Japan. In case of refusal to surrender, the leaflets contained threats to continue atomic bombings Japanese cities.

However, the American government was not going to wait for the Japanese reaction, since it did not initially plan to get by with just one bomb. The next attack, planned for August 12, was postponed to the 9th due to the expected worsening of the weather.

Kokura was assigned as the target, with Nagasaki as a backup option. Kokura was very lucky - cloud cover, together with a smoke screen from a burning steel plant, which had been subjected to an air raid the day before, made visual bombing impossible. The plane headed towards Nagasaki, and at 11:02 am dropped its deadly cargo on the city.

Within a radius of 1.2 km from the epicenter of the explosion, all living things died almost instantly, turning to ashes under the influence of thermal radiation. The shock wave turned it into debris residential buildings and destroyed a steel mill. The thermal radiation was so powerful that the skin of people not covered by clothing, located 5 km from the explosion, was burned and wrinkled. 73 thousand people died instantly, 35 thousand died in terrible suffering a little later.

On the same day, the US President addressed his compatriots on the radio, thanking them in his speech higher power for the fact that the Americans were the first to receive nuclear weapons. Truman asked God for guidance and guidance on how to most effectively use atomic bombs for higher purposes.

At that time, there was no urgent need for the bombing of Nagasaki, but, apparently, research interest played a role, no matter how scary and cynical it may sound. The fact is that the bombs differed in design and active substance. The Little Boy that destroyed Hiroshima was a uranium bomb, while the Fat Man that destroyed Nagasaki was a plutonium-239 bomb.

There are archival documents proving the US intention to drop another atomic bomb on Japan. A telegram dated August 10, addressed to the Chief of Staff, General Marshall, reported that, given appropriate meteorological conditions, the next bombing could be carried out on August 17-18.

Japanese surrender

On August 8, 1945, fulfilling the obligations undertaken within the framework of the Potsdam and Yalta conferences, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, whose government still harbored hopes of reaching agreements to avoid unconditional surrender. This event, coupled with the overwhelming effect of the American use of nuclear weapons, forced the least militant members of the cabinet to appeal to the emperor with recommendations to accept any conditions of the United States and allies.

Some of the most militant officers tried to stage a coup to prevent such a development of events, but the plot failed.

On August 15, 1945, Emperor Hirohito publicly announced Japan's surrender. However, clashes between Japanese and Soviet troops in Manchuria continued for several more weeks.

On August 28, the American-British allied forces began the occupation of Japan, and on September 2, on board the battleship Missouri, the act of surrender was signed, ending World War II.

Long-term consequences of atomic bombings

A few weeks after the explosions, which claimed hundreds of thousands of Japanese lives, people who at first seemed unaffected suddenly began to die en masse. At that time, the effects of radiation exposure were little understood. People continued to live in contaminated areas, not realizing the danger that ordinary water began to carry, as well as the ash that covered the destroyed cities with a thin layer.

Japan learned that the cause of death of people who survived the atomic bombing was some previously unknown disease thanks to the actress Midori Naka. The theater troupe in which Naka played arrived in Hiroshima a month before the events, where they rented a house for living, located 650m from the epicenter of the future explosion, after which 13 of the 17 people died on the spot. Midori not only remained alive, but was practically unharmed, apart from minor scratches, although all her clothes were simply burned. Fleeing from the fire, the actress rushed to the river and jumped into the water, from where soldiers pulled her out and provided first aid.

Finding herself in Tokyo a few days later, Midori went to the hospital, where she was examined by the best Japanese doctors. Despite all efforts, the woman died, but doctors had the opportunity to observe the development and course of the disease for almost 9 days. Before her death, it was believed that the vomiting and bloody diarrhea that many victims experienced were symptoms of dysentery. Officially, Midori Naka is considered the first person to die from radiation sickness, and it was her death that sparked widespread discussion about the consequences of radiation poisoning. 18 days passed from the moment of the explosion until the death of the actress.

However, soon after the Allied occupation of Japanese territory began, newspaper references to the victims of American bombings gradually began to fade away. During almost 7 years of occupation, American censorship prohibited any publications on this topic.

For those who were victims of the explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a special term “hibakusha” appeared. Several hundred people found themselves in a situation where talking about their health became taboo. Any attempts to remind of the tragedy were suppressed - it was forbidden to make films, write books, poems, songs. It was impossible to express compassion, ask for help, or collect donations for the victims.

For example, a hospital created by a group of washa enthusiasts in Ujin to help the hibakusha was closed by request occupation authorities, and all documentation, including medical records, was confiscated.

In November 1945, at the suggestion of the US President, the ABCS Center was created to study the effects of radiation on survivors of explosions. The organization's clinic, which opened in Hiroshima, conducted only examinations and did not provide medical care to the victims. The center's staff were especially interested in those who were hopelessly ill and died as a result of radiation sickness. Essentially, the purpose of the ABCS was to collect statistical data.

Only after the end of the American occupation did they begin to speak out loud about the problems of the hibakusha in Japan. In 1957, each victim was given a document indicating how far he was from the epicenter at the time of the explosion. Victims of the bombings and their descendants to this day receive material and medical care from the state. However, within the rigid framework of Japanese society there was no place for the “hibakusha” - several hundred thousand people became a separate caste. The rest of the residents, if possible, avoided communication, much less creating a family with the victims, especially after they began to have children with developmental defects en masse. Most of the pregnancies in women living in cities at the time of the bombing ended in miscarriages or the death of babies immediately after birth. Only a third of pregnant women in the explosion zone gave birth to children who did not have serious abnormalities.

