The Bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki

Was it Justified?

Hiroshima & Nagasaki

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks during World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States of America under US President Harry S. Truman. On August 6, 1945, the nuclear weapon "Little Boy" was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, followed on August 9, 1945 by the detonation of the "Fat Man" nuclear bomb over Nagasaki. They are the only instances of the use of nuclear weapons in warfare. On August 15, 1945 Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Powers, signing the Instrument of Surrender on September 2 which officially ended World War II. Furthermore, the experience of bombing led post-war Japan to adopt Three Non-Nuclear Principles, which forbids Japan from nuclear armament. However, the role of the bombings in Japans surrender, as well as the effects and justification of them, has been subject to much debate.

How it started
The United States, with assistance from the United Kingdom and Canada, designed and built the first atomic bombs under what was called the Manhattan Project. The project was initially started at the instigation of European refugee scientists (including Albert Einstein) and American scientists who feared that Nazi Germany would also be conducting a full-scale bomb development program. The project itself eventually employed over 130,000 people at its peak at over thirty institutions spread over the United States, and cost a total of nearly US$2 billion. It one of the largest and most costly research and development programs of all time.

The Manhattan Project, led by General Leslie Groves (left) and the physicist Robert Oppenheimer, developed the first atomic weapons for use in World War II.

Weapons of Mass Destruction

The gravity bomb known as "Little Boy", a gun-type fission weapon with 60 kg (130 pounds) of uranium-235, took 57 seconds to fall from the aircraft to the predetermined detonation height about 600 meters (2,000 ft) above the city. It created a blast equivalent to about 13 kilotons of TNT. The radius of total destruction was about 1.6 km (1 mile), with resulting fires across 11.4 km (4.4 square miles). Infrastructure damage was estimated at 90 percent of Hiroshima's buildings being either damaged or completely destroyed.

Hiroshima

The "Fat Man" weapon, containing a core of ~6.4 kg (14.1 lb) of plutonium-239, was dropped over the city's industrial valley. 43 seconds later it exploded 469 meters (1,540 ft) above the ground exactly halfway between the Mitsubishi Steel and Arms Works in the south and the Mitsubishi-Urakami Ordnance Works (Torpedo Works) in the north. The resulting explosion had a blast yield equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT. The explosion generated heat estimated at 7000 degrees Fahrenheit(3871.13 degrees Celcius) and winds that were estimated at 624 mph(1004.016 kmph) The radius of total destruction was about 1.6 km (1 mile), followed by fires across the northern portion of the city to 3.2 km (2 miles) south of the bomb.

Nagasaki

A Post-war Little Boy Casing Mockup.

A Post-War Fat Man Model.

The Aftermath
In Hiroshima with an estimated total population of 250,000 people, 45,000 died on the first day. At least 93.5 % of those were killed instantly. Another 19, 000 died in the subsequent 4 months as a result of severe burns and radiation poisoning. By December of 1945, thousands had died from their injuries and a small number from radiation poisoning, bringing the total killed in Hiroshima in 1945 to perhaps 140,000. According to some estimates, about 70,000 of Nagasaki's 240,000 residents were killed instantly and up to 60,000 were injured on the first day. Around 17,000 more would die in the next 4 months. Again, due to severe burns and radiation poisoning. These records are merely estimates of the true number victims that perished. They do NOT include deaths of military personnel and foreign workers. The death toll of both bombings are estimated to be at least half a million people dead. However, these estimates are still disputed by many International Organizations as many of the remains were not found. Reasons for this are that they have been incinerated and turned into dust by the extreme heat generated by the blast. Also, many of the victims consisted of innocent civilians. Mainly women and children.

Post-Attack Casualties

The mushroom cloud over Hiroshima after the dropping of Little Boy taken at 20,000 feet in the air. The radiation dust cloud had spread approximately 10, 000 feet around the hypocenter when this picture was taken.

The Fat Man mushroom cloud resulting from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rises 18km(60,000 feet) into the air from the hypocenter of the blast.

Hiroshima in the aftermath of the bombing.

Aerial photograph of Nagasaki before (Top) and after (Bottom), the bombing.

A Japanese report on the bombing characterized Nagasaki as "like a graveyard with not a tombstone standing."

The burns are in a pattern corresponding to the dark portions of the kimono she was wearing at the time of the explosion.

A strap of her bag saves part of her skin from the keloids or tumor-like growths of scar tissue.

Keloids form on the legs of a solider exposed to the radiation 2,950 feet (900 meters) from the hypocenter.

Treating burns from the thermal radiation.

This soldier is severely burned from the thermal radiation.

Severe keloids, or scarring, caused by thermal radiation.

Thermal Rays Leave Human Shadow On Stone Steps

The Burned Corpse Of A Boy

A Boy Who Received Radiation Burns On His Whole Body

Subcutaneous Hemorrhage

Atomic Bomb Cataract Caused By Radiation

Justification
At the end of it all, was it necessary and justified to use the atomic bombs?

WE THINK NOT.

Why?

Alternative Ways
More negotiations could be done. Trade sanctions could be lifted. Conventional attacks against military units. Annual firebombing raids against strategic MILITARY positions. Drafting of a peace treaty. Discuss again about the usage of atomic bomb and the consequences of using it. Moral view of using the bomb.

End