Home Diseases and pests The victims of the atomic explosion of Hiroshima Nagasaki. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: causes and consequences

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The victims of the atomic explosion of Hiroshima Nagasaki. The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: causes and consequences

93 years old Theodore Van Kirk, the bomber's navigator, never regretted his involvement in the bombing of Hiroshima. “At that moment in history, the atomic bombing was necessary, it saved the lives of thousands of American soldiers,” said Van Kirk.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were carried out on August 6 and 9, 1945 by personal order US President Harry Truman a.

The direct execution of the combat mission was entrusted to the B-29 strategic bombers of the 509th mixed aviation regiment, based on the island of Tinian in the Pacific Ocean.

August 6, 1945 B-29 "Enola Gay" under the command Colonel Paul Tibbets dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima a uranium bomb "Malysh" with the equivalent of 13 to 18 kilotons of TNT, which killed 90 to 166 thousand people.

August 9, 1945 B-29 "Boxcar" under the command of Major Charles Sweeney dropped a plutonium bomb "Fat Man" with a capacity of up to 21 kilotons of TNT on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, as a result of which from 60 to 80 thousand people died.

Nuclear mushroom over Hiroshima and Nagasaki Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Charles Levy, Personel aboard Necessary Evil

There were 24

The crew of the Enola Gay during the bombing on August 6 consisted of 12 people, the crew of the Bockscar on August 9 - 13 people. The only person who participated in both bombings was an anti-radar specialist. lieutenant Jacob Bezer... Thus, a total of 24 American pilots took part in the two bombings.

The Enola Gay's crew included: Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Captain Robert Lewis, Major Thomas Fereby, Captain Theodore Van Kirk, Lieutenant Jacob Bezer, US Navy Captain William Sterling Parsons, Junior Lieutenant Morris R. Jeppson, Sergeant Joe Stiborick, Sergeant Robert Caron, Sergeant Robert Schumard, First Class Cryptographer Richard Nelson, Sergeant Wayne Dasenburry.

The crew of "Bokskar" included: Major Charles Sweeney, Lieutenant Charles Donald Albery, Lieutenant Fred Olivi, Sergeant Kermit Behan, Corporal Ib Spitzer, Sergeant Ray Gallagher, Sergeant Edward Buckley, Sergeant Albert Dehart, Sergeant Sergeant John Kuharek, Captain James Van Eeschort, Phillip Barge , Lieutenant Jacob Bezer.

Theodore Van Kirk was the last living participant not only in the bombing of Hiroshima, but also the last living participant in both bombings - the last member of the Bockscar crew died in 2009.

The Bokskar crew. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Original uploader was Cfpresley at en.wikipedia

Enola Gay commander turns Hiroshima tragedy into show

Most of the pilots who bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki did not show public activity, but at the same time did not express regret for what they had done.

In 2005, on the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, the three remaining crew members of the Enola Gay plane - Tibbets, Van Kirk and Jeppson - said they had no regrets. “The use of atomic weapons was necessary,” they said.

Paul Tibbets before the attack, morning of August 6, 1945. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / US Air Force employee (unnamed)

The most famous of the bombers is Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr., commander of the Enola Gay and the 509th Air Regiment. Tibbets, who was considered one of the best pilots in the United States Air Force during the Second World War and was the personal pilot of Dwight D. Eisenhower, in 1944 was appointed commander of the 509th Air Regiment, which carried out flights to carry components of atomic bombs, and then received the task of delivering an atomic strike against Japan. The Enola Gay bomber was named after Tibbets' mother.

Tibbets, who served in the Air Force until 1966, rose to the rank of brigadier general. Subsequently, he worked for many years in private aviation companies. Throughout his life, he not only expressed confidence in the correctness of the atomic strike on Hiroshima, but also declared his readiness to do it again. In 1976, over Tibbets, a scandal broke out between the United States and Japan - at one of the airshows in Texas, the pilot made a complete statement of the bombing of Hiroshima. The US government has officially apologized to Japan for this incident.

Tibbets died in 2007 at the age of 92. In his will, he asked that no funeral be held or a memorial plaque erected after death, as protesters against nuclear weapons could make it a kind of place for their protests.

The pilots were not tormented by nightmares

The Bockscar pilot Charles Sweeney completed his aviation service in 1976 with the rank of Major General. After that, he wrote memoirs and gave lectures to students. Like Tibbets, Sweeney insisted that an atomic strike against Japan was necessary and saved the lives of thousands of Americans. Charles Sweeney died in 2004 at the age of 84 in a Boston clinic.

The direct executor of the "verdict for Hiroshima" was the then 26-year-old striker Thomas Ferebi. He also never doubted that his mission was correct, although he expressed regret about a large number victims: “I am sorry that so many people died from this bomb, and I hate to think that this was necessary in order to end the war as soon as possible. Now we should look back and remember what just one or two bombs can do. And then I think we should go along with the idea that this should never happen again. " Fereby retired in 1970, lived quietly for another 30 years, and died at the age of 81 in Windemere, Florida, in the 55th anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing.

Lived a long and happy life and never regretted what they did, Charles Albury (died 2009 at age 88), Fred Olivi (died 2004 at age 82) and Frederick Ashworth (died 2005 at age 93).

B-29 over Osaka. June 1, 1945. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / United States Army Air Force

"Iserli complex"

Over the years, there has been talk of the remorse experienced by the participants in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In fact, none of the main actors in fact, he did not feel any guilt. The pilot Claude Robert Iserly, who soon really went mad, was a member of the crew of one of the aircraft that performed auxiliary functions during the raid. He spent many years in a psychiatric clinic, and a new disease was even named in his honor, associated with damage to the psyche of people who used weapons. mass destruction- "Iserli complex".

His colleagues' psyche turned out to be much stronger. Charles Sweeney and his crew, who bombed Nagasaki, were able to personally assess the scale of what was done a month later. After Japan signed the surrender, American pilots brought physicists to Nagasaki, as well as medicines for the victims. The terrible pictures that they saw on what was left of the streets of the city made an impression on them, but did not shake their psyche. Although one of the pilots then admitted - it's good that the surviving residents did not know that they were in front of them exactly the pilots who dropped the bomb on August 9, 1945 ...