The feasibility of destroying Japanese cities

Japan continued the war even after the surrender of its main ally Germany. In a report presented at the Yalta Conference in February 1945, the estimated date for the end of the war with Japan was assumed to be no earlier than 18 months after Germany surrendered. Reducing the duration of combat operations, casualties and material costs, according to the USA and Great Britain, could contribute to the entry of the USSR into the war against the Japanese. As a result of the agreements, I. Stalin promised to act on the side of the Allies within 3 months after the end of the war with the Germans, which was done on August 8, 1945.

Was the use of nuclear weapons really necessary? Disputes about this have not stopped to this day. The destruction of two Japanese cities, amazing in its cruelty, was such a senseless action at that time that it gave rise to a number of conspiracy theories.

One of them claims that the bombing was not an urgent need, but only a show of force to the Soviet Union. The USA and Great Britain united with the USSR only unwillingly, in the fight against a common enemy. However, as soon as the danger passed, yesterday’s allies immediately became ideological opponents again. Second World War redrew the map of the world, changing it beyond recognition. The winners established their order, simultaneously testing out future rivals, with whom only yesterday they were sitting in the same trenches.

Another theory claims that Hiroshima and Nagasaki became testing sites. Although the United States tested the first atomic bomb on a deserted island, the true power of the new weapon could only be assessed in real conditions. The still unfinished war with Japan provided the Americans with a golden opportunity, while providing an iron-clad justification with which politicians repeatedly covered themselves later. They were “simply saving the lives of ordinary American guys.”

Most likely, the decision to use nuclear bombs was made as a result of a combination of all these factors.

• After the defeat of Nazi Germany, the situation developed in such a way that the Allies were not able to force Japan to surrender only on their own.
• The entry of the Soviet Union into the war obligated subsequently to listen to the opinion of the Russians.
• The military was naturally interested in testing new weapons in real conditions.
• Demonstrate to a potential enemy who is boss - why not?

The only justification for the United States is the fact that the consequences of the use of such weapons had not been studied at the time of their use. The effect exceeded all expectations and sobered even the most militant.

In March 1950, the Soviet Union announced the creation of its own atomic bomb. Nuclear parity was achieved in the 70s of the twentieth century.

... We have done the devil's work for him.

One of the creators of the American atomic bomb, Robert Oppenheimer

On August 9, 1945, human history began new era. It was on this day that the Little Boy nuclear bomb with a yield of 13 to 20 kilotons was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, American aircraft launched a second atomic strike on Japanese territory - the Fat Man bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.

As a result of two nuclear bombings, from 150 to 220 thousand people were killed (and these are only those who died immediately after the explosion), Hiroshima and Nagasaki were completely destroyed. The shock from the use of the new weapon was so strong that on August 15, the Japanese government announced its unconditional surrender, which was signed on August 2, 1945. This day is considered the official date of the end of World War II.

After this, a new era began, a period of confrontation between two superpowers - the USA and the USSR, which historians called the Cold War. For more than fifty years, the world has been teetering on the brink of a large-scale thermonuclear conflict, which would very likely put an end to our civilization. The atomic explosion in Hiroshima confronted humanity with new threats that have not lost their severity today.

Was the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki necessary, was there a military necessity for this? Historians and politicians argue about this to this day.

Of course, a blow to peaceful cities and great amount victims among their residents looks like a crime. However, we should not forget that at that time the bloodiest war in human history was going on, one of the initiators of which was Japan.

The scale of the tragedy that occurred in Japanese cities clearly showed the whole world the danger of new weapons. However, this did not prevent its further spread: the club of nuclear states is constantly replenished with new members, which increases the likelihood of a repeat of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

"The Manhattan Project": the history of the creation of the atomic bomb

The beginning of the twentieth century was a time of rapid development of nuclear physics. Every year, significant discoveries were made in this field of knowledge, people learned more and more about how matter works. The work of such brilliant scientists as Curie, Rutherford and Fermi made it possible to discover the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction under the influence of a neutron beam.

In 1934, American physicist Leo Szilard received a patent for the creation of an atomic bomb. It should be understood that all these studies took place in the context of the approaching world war and against the backdrop of the Nazis coming to power in Germany.

In August 1939, a letter signed by the group was delivered to US President Franklin Roosevelt famous physicists. Among the signatories was Albert Einstein. The letter warned the US leadership about the possibility of creating in Germany a fundamentally new weapon of destructive power - a nuclear bomb.

After this, the Bureau of Scientific Research and Development was created, which dealt with issues of atomic weapons, and additional funds were allocated for research in the field of uranium fission.

It should be admitted that American scientists had every reason to be apprehensive: in Germany they were indeed actively engaged in research in the field of atomic physics and had some success. In 1938, German scientists Strassmann and Hahn split a uranium nucleus for the first time. And the following year, German scientists turned to the country's leadership, pointing out the possibility of creating a fundamentally new weapon. In 1939, the first reactor plant was launched in Germany, and the export of uranium outside the country was prohibited. After the outbreak of World War II, all German research related to the “uranium” topic was strictly classified.

In Germany, more than twenty institutes and other scientific centers were involved in the project to create nuclear weapons. Giants of German industry were involved in the work, and they were personally supervised by German Arms Minister Speer. To obtain a sufficient amount of uranium-235, a reactor was needed, the reaction moderator in which could be either heavy water or graphite. The Germans chose water, which created a serious problem for themselves and practically deprived themselves of the prospects of creating nuclear weapons.