Nuclear weapons have been used for combat purposes only twice in the entire history of mankind. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 showed how dangerous it can be. It was the real experience of using nuclear weapons that was able to keep the two powerful powers (the USA and the USSR) from unleashing a third world war.

Dropping bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

During World War II, millions of innocent people suffered. The leaders of the world powers were not looking to put the lives of soldiers and civilians on the cards, in the hope of achieving superiority in the struggle for world domination. One of the worst disasters of all world history was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as a result of which about 200 thousand people were destroyed, and the total number of people who died during and after the explosion (from radiation) reached 500 thousand.

Until now, there are only assumptions that forced the President of the United States of America to give the order to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Did he realize that he knew what destruction and consequences the nuclear bomb would leave after the explosion? Or was this action intended to demonstrate combat power in front of the USSR, in order to completely kill any thoughts about attacks on the United States?

History has not retained the motives that drove 33rd US President Harry Truman when he gave the order for a nuclear attack on Japan, but one thing is certain: it was the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that forced the Japanese emperor to sign the surrender.

In order to try to understand the motives of the United States, it is necessary to carefully consider the situation that arose in the political arena in those years.

Emperor of Japan Hirohito

The Japanese emperor Hirohito was distinguished by good inclinations as a leader. In order to expand his lands, in 1935 he decides to seize all of China, which at that time was a backward agrarian country. Following the example of Hitler (with whom Japan forges a military alliance in 1941), Hirohito begins to invade China, using the methods loved by the Nazis.

In order to cleanse China of indigenous people, Japanese troops used chemical weapons that were banned. Inhuman experiments were carried out on the Chinese, aimed at finding out the limits of vitality human body at different situations... In total, about 25 million Chinese died during the Japanese expansion, most of whom were children and women.

It is possible that the nuclear bombing of Japanese cities could not have taken place if, after the conclusion of a military pact with Nazi Germany, the Emperor of Japan would not have given the order to launch an attack on Pearl Harbor, thereby provoking the United States to enter the Second world war... After this event, the date of the nuclear attack begins to approach with relentless speed.

When it became clear that Germany's defeat was inevitable, the question of Japan's surrender seemed a matter of time. However, the Japanese emperor, the embodiment of samurai arrogance and real god for his subjects, ordered all the inhabitants of the country to fight until the last drop blood. Everyone, without exception, had to resist the invader, from soldiers to women and children. Knowing the mentality of the Japanese, there was no doubt that the inhabitants would fulfill the will of their emperor.

In order to force Japan to surrender, it was necessary to take drastic measures. The atomic explosion, which thundered first in Hiroshima, and then in Nagasaki, was precisely the impetus that convinced the emperor of the futility of resistance.

Why was the nuclear attack chosen?

Although the number of versions why a nuclear attack was chosen to intimidate Japan is quite large, the following versions should be considered the main ones:

Most historians (especially American) insist that the damage caused by the dropped bombs is several times less than what a bloody invasion could have caused. American troops... According to this version, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not sacrificed in vain, as it saved the lives of the remaining millions of Japanese;
According to the second version, the purpose of the nuclear attack was to show the USSR how perfect the US military weapon is in order to intimidate a possible enemy. In 1945, the US President was informed that the activity of Soviet troops was noticed in the area of the border with Turkey (which was an ally of England). Perhaps that is why Truman decided to intimidate the Soviet leader;
The third version says that the nuclear attack on Japan was American revenge for Pearl Harbor.

The fate of Japan was decided at the Potsdam Conference, which took place from July 17 to August 2. Three states - the USA, England and the USSR, headed by their leaders, signed the declaration. It spoke of a post-war sphere of influence, although the Second World War was not yet over. One of the points of this declaration spoke of the immediate surrender of Japan.

This document was sent to the Japanese government, which rejected this proposal. Following the example of their emperor, members of the government decided to continue the war to the end. After that, the fate of Japan was sealed. Since the US military command was looking for where to apply the latest atomic weapon, the president approved the atomic bombing of Japanese cities.

Coalition against Hitlerite Germany was on the verge of a break (due to the fact that there was one month left before the victory), the Allied countries could not agree. The different policies of the USSR and the United States ultimately led these states to the Cold War.

The fact that US President Harry Truman was informed about the beginning of nuclear tests on the eve of the meeting in Potsdam played important role in the decision of the head of state. Wanting to intimidate Stalin, Truman hinted to the Generalissimo that he had a new weapon ready that could leave huge casualties after the explosion.

Stalin ignored this statement, although he soon phoned Kurchatov and ordered the completion of work on the development of Soviet nuclear weapons.

Having received no answer from Stalin, the American president decides to start an atomic bombing at his own peril and risk.

Why Hiroshima and Nagasaki were chosen for the nuclear attack

In the spring of 1945, the US military had to select suitable sites for a full-scale nuclear bomb test. Even then, it was possible to notice the prerequisites for the fact that the last test of the American nuclear bomb was planned to be carried out at a civilian facility. The list of requirements for the last nuclear bomb test, created by scientists, looked like this:

The object had to be on a plain so that the explosive wave was not interfered with by the unevenness of the landscape;
Urban buildings should be made of wood to the maximum, so that the destruction from fire is maximum;
The object must have the maximum building density;
The size of the object must exceed 3 kilometers in diameter;
The selected city should be located as far as possible from the enemy's military bases in order to exclude the intervention of the enemy's military forces;
For a strike to be of maximum benefit, it must target a major industrial center.

These requirements indicate that nuclear strike was, most likely, a thing long planned, and Germany could well be in the place of Japan.

The intended targets were 4 Japanese cities. These are Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kyoto and Kokura. Of these, it was only required to select two real targets, since there were only two bombs. The American expert on Japan, Professor Rayshauer, begged to delete the city of Kyoto from the list, since it was a huge historical value... It is unlikely that this request could affect the decision, but then the Minister of Defense intervened, who held in Kyoto Honeymoon with my wife. The minister went to a meeting and Kyoto was saved from a nuclear strike.

The place of Kyoto on the list was taken by the city of Kokura, which was chosen as a target along with Hiroshima (although later the weather conditions made their own adjustments, and instead of Kokura, Nagasaki had to be bombed). The cities had to be big and the destruction massive, so that the Japanese people were horrified and stopped resisting. Of course, the main thing was to influence the position of the emperor.

The studies carried out by historians from different countries of the world show that the American side was not at all worried about the moral side of the issue. Dozens and hundreds of potential civilian casualties were of no concern to either the government or the military.

After reviewing whole volumes of classified materials, historians came to the conclusion that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were doomed in advance. There were only two bombs, and these cities had a convenient geographical location. In addition, Hiroshima was a very densely built-up city, and an attack on it could reveal the full potential of a nuclear bomb. The city of Nagasaki was the largest industrial center working for the defense industry. It produced a large number of guns and military equipment.

Details of the bombing of Hiroshima

The combat strike on the Japanese city of Hiroshima was planned in advance and was carried out in accordance with a clear plan. Each point of this plan was clearly implemented, which indicates a thorough preparation of this operation.

On July 26, 1945, a nuclear bomb bearing the name "Kid" was delivered to the island of Tinian. By the end of the month, all preparations were completed, and the bomb was ready for military operation. After checking the meteorological readings, the date of the bombing was set - 6 August. On this day, the weather was excellent and the bomber, with a nuclear bomb on board, soared into the air. Its name (Enola Gay) has long been remembered not only by the victims of a nuclear attack, but throughout Japan.

In flight, the plane carrying death on board was accompanied by three planes, whose task was to determine the direction of the wind so that the atomic bomb would hit the target as accurately as possible. An airplane flew behind the bomber, which was supposed to record all the explosion data using sensitive equipment. A bomber with a photographer on board flew at a safe distance. Several planes flying towards the city did not cause any concern to either the Japanese air defense forces or the civilian population.

Although Japanese radars detected an approaching enemy, they did not raise the alarm because of a small group of military aircraft. Residents were warned of a possible bombing, but they continued to work quietly. Since a nuclear strike did not look like a conventional air raid, no Japanese fighter jets took to the air to intercept. Even the artillery ignored the approaching aircraft.

At 0815 hours, the Enola Gay bomber dropped a nuclear bomb. This drop was carried out using a parachute to enable the group of attacking aircraft to retire to a safe distance. After dropping a bomb at an altitude of 9,000 meters, the battle group turned around and withdrew.

After flying about 8,500 meters, the bomb exploded at an altitude of 576 meters from the ground. A deafening explosion covered the city with an avalanche of fire, which destroyed everything in its path. Directly at the epicenter, people simply disappeared, leaving behind only the so-called "shadows of Hiroshima." Only a dark silhouette remained of the person, imprinted on the floor or walls. At a distance from the epicenter, people burned alive, turning into black embers. Those who were on the outskirts of the city were a little more fortunate, many of them survived, having received only terrible burns.

This day has become a day of mourning not only in Japan, but throughout the world. On this day, about 100,000 people died, and the following years claimed the lives of several hundred thousand more. All of them died from radiation burns and radiation sickness. According to official statistics from the Japanese authorities in January 2017, the death toll and victims of the American uranium bomb is 308,724.

Hiroshima today is largest city Chugoku region. The city has a memorial dedicated to the victims of the American atomic bombing.

What happened in Hiroshima on the day of the tragedy

The first Japanese official sources said that the city of Hiroshima was attacked with new bombs dropped from several American planes. People did not yet know that new bombs destroyed tens of thousands of lives in an instant, and the consequences of a nuclear explosion would last for decades.

It is possible that even the American scientists who created atomic weapons did not anticipate the consequences of radiation for people. For 16 hours after the explosion, no signals were received from Hiroshima. Noticing this, the operator of the Broadcasting Station began to make attempts to contact the city, but the city was silent.

After a short period of time, from the railway station, which was located near the city, incomprehensible and confusing information came, of which the Japanese authorities understood only one thing, an enemy raid was carried out on the city. It was decided to send the plane for reconnaissance, since the authorities knew for sure that no serious enemy air combat groups had broken through the front line.

Approaching the city at a distance of about 160 kilometers, the pilot and the officer accompanying him saw a huge dusty cloud. Having flown closer, they saw a terrible picture of destruction: the whole city was ablaze with fires, and smoke and dust prevented them from seeing the details of the tragedy.

After landing in a safe place, the Japanese officer told the command that the city of Hiroshima had been destroyed by US aircraft. After that, the military began selflessly to provide assistance to the wounded and shell-shocked compatriots from the explosion.

This disaster rallied all the surviving people into one big family... The wounded, people who were barely standing on their feet were dismantling the rubble and extinguishing the fires, trying to save as many compatriots as possible.

Washington made an official statement about the successful operation only 16 hours after the bombing.

Dropping the atomic bomb on Nagasaki

The city of Nagasaki, which was an industrial center, has never been subjected to massive air strikes. They tried to save it to demonstrate the enormous power of the atomic bomb. Only a few high-explosive bombs damaged weapons factories, shipyards and medical hospitals a week before the terrible tragedy.

Now it seems incredible, but Nagasaki became the second Japanese city to be nuclear bombed, only by chance. The original target was the city of Kokura.

The second bomb was delivered and loaded onto the plane, following the same plan as in the case of Hiroshima. The plane with the nuclear bomb took off and flew towards the city of Kokura. On approaching the island, three American planes were to meet to record the explosion of an atomic bomb.

Two planes met, but they did not wait for the third. Contrary to the forecast of meteorologists, the sky over Kokura was covered with clouds, and the visual release of the bomb became impossible. After circling for 45 minutes over the island and without waiting for the third plane, the commander of the plane, which was carrying a nuclear bomb on board, noticed a malfunction in the fuel supply system. Since the weather has finally deteriorated, it was decided to fly to the area of the reserve target - the city of Nagasaki. A group of two planes flew towards an alternate target.

On August 9, 1945, at 7.50 a.m., the residents of Nagasaki woke up from the air raid signal and descended into the shelters and bomb shelters. After 40 minutes, considering the alarm not worthy of attention, and referring two planes to reconnaissance, the military canceled it. People went to their business as usual, not suspecting that an atomic explosion will now thunder.