In addition, when it became clear that German nuclear weapons were unlikely to appear before the end of the war, Hitler significantly cut funding for the project. True, the Allies had a very vague idea about all this and were quite seriously afraid of Hitler’s atomic bomb.

American work in the field of creating atomic weapons has become much more productive. In 1943, the secret program “Manhattan Project” was launched in the United States, led by physicist Robert Oppenheimer and General Groves. Huge resources were allocated to create new weapons; dozens of world-famous physicists participated in the project. American scientists were helped by their colleagues from Great Britain, Canada and Europe, which ultimately made it possible to solve the problem in a relatively short time.

By mid-1945, the United States already had three nuclear bombs, with uranium (“Baby”) and plutonium (“Fat Man”) filling.

On July 16, the world's first nuclear weapons test took place: the Trinity plutonium bomb was detonated at the Alamogordo test site (New Mexico). The tests were considered successful.

Political background of the bombings

On May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany unconditionally surrendered. In the Potsdam Declaration, the United States, China and Great Britain invited Japan to do the same. But the descendants of the samurai refused to capitulate, so the war Pacific Ocean continued. Earlier, in 1944, there was a meeting between the US President and the British Prime Minister, at which, among other things, they discussed the possibility of using nuclear weapons against the Japanese.

In mid-1945, it was clear to everyone (including the Japanese leadership) that the United States and its allies were winning the war. However, the Japanese were not broken morally, as demonstrated by the Battle of Okinawa, which cost the Allies enormous (from their point of view) casualties.

The Americans mercilessly bombed Japanese cities, but this did not reduce the fury of resistance to the Japanese army. The United States began to think about what losses a massive landing on the Japanese islands would cost them. The use of new weapons of destructive force was supposed to undermine the morale of the Japanese and break their will to resist.

After the question of the use of nuclear weapons against Japan was decided positively, the special committee began to select targets for future bombing. The list consisted of several cities, and in addition to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, it also included Kyoto, Yokohama, Kokura and Niigata. The Americans did not want to use a nuclear bomb against exclusively military targets; its use should have had a strong psychological effect on the Japanese and shown to the whole world new tool US power. Therefore, a number of requirements were put forward for the purpose of the bombing:

• Cities chosen as targets for atomic bombing must be major economic centers, significant for the war industry, and also be psychologically important to the Japanese population
• The bombing should cause a significant resonance in the world
• The military was not happy with the cities that had already suffered from air raids. They wanted to better assess the destructive power of the new weapon.

The cities of Hiroshima and Kokura were initially chosen. Kyoto was removed from the list by US Secretary of War Henry Stimson because he honeymooned there as a young man and was in awe of the city's history.

An additional target was selected for each city, and they planned to strike it if the main objective will not be available for any reason. Nagasaki was chosen as insurance for the city of Kokura.

Bombing of Hiroshima

On July 25, US President Truman gave the order to begin bombing on August 3 and hit one of the selected targets at the first opportunity, and the second as soon as the next bomb was assembled and delivered.

At the beginning of the summer, the 509th Combined Group of the US Air Force arrived on Tinian Island, the location of which was separate from other units and carefully guarded.

On July 26, the cruiser Indianapolis delivered the first nuclear bomb, “Baby,” to the island, and by August 2, components of the second nuclear charge, “Fat Man,” were transported to Tinian by air.

Before the war, Hiroshima had a population of 340 thousand people and was the seventh largest Japanese city. According to other information, before the nuclear bombing, 245 thousand people lived in the city. Hiroshima was located on a plain, just above sea level, on six islands connected by numerous bridges.

The city was an important industrial center and supply base for the Japanese military. Plants and factories were located on its outskirts, the residential sector mainly consisted of low-rise wooden buildings. The headquarters of the Fifth Division and the Second Army were located in Hiroshima, which essentially provided protection for the entire southern part of the Japanese islands.

The pilots were able to begin the mission only on August 6, before which they were hampered by heavy clouds. At 1:45 on August 6, an American B-29 bomber from the 509th Aviation Regiment, as part of a group of escort aircraft, took off from the Tinian Island airfield. The bomber was named Enola Gay in honor of the mother of the aircraft's commander, Colonel Paul Tibbetts.

The pilots were confident that dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima was a good mission; they wanted a speedy end to the war and victory over the enemy. Before departure, they visited a church, and the pilots were given ampoules of potassium cyanide in case of danger of being captured.

Reconnaissance planes sent in advance to Kokura and Nagasaki reported that cloud cover over these cities would prevent the bombing. The pilot of the third reconnaissance aircraft reported that the sky over Hiroshima was clear and transmitted the prearranged signal.

Japanese radars detected a group of aircraft, but since their number was small, the air raid alert was canceled. The Japanese decided that they were dealing with reconnaissance aircraft.

At approximately eight o'clock in the morning, a B-29 bomber, rising to a height of nine kilometers, dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. The explosion occurred at an altitude of 400-600 meters, a large number of clocks in the city that stopped at the moment of the explosion clearly recorded it exact time– 8 hours 15 minutes.

results

The consequences of an atomic explosion over a densely populated city were truly terrifying. The exact number of victims of the bombing on Hiroshima has never been established; it ranges from 140 to 200 thousand. Of these, 70-80 thousand people who were near the epicenter died immediately after the explosion, the rest were much less fortunate. The enormous temperature of the explosion (up to 4 thousand degrees) literally evaporated people’s bodies or turned them into coal. The light radiation left imprinted silhouettes of passers-by on the ground and buildings (“shadows of Hiroshima”) and set fire to all flammable materials at a distance of several kilometers.