The Nagasaki attack proceeded in the same way as the Hiroshima attack, only high clouds almost ruined the bomb release for the Americans. Literally in the last minutes, when the fuel supply was at its limit, the pilot noticed a "window" in the clouds and dropped a nuclear bomb at an altitude of 8,800 meters.

Striking at the carelessness of the Japanese forces air defense, who, despite the news of a similar attack on Hiroshima, did not take any measures to neutralize American military aircraft.

The atomic bomb, which was called "Fat Man", exploded in 11 hours 2 minutes, within a few seconds turned the beautiful city into a kind of hell on earth. 40,000 people died in an instant, and another 70,000 were severely burned and injured.

Consequences of nuclear bombing of Japanese cities

The consequences of a nuclear attack on Japanese cities were unpredictable. In addition to those killed at the time of the explosion and during the first year after it, radiation continued to kill people for many years. As a result, the number of victims has doubled.

Thus, the nuclear attack brought the long-awaited victory to the United States, and Japan had to make concessions. Effects nuclear bombing Emperor Hirohito was so impressed that he unconditionally accepted the terms of the Potsdam Conference. According to the official version, the nuclear attack carried out by the US military did exactly what the American government wanted.

In addition, the troops of the USSR, which had accumulated on the border with Turkey, were urgently transferred to Japan, which the USSR declared war on. According to members of the Soviet Politburo, having learned about the consequences caused by nuclear explosions, Stalin said that the Turks were lucky because the Japanese sacrificed themselves for them.

After the introduction of Soviet troops into Japan, only two weeks have passed, and Emperor Hirohito has already signed an act of unconditional surrender. This day (September 2, 1945) went down in history as the day of the end of the Second World War.

Was there an urgent need to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Even in modern Japan the debate continues over whether it was necessary to carry out a nuclear bombing or not. Scientists from all over the world painstakingly study secret documents and archives from the Second World War. Most researchers agree that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sacrificed to end the world war.

The famous Japanese historian Tsuyoshi Hasegawa believes that the atomic bombing was started in order to prevent expansion. Soviet Union to the countries of Asia. It also allowed the United States to assert itself as a leader militarily, which they did brilliantly. After the nuclear explosion, it was very dangerous to argue with the United States.

If we adhere to this theory, then Hiroshima and Nagasaki were simply sacrificed to the political ambitions of the superpowers. Tens of thousands of victims were absolutely not taken into account.

One can wonder what could have happened if the USSR had time to complete the development of its nuclear bomb before the United States. It is possible that the atomic bombing would not have happened then.

Modern nuclear weapon surpasses the power of the bombs dropped on Japanese cities by a factor of thousands. It is difficult to even imagine what would happen if the two largest powers in the world started a nuclear war.

The least known facts about the tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Although the tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is known to the whole world, there are facts that only a few know:

The man who managed to survive in hell. Although the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima killed everyone who was near the epicenter of the explosion, one person who was in the basement 200 meters from the epicenter managed to survive;
War is war, and the tournament must go on. At a distance of less than 5 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion in Hiroshima, an ancient tournament was held Chinese game"Go". Although the building was destroyed by the explosion and many participants were injured, the tournament continued on the same day;
It can even withstand a nuclear explosion. Although the Hiroshima bombing destroyed most of the buildings, the safe in one of the banks was not damaged. After the end of the war, the American company that produced these safes received a letter of thanks from a bank manager in Hiroshima;
Extraordinary luck. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was the only person on earth to officially survive two atomic explosions. After the explosion in Hiroshima, he went to work in Nagasaki, where he again managed to survive;
Pumpkin bombs. Before starting the atomic bombing, the United States dropped 50 Pumpkin bombs on Japan, named for their resemblance to a pumpkin;
An attempt to overthrow the emperor. The emperor of Japan mobilized all the citizens of the country for "total war". This meant that every Japanese, including women and children, must defend their country to the last drop of their blood. After the emperor, frightened by atomic explosions, accepted all the conditions of the Potsdam conference and later capitulated, the Japanese generals tried to carry out a coup d'état, which failed;
Those who met a nuclear explosion and survivors. Japanese trees "Gingko biloba" are remarkable for their vitality. After the nuclear attack on Hiroshima, 6 of these trees survived and continue to grow to this day;
People who dreamed of salvation. After the explosion in Hiroshima, hundreds of survivors fled to Nagasaki. Of these, 164 people managed to survive, although only Tsutomu Yamaguchi is considered the official survivor;
The atomic explosion in Nagasaki did not kill a single policeman. The surviving law enforcement officers from Hiroshima were sent to Nagasaki in order to teach colleagues the basics of behavior after a nuclear explosion. As a result of these actions, not a single policeman was killed in the explosion in Nagasaki;
25 percent of those killed in Japan were Koreans. Although it is believed that all those killed in the atomic explosions were Japanese, in fact, a quarter of them were Koreans who were mobilized by the Japanese government to take part in the war;
Radiation is a fairy tale for children. After the atomic explosion, the American government long time hid the fact of the presence of radioactive contamination;
Meetinghouse. Few people know that the US authorities did not confine themselves to nuclear bombing of two Japanese cities. Before that, using carpet bombing tactics, they destroyed several Japanese cities. Operation Meetinghouse virtually destroyed the city of Tokyo and killed 300,000;
They did not know what they were doing. The crew of the plane that dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima was 12 people. Of these, only three knew what a nuclear bomb was;
On one of the anniversaries of the tragedy (in 1964), an eternal flame was lit in Hiroshima, which must burn as long as there is at least one nuclear warhead in the world;
Lost connection. After the destruction of Hiroshima, communication with the city was completely lost. Only three hours later did the capital learn that Hiroshima had been destroyed;
Deadly poison. The crew of "Enola Gay" were given ampoules with potassium cyanide, which they had to take in case of failure to complete the mission;
Radioactive mutants. The famous Japanese monster "Godzilla" was conceived as a mutation for radioactive contamination after a nuclear bombing;
Shadows of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The explosions of nuclear bombs were so powerful that people literally evaporated, leaving only dark imprints on the walls and floor in their memory;
Hiroshima symbol. The first plant to bloom after the Hiroshima nuclear attack was the oleander. It is he who is now the official symbol of the city of Hiroshima;
A warning before a nuclear attack. Before the start of the nuclear attack, US aircraft dropped millions of leaflets on 33 Japanese cities warning of an impending bombing;
Radio signals. The American radio station in Saipan broadcast warnings of a nuclear attack throughout Japan until the very last moment. The beeps were repeated every 15 minutes.

The tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened 72 years ago, but it still serves as a reminder that humanity should not mindlessly destroy their own kind.

An American B-29 Superfortress bomber named “Enola Gay” took off from Tinian Island early in the morning of August 6 with a single 4000 kg uranium bomb called “Little Boy”. At 8:15 am, the "baby" bomb was dropped from a height of 9,400 m above the city and carried free fall 57 seconds. At the moment of detonation, a small explosion provoked an explosion of 64 kg of uranium. Of these 64 kg, only 7 kg passed the stage of splitting, and of this mass, only 600 mg turned into energy - explosive energy, which burned everything in its path for several kilometers, leveling the city to the ground with a blast wave, starting a series of fires and plunging all life into radiation flux. It is believed that about 70,000 people died immediately, with another 70,000 killed by injury and radiation by 1950. Today in Hiroshima, near the epicenter of the explosion is memorial museum, the purpose of which is to promote the idea that nuclear weapons should cease to exist forever.

May 1945: targeting.

During its second meeting in Los Alamos (May 10-11, 1945), the Targeting Committee recommended Kyoto (the largest industrial center), Hiroshima (the center of the army warehouses and the military port), Yokohama (the center of the military industry), Kokuru (the largest military arsenal) and Niigatu (a military port and engineering center). The Committee rejected the idea of using these weapons against exclusively military target because there was a chance to miss a small square not surrounded by a large urban area.
Psychological factors were of great importance when choosing a target, such as:
achieving maximum psychological effect against Japan,
the first use of a weapon must be significant enough for international recognition of its importance. The committee pointed out that Kyoto was favored by the fact that its population had more high level education and thus was better able to appreciate the value of weapons. Hiroshima was of such a size and location that, given the focusing effect from the surrounding hills, the force of the explosion could be increased.
US Secretary of War Henry Stimson struck Kyoto off the list due to the city's cultural significance. According to Professor Edwin O. Reischauer, Stimson "has known and appreciated Kyoto since his honeymoon decades ago."

In the photo, US Secretary of War Henry Stimson

On July 16, the world's first successful atomic weapon test was carried out at a test site in New Mexico. The power of the explosion was about 21 kilotons in TNT equivalent.
On July 24, during the Potsdam Conference, US President Harry Truman told Stalin that the US had a new weapon of unprecedented destructive power. Truman did not specify that he was referring precisely to atomic weapons. According to Truman's memoirs, Stalin did not show special interest, noticing only that he is happy and hopes that the United States will be able to effectively use it against the Japanese. Churchill, who closely watched Stalin's reaction, remained unconvinced 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 "It will be necessary to talk with Kurchatov about speeding up our work." After declassifying the operation of the American special services "Venona", it became known that Soviet agents had long reported 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 worked for Soviet intelligence since 1944.
On July 25, Truman approved an order, beginning on August 3, to bomb one of the following targets: Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata or Nagasaki as soon as weather permits, and in the future the following cities as bombs arrive.
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, which had been broadcast on the radio and scattered in airplane flyers, had been rejected. The Japanese government has expressed no desire to accept the ultimatum. On July 28, Prime Minister Kantaro Suzuki said at a press conference that the Potsdam Declaration is nothing more than the old arguments of the Cairo Declaration in a new wrapper, and demanded that the government ignore it.
Emperor Hirohito, 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 the imperial power must be protected at all costs.

Aerial view of Hiroshima shortly before the city was bombed in August 1945. Shown here is a densely populated area of the city on the Motoyasu River.

Preparing for the bombing

During May-June 1945, the American 509th mixed aviation group arrived on the island of Tinian. The area where the group was based on the island was several miles from the rest of the units and was closely guarded.
On July 26, the Indianapolis cruiser 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 military 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 August 3, as soon as weather conditions permit." On July 29, the Commander of US Strategic Aviation, General Karl Spaats, arrived at Tinian, delivering Marshall's orders to the island.
On July 28 and August 2, the components of the "Fat Man" atomic bomb were brought to Tinian by airplanes

Commander A.F. Birch (left) numbers the bomb, codenamed "Kid", physicist Dr. Ramsay (right) will receive Nobel prize in physics in 1989.

"Baby" was 3 meters long and weighed 4,000 kg, but contained only 64 kg of uranium, which was used to provoke a chain of atomic reactions and the 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 population of the city before the war was over 340 thousand people, which made 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 of the development consisted of one- and two-story wooden buildings with tiled roofs. Factories were located on the outskirts of the city. Outdated fire fighting equipment and inadequate training of personnel created a high fire hazard even in peacetime.
The population of Hiroshima peaked at 380,000 during the war, but before the bombing, the population gradually decreased due to the systematic evacuation ordered by the Japanese government. At the time of the attack, the population was about 245 thousand people.