Following the flash of unbearably bright light, a suffocating blast wave struck, sweeping away everything in its path. The fires in the city merged into one huge fire tornado, which was driven by a strong wind towards the epicenter of the explosion. Those who did not manage to get out from under the rubble burned in this hellish flame.

After some time, the survivors of the explosion began to suffer from an unknown illness, which was accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea. These were symptoms of radiation sickness, which was unknown to medicine at that time. However, there were other delayed consequences of the bombing in the form of cancer and severe psychological shock, which haunted the survivors decades after the explosion.

It should be understood that in the middle of the last century, people did not sufficiently understand the consequences of the use of atomic weapons. Nuclear medicine was in its infancy; the concept of “radioactive contamination” as such did not exist. Therefore, after the war, the residents of Hiroshima began to rebuild their city and continued to live in their original places. The high mortality rate from cancer and various genetic abnormalities in the children of Hiroshima were not immediately associated with the nuclear bombing.

For a long time the Japanese could not understand what happened to one of their cities. Hiroshima stopped communicating and transmitting signals on the air. A plane sent to the city found it completely destroyed. Only after the official announcement from the United States did the Japanese realize what exactly had happened in Hiroshima.

Bombing of Nagasaki

The city of Nagasaki is located in two valleys separated by a mountain range. During World War II it was of great military importance as major port and an industrial center in which warships, guns, torpedoes, Combat vehicles. The city has never been subjected to large-scale aerial bombardment. At the time of the nuclear strike, about 200 thousand people lived in Nagasaki.

On August 9 at 2:47 a.m., an American B-29 bomber under the command of pilot Charles Sweeney with the Fat Man atomic bomb on board took off from the airfield on the island of Tinian. The primary target of the strike was the Japanese city of Kokura, but heavy clouds prevented the bomb from being dropped on it. The crew's additional target was the city of Nagasaki.

The bomb was dropped at 11.02 and detonated at an altitude of 500 meters. Unlike the "Little Boy" dropped on Hiroshima, the "Fat Man" was a plutonium bomb with a yield of 21 kT. The epicenter of the explosion was located over the industrial zone of the city.

Despite the greater power of the ammunition, damage and losses in Nagasaki were less than in Hiroshima. Several factors contributed to this. Firstly, the city was located on the hills, which absorbed part of the force of the nuclear explosion, and secondly, the bomb went off over the industrial zone of Nagasaki. If the explosion had occurred over residential areas, there would have been many more casualties. Part of the area affected by the explosion was generally on the water surface.

The victims of the Nagasaki bomb were from 60 to 80 thousand people (who died immediately or before the end of 1945); the number of people who died later from diseases caused by radiation is unknown. Various figures are cited, the maximum of which is 140 thousand people.

In the city, 14 thousand buildings (out of 54 thousand) were destroyed, more than 5 thousand buildings were significantly damaged. The firestorm observed in Hiroshima did not occur in Nagasaki.

Initially, the Americans did not plan to stop at two nuclear strikes. The third bomb was being prepared for mid-August, and three more were planned to be dropped in September. The US government planned to continue atomic bombing until the start of ground operations. However, on August 10, the Japanese government conveyed surrender proposals to the Allies. A day earlier, the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan, and the country's situation became absolutely hopeless.

Was the bombing necessary?

The debate over whether it was necessary to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki has not subsided for many decades. Naturally, today this action looks like a monstrous and inhumane crime of the United States. Domestic patriots and fighters against American imperialism like to raise this topic. Meanwhile, the question is not clear-cut.

It should be understood that at that time there was a world war going on, characterized by an unprecedented level of cruelty and inhumanity. Japan was one of the initiators of this massacre and waged a brutal war of conquest since 1937. In Russia there is often an opinion that nothing serious happened in the Pacific Ocean - but this is an erroneous point of view. The fighting in this region has led to the death of 31 million people, most of of which are civilians. The cruelty with which the Japanese pursued their policy in China surpasses even the atrocities of the Nazis.

The Americans sincerely hated Japan, with whom they had been fighting since 1941, and really wanted to end the war with the least losses. The atomic bomb was simply a new type of weapon; they had only a theoretical idea of ​​its power, and they knew even less about the consequences in the form of radiation sickness. I don’t think that if the USSR had an atomic bomb, anyone from the Soviet leadership would have doubted whether it was necessary to drop it on Germany. Until the end of his life, US President Truman believed that he had done the right thing by ordering the bombing.

August 2018 marked 73 years since the nuclear bombing of Japanese cities. Nagasaki and Hiroshima today are prosperous metropolises with few reminders of the 1945 tragedy. However, if humanity forgets this terrible lesson, it will most likely happen again. The horrors of Hiroshima showed people what kind of Pandora's box they had opened by creating nuclear weapons. It was the ashes of Hiroshima for decades Cold War sobered up too hot heads, not allowing a new world massacre to be unleashed.

Thanks to the support of the United States and the abandonment of previous militaristic policies, Japan became what it is today - a country with one of the strongest economies in the world, recognized leader in the automotive industry and high technology. After the end of the war, the Japanese chose a new path of development, which turned out to be much more successful than the previous one.

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• The leadership of the commission put forward the main criterion for attack targets

The United States, with the consent of the United Kingdom, as provided for in the Quebec Treaty, dropped nuclear weapons on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. This happened during the final stage of World War II. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the deadliest use of nuclear weapons in warfare in human history.

The war in Europe came to an end when Nazi Germany signed act of surrender May 8, 1945 of the year. The Japanese, faced with the same fate, refused to surrender unconditionally. And the war continued. Along with the United Kingdom and China, the United States called for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese military in the Potsdam Declaration of July 26, 1945. The Japanese Empire ignored this ultimatum.

How it all began: the background to the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Back in the fall of 1944, a meeting between the leadership of the United States and the United Kingdom took place. At this meeting, the leaders discussed the possibility of using atomic weapons in the fight against Japan. A year before, the Manhattan Project was launched, which involved the development of nuclear (atomic) weapons. The project was now in full swing. The first samples of nuclear weapons were presented during the end of hostilities on European territory.

Reasons for the nuclear bombing of Japanese cities

In the summer of 1954, the United States became the sole possessor of nuclear weapons throughout the world, causing catastrophic damage to the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This weapon became a kind of regulator of relations between the long-time rival of the United States of America - the Soviet Union. This was despite the fact that in the current situation in the world, both powers were allies against Nazi Germany.

Japan suffered defeats, but this did not stop the people from being morally strong. The Japanese resistance was considered fanatical by many. This was confirmed by frequent cases when Japanese pilots went to ram other aircraft, ships or other military targets. Everything led to the fact that any enemy ground troops could be attacked by kamikaze pilots. Losses from such raids were expected to be large.
To a greater extent, it was precisely this fact that was cited as an argument for the use of nuclear weapons by the United States against the Japanese Empire. However, there was no mention of the Potsdam Conference. At it, as Churchill said, Stalin negotiated with the Japanese leadership about establishing a peaceful dialogue. For the most part, such proposals would be made to both the United States and the United Kingdom. Japan was in a position where industry was in a deplorable state and corruption was becoming inevitable.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki as targets for attack

After the decision was made to attack Japan with nuclear weapons, the question arose about choosing a target. For this purpose, a specialized committee was organized. Immediately after the signing of Germany's surrender, at the second meeting of the committee, the agenda of the meeting was the choice of cities for atomic bombing.

The leadership of the commission put forward the main criterion for attack targets:
. Civilian objects also had to be located near military targets (which were supposed to be the immediate target).
. Cities should be important objects from the point of view of the country's economy, strategic side and psychological importance.
. The hit target should cause a great resonance in the world.
. Cities damaged during the war were not suitable. As a result of the atomic bombing, it is necessary to assess the degree of destructive power of the weapon.

The city of Kyoto was considered as a contender for the purpose of testing nuclear weapons. It was a major industrial center and, as an ancient capital, had historical value. The next contender was the city of Hiroshima. Its value lay in the fact that it had military warehouses and a military port. The military industry was concentrated in the city of Yokahama. A large military arsenal was based in the city of Kokura. The city of Kyoto was excluded from the list of potential targets; despite meeting the requirements, Stimson was unable to destroy the city with its historical heritage. Hiroshima and Kokura were chosen. An air raid was carried out on the city of Nagasaki, which provoked the evacuation of children from the entire area. Now the facility did not quite meet the requirements of the American leadership.

Later, there were long discussions about backup targets. If for some reason the selected cities cannot be attacked. The city of Niigata was chosen as insurance for Hiroshima. Nagasaki was chosen as the city of Kokura.
Before the actual bombing, careful preparations were made.

The beginning of the nuclear bombing of Japan
It is impossible to identify a specific single date for the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both cities were attacked three days apart. The city of Hiroshima came under the first attack. The military was distinguished by its unique sense of humor. The bomb dropped was called "Baby" and destroyed the city on June 6. The operation was commanded by Colonel Tibbetts.

The pilots believed that they were doing it all for the good. It was assumed that the result of the bombing would be the end of the war. Before departure, the pilots visited the church. They also received ampoules of potassium cyanide. This was done to avoid the pilots being captured.
Before the bombing, reconnaissance operations were carried out to determine weather conditions. The area was photographed to assess the scale of the explosion.
The bombing process was not influenced by any extraneous factors. Everything went according to plan. The Japanese military did not see objects approaching the target cities, despite the fact that the weather was favorable.

After the explosion occurred, the “mushroom” was visible from a great distance. At the end of the war, newsreel footage of that region was edited to create a documentary about this terrible bombing.

The city that was supposed to be attacked is the city of Kokura. On August 9, when a plane with a nuclear bomb (“Fat Man”) on board was circling over the target city, the weather made its own adjustments. High clouds became a hindrance. At the beginning of nine in the morning, the two partner aircraft were supposed to meet at their destination. The second aircraft did not appear even after more than half an hour.

It was decided to bomb the city from one plane. Since time was lost, the above weather the city of Kokura was not allowed to suffer. Early in the day, it was discovered that the plane's fuel pump was faulty. Together with all the events (natural and technical), the plane with nuclear weapons had no choice but to attack the backup city - Nagasaki. The landmark for dropping an atomic bomb in the city was the stadium. This is how the city of Kokura was saved and the city of Nagasaki was destroyed. The only “luck” of the city of Nagasaki was that the atomic bomb did not fall in the place where it was originally planned. Its landing site was further from residential buildings, which led to less severe destruction and fewer casualties than in Hiroshima. People located within a radius of just under a kilometer from the center of the explosion did not survive. After the explosion in the city of Hiroshima, a deadly tornado formed. Its speed reached 60 km/h. This tornado was formed from numerous fires after the explosion. In the city of Nagasaki, the fires did not lead to a tornado.