In the photo bomber Boeing B-29 Superfortress of the US Army "Enola Gay"

Bombardment

The main target of the first American nuclear bombing was Hiroshima (Kokura and Nagasaki were the spare). Although the order given by Truman called for an atomic bombing from August 3, until August 6, cloudiness over the target prevented this.
On August 6, at 1:45 am, an American B-29 bomber under the command of the commander of the 509th mixed aviation regiment Colonel Paul Tibbets, carrying the "Kid" atomic bomb, took off from Tinian Island, which was about 6 hours of flight from Hiroshima. Tibbets' plane ("Enola Gay") flew as part of a group of six other aircraft: a reserve aircraft ("Top Secret"), two controllers and three reconnaissance aircraft ("Jebit III", "Full House" and "Straight Flash"). Reconnaissance aircraft commanders sent to Nagasaki and Kokura reported significant cloud cover over these cities. The pilot of the third reconnaissance aircraft, Major Iserli, found out that the sky over Hiroshima was clear and sent the signal "Bomb the first target."
At about 7 a.m. a network of Japanese early warning radars detected the approach of several American aircraft heading for southern Japan. An air raid was announced and radio broadcasts were stopped in many cities, including Hiroshima. At approximately 08:00, a radar operator in Hiroshima determined that the number of approaching aircraft was very small - perhaps no more than three - and the air raid alert was canceled. Small groups of American bombers, in order to save fuel and aircraft, the Japanese did not intercept. A standard message was broadcast over the radio that it would be wise to go to the bomb shelters if the B-29s were indeed sighted, and that no raid was expected, just some form of reconnaissance.
At 08:15 local time, B-29, being at an altitude of over 9 km, dropped an atomic bomb on the center of Hiroshima. The fuse was installed 600 meters above the surface; the explosion, the equivalent of 13 to 18 kilotons of TNT, occurred 45 seconds after the discharge.
The first public announcement of the event came from Washington, sixteen hours after the atomic attack on a Japanese city.

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

When a portion of uranium in the bomb went through the fission stage, it was instantly converted into energy of 15 kilotons of TNT, heating the massive fireball to a temperature of 3,980 degrees Celsius.

Explosion effect

Those closest to the epicenter of the explosion died instantly, their bodies turned to coal. Birds flying by were burnt in the air, and dry, flammable materials such as paper ignited up to 2 km from the epicenter. Light radiation burned the dark pattern of clothing into the skin and left silhouettes human bodies on the walls. People outside their homes described a blinding flash of light, accompanied by a wave of suffocating heat. The blast wave, for everyone near the epicenter, followed almost immediately, often knocking them off their feet. Those in buildings generally avoided exposure light emission from the explosion, but not the blast wave - fragments of glass hit most rooms, and all but the most durable buildings collapsed. One teenager was thrown from his house across the street by a blast, 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 the windows at a distance of up to 19 km. For those in the buildings, a typical first reaction was the thought of a direct hit from an aerial bomb.
Numerous small fires, which simultaneously broke out in the city, soon united into one large fire tornado, which created a strong wind (speed 50-60 km / h) directed towards the epicenter. The fire tornado 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 the time of the explosion at a distance of 300 m from the epicenter:
Three colors for me characterize the day when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima: black, red and brown. Black because the blast cut off sunlight and plunged the world into darkness. Red was the color of blood flowing from wounded and broken people. He was also the color of the fires that burned everything in the city. Brown was the color of burnt skin that fell off the body, exposed to the light from the explosion.
A few days after the explosion, doctors began to notice the first symptoms of radiation among the survivors. Soon the death toll among survivors began to rise again, as patients who appeared to be recovering began to suffer from this strange new disease. Deaths from radiation sickness peaked 3-4 weeks after the explosion and only began to decline after 7-8 weeks. Japanese doctors considered vomiting and diarrhea characteristic of radiation sickness to be symptoms of dysentery. Long Term Effects for health associated with radiation, such as increased risk cancer haunted survivors for the rest of their lives, as did the psychological shock of the explosion.

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

Loss and destruction

The death toll from the direct impact of the explosion ranged from 70 to 80 thousand people. By the end of 1945, due to the effects of 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, taking into account deaths from cancer and other long-term effects of the explosion, could reach or even exceed 200,000.
According to official Japanese data as of March 31, 2013, there were 201,779 living "hibakusha" - people affected by the impact of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This figure includes children born to women who were exposed to radiation from the explosions (predominantly living in Japan at the time of the calculation). Of these, 1%, according to the Japanese government, had serious oncological diseases caused by radiation exposure after bombing. 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 atomic bomb was dropped.

Color photograph of the destroyed Hiroshima in March 1946.

An explosion destroyed Okita's plant in Hiroshima, Japan.

See how the sidewalk was raised and a drainpipe protrudes from the bridge. Scientists say this was due to the vacuum created by the pressure from the atomic explosion.

Gnarled 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 1200 meters from the epicenter.

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Nuclear pollution

The concepts " Nuclear pollution"In those years it did not exist yet, 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. The evacuation of the population from the contaminated areas was not carried out, since no one knew about the very presence of radioactive contamination.
It is rather difficult to give an accurate estimate of the degree of this contamination due to lack of information, however, since technically the first atomic bombs were relatively weak and imperfect (the Malysh bomb, for example, contained 64 kg of uranium, of which only about 700 g of the reaction took place division), the level of pollution of the area could not be significant, although it posed a serious danger to the population. For comparison: at the time of the accident, Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the reactor core there were several tons of fission products and transuranic elements - various radioactive isotopes accumulated during the operation of the reactor.

Terrible consequences ...

Keloid scars on the back and shoulders of a victim of the Hiroshima bombing. Scars formed where the victim's skin was exposed to direct radiation.

Comparative preservation of some buildings

Some of the reinforced concrete buildings in the city were very resilient (due to the risk of earthquakes), and their frame did not collapse, despite the fact that they were quite close to the center of the destruction in the city (the epicenter of the explosion). So the brick building of the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce (now commonly known as the Gembaku Dome or Atomic Dome), designed and built by the Czech architect Jan Letzel (English), which was only 160 meters from the epicenter of the explosion (at the height of the bomb detonation 600 m above the surface). These ruins became the most famous exhibit of the atomic explosion in Hiroshima and in 1996 were elevated to the rank of world heritage UNESCO despite objections by the US and Chinese governments.

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

People lived here

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

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

According to the official point of view, the bombing of Japanese cities was the only compelling argument to persuade the Japanese government to surrender. According to historians, the proud Japanese were ready to fight to the last soldier, and seriously prepared for the American intervention.