The results of a terrible tragedy and human experiment
After such a monstrous experiment, humanity learned of the terrible radiation sickness. Initially, doctors were concerned that the survivors were symptomatic with diarrhea and then died after severely deteriorating health. In general, nuclear weapons are widespread due to their destructive properties. If conventional weapons had one or two destructive properties, then nuclear weapons had an extended range of action. It contains damage from light rays that lead to skin burns, depending on the distance, until complete charring. The shock wave can destroy concrete floors in houses, which leads to their collapse. And a terrible force, like radiation, haunts people to this day.

Even then, after the nuclear experiment in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people could not even imagine the scale of the consequences. Those who survived directly after the atomic explosions began to die. And no one could cope with this. Everyone who was injured but survived had serious health problems. Even years later, the echo of the American nuclear experiment resonated with the descendants of the victims. In addition to people, animals were also affected, and subsequently gave birth to offspring with physical defects (such as two heads).

After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviet Union enters the conflict. The Americans achieved their goal. Japan announced its surrender, but subject to the preservation of the current government. Information about the end of hostilities appeared in the Japanese media. They were all on English language. The essence of the messages was that Japan's enemy possesses terrible weapons. If military operations continue, such weapons can lead to the complete extermination of the nation. And they were right, it is pointless to fight weapons of this scale if one bombing can destroy all living things within a kilometer radius and cause huge losses at a greater distance from the center of the explosion.
General results

After the horrific consequences of a nuclear explosion in Japan, the United States continued to develop atomic weapons and its longtime enemy, the Soviet Union, became involved in this process. This marked the beginning of the Cold War era. The worst thing is that the actions of the American government were carefully thought out and planned. When developing nuclear weapons, it was clear that they would cause enormous destruction and death.

The cold-bloodedness with which the American army prepared to assess the consequences of the destructive power of weapons is appalling. The obligatory presence of residential areas in the affected area suggests that people in power begin to flirt with other people's lives, without any twinge of conscience.
In the city of Volgograd, there is Hiroshima Street. Despite participating in different sides military conflict, Soviet Union helped destroyed cities, and the name of the street testifies to humanity and mutual assistance in conditions of inhuman cruelty.
Today, young people, under the influence of propaganda and unreliable facts, have the opinion that atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the Soviet army.

An American B-29 Superfortress bomber named “Enola Gay” took off from Tinian early on August 6 with a single 4,000 kg uranium bomb called “Little Boy”. At 8:15 a.m., the “baby” bomb was dropped from a height of 9,400 m above the city and spent 57 seconds in free fall. At the moment of detonation, a small explosion provoked an explosion of 64 kg of uranium. Of these 64 kg, only 7 kg went through the fission stage, and of this mass, only 600 mg turned into energy - explosive energy that burned everything in its path for several kilometers, leveling the city with a blast wave, starting a series of fires and plunging all living things into radiation flow. It is believed that about 70,000 people died immediately, with another 70,000 dying from injuries and radiation by 1950. Today in Hiroshima, near the epicenter of the explosion, there is a memorial museum, the purpose of which is to promote the idea that nuclear weapons will cease to exist forever.

May 1945: selection of targets.

During its second meeting at Los Alamos (May 10-11, 1945), the Target Selection Committee recommended Kyoto (a major industrial center), Hiroshima (an army storage center and military port), and Yokohama (a military center) as targets for the use of atomic weapons. industry), Kokura (the largest military arsenal) and Niigata (a military port and mechanical engineering center). The committee rejected the idea of ​​using these weapons against a purely military target, since there was a chance of missing small area, not surrounded by a large urban area.
When choosing a goal, great importance was attached to psychological factors, such as:
achieving maximum psychological effect against Japan,
the first use of a weapon must be significant enough for its importance to be recognized internationally. The Committee pointed out that the choice of Kyoto was supported by the fact that its population had more high level education and was thus better able to appreciate the value of weapons. Hiroshima was of such a size and location that, taking into account the focusing effect of the surrounding hills, the force of the explosion could be increased.
US Secretary of War Henry Stimson removed Kyoto from the list due to cultural significance cities. According to Professor Edwin O. Reischauer, Stimson "knew and appreciated Kyoto from his honeymoon there decades ago."

Pictured is US Secretary of War Henry Stimson

On July 16, the world's first successful test of an atomic weapon was carried out at a test site in New Mexico. The power of the explosion was about 21 kilotons of TNT.
On July 24, during the Potsdam Conference, US President Harry Truman informed Stalin that the United States had a new weapon of unprecedented destructive power. Truman did not specify that he was referring specifically to atomic weapons. According to Truman's memoirs, Stalin showed little interest, saying only that he was glad and hoped that the United States could use it effectively against the Japanese. Churchill, who carefully observed Stalin's reaction, remained of the opinion that Stalin did not understand the true meaning of Truman's words and did not pay attention to him. At the same time, according to Zhukov’s memoirs, Stalin understood everything perfectly, but did not show it, and in a conversation with Molotov after the meeting he noted that “We will need to talk with Kurchatov about speeding up our work.” After the declassification of the American intelligence services' operation "Venona", it became known that Soviet agents had long been reporting on the development of nuclear weapons. According to some reports, agent Theodore Hall even announced the planned date of the first nuclear test a few days before the Potsdam Conference. This may explain why Stalin took Truman's message calmly. Hall had been working for Soviet intelligence since 1944.
On July 25, Truman approved an order, beginning August 3, to bomb one of the following targets: Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata, or Nagasaki, as soon as weather permits, and the following cities in the future as bombs become available.
On July 26, the governments of the United States, Great Britain, and China signed the Potsdam Declaration, which set out the demand for Japan's unconditional surrender. The atomic bomb was not mentioned in the declaration.
The next day, Japanese newspapers reported that the declaration, the text of which was broadcast on the radio and scattered in leaflets from airplanes, had been rejected. The Japanese government did not express any desire to accept the ultimatum. On July 28, Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki said at a press conference that the Potsdam Declaration was nothing more than the old arguments of the Cairo Declaration in a new wrapper, and demanded that the government ignore it.
Emperor Hirohito, who was waiting for a Soviet response to the evasive diplomatic moves [what?] of the Japanese, did not change the government’s decision. On July 31, in a conversation with Koichi Kido, he made it clear that imperial power must be protected at all costs.