The proud Japanese were ready to fight to the last soldier, and seriously prepared for the American intervention // Photo: whotrades.com

Japanese intelligence knew that the United States had no choice but to land on the island of Kyushu. Here fortifications were already waiting for them. Tokyo planned to impose a battle on Washington, which would have cost them dearly, both materially and in terms of human lives. The Japanese were not very interested in their losses. American intelligence learned about these plans. Such an alignment of forces did not suit Washington. The American government wanted the enemy's complete and unconditional surrender on their terms. And this meant the occupation and the creation of institutions in the state that Washington would consider necessary. The Japanese, according to some reports, were ready to surrender. But they categorically did not accept America's terms. Tokyo was determined to maintain the current government and avoid occupation.

It is noteworthy that at the Yalta and Potsdam conferences, Roosevelt insisted that the USSR undertake the obligation to enter the war with Japan. At the end of the summer of 1945, the Soviet leadership informed the allies that its troops were ready to cross the border of Manchuria and go to war with Japan. The White House made it clear to Stalin that he was not against such a scenario. But if this does not happen, then there will be no complaints either. Thus, America already had a trump card in the war with Japan. But the spread of the influence of the USSR to the East was extremely undesirable for her.

Firing list

Initially, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not the main contenders for a meeting with the American nuclear bomb. Moreover, Nagasaki was not even on the list of cities that the American generals considered as targets. The United States admitted the possibility of dropping a nuclear bomb on Kyoto, as the cultural and industrial center of Japan. The next on the list was Yokohama because of its military factories, as well as Hiroshima, because it was concentrated here. great amount ammunition depots. There was a large military port in Niigata, so the city was put on the "firing list", and the city of Kokura was considered a target as it was considered the largest military arsenal in the country.

The death of Kyoto could really break the Japanese // Photo: sculpture.artyx.ru

From the very beginning, Kyoto was seen as the main target. The death of this city could really crush the Japanese. Kyoto has long been the capital of the state, and now it is considered the largest cultural center. It was pure chance that saved him. The fact is that one of the American generals spent his honeymoon in cultural capital Japan. He felt very sorry for the beautiful city, and he used all his eloquence to convince his superiors to spare him.

After Kyoto disappeared from the list, Nagasaki appeared in it. Later, the choice of the American command was stopped at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Judgment Day

On August 6, 1945, the Americans dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima. The city was surrounded by hills, and the United States expected the terrain to further exacerbate the impact of the attack. The city was destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of people died. The people who survived the explosion tried to escape the heat in the river, but the water literally boiled, and some were boiled alive. Three days later, on August 9, hell repeated itself in Nagasaki. It is noteworthy that the pilot with a nuclear bomb on board had two targets - Kokura and Nagasaki. Kokura was saved by the fact that that day there was a thick fog over him. Ironically, Nagasaki hospitals treated victims of the Hiroshima blast.

According to experts, the explosions cost almost half a million human lives. And almost all of them belonged to civilians. Many of the survivors then died due to radiation sickness.

Hidden motives

The nuclear bomb finally convinced the Japanese government of the need for surrender. Emperor Hirohito accepted all the conditions of the Americans. And the whole world saw how devastating the consequences of using new weapons of mass destruction could be. Already at that moment, the world leaders began to understand that the next global conflict would be the last for humanity.

After Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered on the terms of the Americans // Photo: istpravda.ru

Even though at that time the United States and the USSR were considered allies in the war against the Nazis, the first signs of coldness between the superpowers were already visible. According to many experts, the nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were in many ways indicative. They were supposed to demonstrate the power of America. But as a result, this led to the fact that Moscow urgently created its own nuclear bomb, and then other states. This is how the arms race began, which kept the whole world in suspense throughout the entire second half of the twentieth century.

Here are the frames! During World War II, at 8.15am on August 6, 1945, a US B-29 Enola Gay bomber dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. About 140,000 people died in the explosion and died over the following months. Three days later, when the United States dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, about 80,000 people were killed.

On August 15, Japan surrendered, thus ending World War II. Until now, this bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remains the only case of the use of nuclear weapons in the history of mankind.
The US government decided to drop its bombs, believing that this would hasten the end of the war and that there would be no need for prolonged bloody battles on the main island of Japan. Japan was trying hard to control two islands, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, when the Allies approached.

This wristwatch, found among the ruins, stopped at 8.15 am on August 6, 1945 - during the explosion of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima.

The Flying Fortress "Enola Gay" lands on August 6, 1945 at the base on Tinian Island after the bombing of Hiroshima.

This photo, released in 1960 by the US government, shows the Little Boy atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The bomb measures 73 cm in diameter and 3.2 m in length. It weighed 4 tons, and the explosion power reached 20,000 tons in TNT equivalent.

This image, provided by the US Air Force, shows the main crew of the B-29 bomber Enola Gay, which dropped the Malysh nuclear bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Pilot Colonel Paul W. Tibbets stands in the center. Photo taken in the Mariana Islands. This was the first time nuclear weapons were used during hostilities in the history of mankind.

Smoke, 20,000 feet high, rises over Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, after an atomic bomb was dropped on it during hostilities.

This photograph, taken on August 6, 1945, from the city of Yoshiura, on the other side of the mountains north of Hiroshima, shows the smoke rising from the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. The picture was taken by an Australian engineer from Kure, Japan. The radiation stains left on the negative nearly destroyed the image.

Survivors of the atomic bomb, first used in hostilities on August 6, 1945, await medical attention in Hiroshima, Japan. As a result of the explosion, 60,000 people died at the same time, tens of thousands died later due to radiation.

August 6, 1945. In the photo: military medics provide first aid to the surviving residents of Hiroshima shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, used in hostilities for the first time in history.

After the explosion of the atomic bomb on August 6, 1945, only ruins remained in Hiroshima. Nuclear weapons were used to hasten Japan's surrender and end World War II, for which US President Harry Truman ordered the use of nuclear weapons with a capacity of 20,000 tons of TNT. The surrender of Japan took place on August 14, 1945.

On August 7, 1945, the day after the atomic bomb exploded, smoke spreads over the ruins in Hiroshima, Japan.

President Harry Truman (pictured left) at his desk in the White House next to Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson after returning from the Potsdam Conference. They discuss the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

The skeleton of a building among the ruins on August 8, 1945, Hiroshima.

The survivors of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki amid the ruins, with a raging fire in the background on August 9, 1945.