An aerial view of Hiroshima shortly before the bomb was dropped on the city in August 1945. Shown here densely populated area cities on the Motoyasu River.

Preparing for the bombing

During May-June 1945, the American 509th Mixed Aviation Group arrived on Tinian Island. The group's base area on the island was several miles from other units and was carefully guarded.
On July 26, the cruiser Indianapolis delivered the Little Boy atomic bomb to Tinian.
On July 28, the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, George Marshall, signed an order for the combat use of nuclear weapons. This order, drafted by the head of the Manhattan Project, Major General Leslie Groves, ordered a nuclear strike "on any day after the third of August as soon as weather conditions permit." On July 29, the commander of US strategic aviation, General Carl Spaatz, arrived on Tinian, delivering Marshall's order to the island.
On July 28 and August 2, components of the “Fat Man” atomic bomb were brought to Tinian by plane.

Commander A.F. Birch (left) numbers the bomb, codenamed "Baby", physicist Dr Ramsay (right) receives Nobel Prize in physics in 1989.

The "baby" was 3 m long and weighed 4,000 kg, but contained only 64 kg of uranium, which was used to provoke a chain of atomic reactions and subsequent explosion.

Hiroshima during World War II.

Hiroshima was located on a flat area, slightly above sea level at the mouth of the Ota River, on 6 islands connected by 81 bridges. The city's population before the war was over 340 thousand people, making Hiroshima the seventh largest city in Japan. The city was the headquarters of the Fifth Division and the Second Main Army of Field Marshal Shunroku Hata, who commanded the defense of all of Southern Japan. Hiroshima was an important supply base for the Japanese army.
In Hiroshima (as well as in Nagasaki), most buildings were one- and two-story wooden buildings with tiled roofs. Factories were located on the outskirts of the city. Outdated firefighting equipment and insufficient training of personnel created a high fire danger even in peacetime.
Hiroshima's population peaked at 380,000 during the war, but before the bombing the population gradually declined due to systematic evacuations ordered by the Japanese government. At the time of the attack the population was about 245 thousand people.

Pictured is the US Army Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber "Enola Gay"

Bombardment

The primary target of the first American nuclear bombing was Hiroshima (the alternate targets were Kokura and Nagasaki). Although Truman's orders called for atomic bombing to begin on August 3, cloud cover over the target prevented this until August 6.
On August 6 at 1:45 a.m., an American B-29 bomber under the command of the commander of the 509th Combined Aviation Regiment, Colonel Paul Tibbetts, carrying the “Baby” atomic bomb on board, took off from the island of Tinian, which was about 6 hours flight from Hiroshima. Tibbetts' plane (Enola Gay) was flying as part of a formation that included six other planes: a reserve plane (Top Secret), two controllers and three reconnaissance aircraft (Jebit III, Full House and Straight Flash). The commanders of reconnaissance aircraft sent to Nagasaki and Kokura reported significant cloudiness over these cities. The pilot of the third reconnaissance aircraft, Major Iserli, found that the sky over Hiroshima was clear and sent the signal “Bomb the first target.”
Around seven o'clock in the morning, the Japanese early warning radar network detected the approach of several American aircraft heading towards southern Japan. An air raid warning was announced and radio broadcasts were stopped in many cities, including Hiroshima. At approximately 08:00, the radar operator in Hiroshima determined that the number of incoming aircraft was very small - perhaps no more than three - and the air raid alert was canceled. In order to save fuel and aircraft, the Japanese did not intercept small groups of American bombers. The standard radio message was that it would be wise to head to bomb shelters if the B-29s were actually spotted, and that it was not a raid but just some form of reconnaissance that was expected.
At 08:15 local time, the B-29, being at an altitude of over 9 km, dropped an atomic bomb on the center of Hiroshima. The fuse was installed at a height of 600 meters above the surface; the explosion, the equivalent of 13 to 18 kilotons of TNT, occurred 45 seconds after the release.
The first public report of the event came from Washington, sixteen hours after the atomic attack on the Japanese city.

A photo taken from one of two American bombers of the 509th Integrated Group shortly after 8:15 a.m. on August 5, 1945, shows smoke rising from the explosion over the city of Hiroshima.

When the uranium in the bomb fissioned, it was instantly converted into the energy of 15 kilotons of TNT, heating the massive fireball to 3,980 degrees Celsius.

Explosion effect

Those closest to the epicenter of the explosion died instantly, their bodies turned to coal. Birds flying past burned up in the air, and dry, flammable materials such as paper ignited up to 2 km from the epicenter. The light radiation burned the dark pattern of clothing into the skin and left silhouettes of human bodies on the walls. People outside their houses described a blinding flash of light, which was simultaneously accompanied by a wave of stifling heat. The blast wave followed almost immediately for everyone near the epicenter, often knocking them off their feet. Occupants of the buildings generally avoided exposure to the light radiation from the explosion, but not the blast wave - glass shards hit most rooms, and all but the strongest buildings collapsed. One teenager was thrown from his house across the street by the blast wave, while the house collapsed behind him. Within a few minutes, 90% of people who were 800 meters or less from the epicenter died.
The blast wave shattered glass at a distance of up to 19 km. For those in the buildings, the typical first reaction was the thought of a direct hit from an aerial bomb.
Numerous small fires, which simultaneously arose in the city, soon united into one large fire tornado, creating strong wind(speed 50-60 km/h) directed towards the epicenter. The firestorm captured over 11 km² of the city, killing everyone who did not manage to get out within the first few minutes after the explosion.
According to the memoirs of Akiko Takakura, one of the few survivors who were at a distance of 300 m from the epicenter at the time of the explosion:
Three colors characterize for me the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima: black, red and brown. Black because the explosion cut off sunlight and plunged the world into darkness. Red was the color of blood flowing from wounded and broken people. It was also the color of the fires that burned everything in the city. Brown was the color of burnt skin falling off the body, exposed to the light radiation from the explosion.
A few days after the explosion, doctors began to notice the first symptoms of radiation among the survivors. Soon, the number of deaths among the survivors began to rise again, as patients who had seemed to be recovering began to suffer from this strange new disease. Deaths from radiation sickness peaked 3-4 weeks after the explosion and began to decline only 7-8 weeks later. Japanese doctors considered vomiting and diarrhea characteristic of radiation sickness to be symptoms of dysentery. Long-term health effects associated with exposure, such as an increased risk of cancer, haunted survivors for the rest of their lives, as did the psychological shock of the blast.

The shadow of a man who was sitting on the steps of the stairs in front of the bank at the time of the explosion, 250 meters from the epicenter.

Losses and destruction

The number of deaths from the direct impact of the explosion ranged from 70 to 80 thousand people. By the end of 1945, due to radioactive contamination and other post-effects of the explosion, the total number of deaths ranged from 90 to 166 thousand people. After 5 years, the total death toll, including deaths from cancer and other long-term effects of the explosion, could reach or even exceed 200,000 people.
According to official Japanese data, as of March 31, 2013, there were 201,779 “hibakusha” alive - people who suffered from the effects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This figure includes children born to women exposed to radiation from the explosions (mostly living in Japan at the time of the calculation). Of these, 1%, according to the Japanese government, had serious cancer caused by radiation exposure after the bombings. The number of deaths as of August 31, 2013 is about 450 thousand: 286,818 in Hiroshima and 162,083 in Nagasaki.

View of the destroyed Hiroshima in the fall of 1945 on one branch of the river passing through the delta on which the city stands

Complete destruction after the dropping of an atomic bomb.

Color photograph of the destruction of Hiroshima in March 1946.

An explosion destroyed the Okita plant in Hiroshima, Japan.

Look how the sidewalk has been raised and there's a drainpipe sticking out of the bridge. Scientists say this was due to the vacuum created by the pressure from the atomic explosion.

Twisted iron beams are all that remains of the theater building, located about 800 meters from the epicenter.

The Hiroshima Fire Department lost its only vehicle when the western station was destroyed by an atomic bomb. The station was located 1,200 meters from the epicenter.

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Nuclear pollution

The concept of “radioactive contamination” did not yet exist in those years, and therefore this issue was not even raised then. People continued to live and rebuild destroyed buildings in the same place where they were before. Even the high mortality rate of the population in subsequent years, as well as diseases and genetic abnormalities in children born after the bombings, were not initially associated with exposure to radiation. Evacuation of the population from contaminated areas was not carried out, since no one knew about the very presence of radioactive contamination.
It is quite difficult to give an accurate assessment of the extent of this contamination due to lack of information, however, since the first atomic bombs were technically relatively low-power and imperfect (the Baby bomb, for example, contained 64 kg of uranium, of which only about 700 g reacted division), the level of contamination of the area could not be significant, although it posed a serious danger to the population. For comparison: at the time of the accident on Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the reactor core there were several tons of fission products and transuranium elements - various radioactive isotopes that accumulated during operation of the reactor.

Terrible consequences...

Keloid scars on the back and shoulders of a victim of the Hiroshima bombing. The scars formed where the victim's skin was not protected from direct radiation rays.

Comparative preservation of some buildings

Some reinforced concrete buildings in the city were very stable (due to the risk of earthquakes), and their frames did not collapse, despite the fact that they were quite close to the center of destruction in the city (the epicenter of the explosion). So it survived brick building Hiroshima Chamber of Industry (now commonly known as the "Genbaku Dome", or "Atomic Dome"), designed and built by Czech architect Jan Letzel, which was only 160 meters from the epicenter of the explosion (with the bomb detonating 600 meters above the surface ). These ruins became the most famous exhibit of the atomic explosion in Hiroshima and were elevated to the rank of world heritage UNESCO, despite objections expressed by the US and Chinese governments.

A man looks at the ruins left after the atomic bomb exploded in Hiroshima.

People lived here

Visitors to Hiroshima Memorial Park look at a panoramic view of the aftermath of the atomic explosion on July 27, 2005 in Hiroshima.

Memorial flame in honor of the victims of the atomic explosion at the monument in the Hiroshima Memorial Park. The fire has burned continuously since it was lit on August 1, 1964. The fire will burn until “all the atomic weapons on earth disappear forever.”