The crew of the B-29 bomber The Great Artiste, which dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, surrounded Major Charles W. Swinney in North Quincy, Massachusetts. All crew members took part in the historic bombing. Left to right: Sergeant R. Gallagher, Chicago; Staff Sergeant A. M. Spitzer, Bronx, New York; Captain S. D. Albury, Miami, Florida; Captain J.F. Van Pelt Jr., Oak Hill, West Virginia; Lieutenant F.J. Olivi, Chicago; Staff Sergeant E.K. Buckley, Lisbon, Ohio; Sergeant A. T. Degart, Plainview, TX; and Sergeant Sergeant J. D. Kukharek, Columbus, Nebraska.

This photograph of an atomic bomb that exploded over Nagasaki, Japan during World War II was released by the Atomic Energy Commission and the US Department of Defense in Washington on December 6, 1960. The Fat Man bomb was 3.25 meters long and 1.54 meters in diameter, and weighed 4.6 tons. The explosion power reached about 20 kilotons in TNT equivalent.

A huge column of smoke rises into the air after the explosion of the second atomic bomb in the port city of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. As a result of the explosion of a bomb dropped by a bomber air force US Army B-29 Bockscar, more than 70 thousand people died immediately, tens of thousands more died later as a result of radiation.

A huge mushroom cloud over Nagasaki, Japan, August 9, 1945, after a US bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the city. The nuclear explosion over Nagasaki came three days after the United States dropped the first ever atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

A boy carries his burned brother on his back on August 10, 1945 in Nagasaki, Japan. Such photos were not released by the Japanese side, but after the end of the war they were shown to the world media by the UN staff.

The arrow was installed at the site of the fall of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki on August 10, 1945. Most of The affected area is still empty, the trees remained charred and disfigured, almost no reconstruction was carried out.

Japanese workers are removing rubble in the affected area in Nagasaki, industrial city, located in the southwest of Kyushu Island, after the atomic bomb was dropped on it on August 9. A chimney and a lonely building are visible in the background, and ruins in the foreground. Photo taken from the archives of the Japanese news agency Domei.

Mother and child are trying to move on. Photo taken on August 10, 1945, the day after the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.

As you can see in this photo, which was taken on September 5, 1945, several concrete and steel buildings and bridges remained intact after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during World War II.

A month after the first atomic bomb exploded on August 6, 1945, a journalist examines the ruins in Hiroshima, Japan.

The victim of the explosion of the first atomic bomb in the ward of the first military hospital in Ujina in September 1945. The thermal radiation from the explosion burned the pattern from the kimono fabric on the woman's back.

Most of the territory of Hiroshima was razed to the ground by the explosion of the atomic bomb. This is the first aerial photograph after the explosion, taken on September 1, 1945.

The area around the Sanyo Shorai Kan (Trade Facilitation Center) in Hiroshima was reduced to rubble after an atomic bomb exploded 100 meters away in 1945.

A reporter stands amid the ruins in front of the skeleton of a building that was a city theater in Hiroshima on September 8, 1945, a month after the first atomic bomb was dropped by the United States to hasten Japan's surrender.

Ruins and a lonely building frame after the explosion of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima. Photo taken on September 8, 1945.

Very few buildings remain in the devastated Hiroshima, a Japanese city that was destroyed to the ground by an atomic bomb, as seen in this photograph taken on September 8, 1945. (AP Photo)

September 8, 1945. People walk along a cleared road among the ruins formed after the explosion of the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima on August 6 of the same year.

A Japanese man discovered the wreckage of a children's tricycle among the ruins in Nagasaki on September 17, 1945. A nuclear bomb dropped on the city on August 9 wiped out almost everything within a radius of 6 kilometers and took the lives of thousands of civilians.

This photo, provided by the Association of the Photographers of the Atomic (Bomb) Destruction of Hiroshima, shows a victim of an atomic explosion. A man is quarantined on Ninoshima Island in Hiroshima, Japan, 9 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion, the day after the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city.

A tram (top center) and its dead passengers after a bomb blast over Nagasaki on August 9. Photo taken on September 1, 1945.

People pass a tram lying on the tracks at the Kamiyasho intersection in Hiroshima some time after the atomic bomb was dropped on the city.

This photograph, provided by the Association of the Photographers of the Atomic (Bomb) Destruction of Hiroshima, shows the victims of the atomic blast in the tent relief center of the Hiroshima 2nd Military Hospital, located on the beach. the Ota River, 1150 meters from the epicenter of the explosion, on August 7, 1945. The photo was taken the day after the United States dropped the first ever atomic bomb on the city.

A view of Khachobori Street in Hiroshima shortly after a bomb was dropped on a Japanese city.

The Urakami Catholic Cathedral in Nagasaki, photographed on September 13, 1945, was destroyed by an atomic bomb.

A Japanese soldier wanders among the ruins in search of recyclable materials in Nagasaki on September 13, 1945, just over a month after the atomic bomb exploded over the city.

A man with a loaded bicycle on a cleared road in Nagasaki on September 13, 1945, a month after the atomic bomb exploded.

On September 14, 1945, the Japanese try to drive down a ruined street on the outskirts of the city of Nagasaki, over which a nuclear bomb exploded.

This area of Nagasaki was once built up with industrial buildings and small residential buildings... The ruins of the Mitsubishi factory and the concrete school building at the foot of the hill are visible in the background.

The top image shows the bustling city of Nagasaki before the explosion, and the bottom image shows the wasteland after the atomic bomb. The circles measure the distance from the blast point.

A Japanese family eats rice in a hut built from rubble left over where their home was once in Nagasaki, September 14, 1945.

Photographed on September 14, 1945, these huts were built from the rubble of buildings that were destroyed by the explosion of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki.

In the Ginza area of Nagasaki, which was similar to New York's Fifth Avenue, owners of shops destroyed by a nuclear bomb blast sell their wares on the sidewalks, September 30, 1945.

The sacred Torii gate at the entrance to a completely destroyed Shinto shrine in Nagasaki in October 1945.

A service at the Nagarekawa Protestant Church after the atomic bomb destroyed a church in Hiroshima, 1945.

A young man injured after the explosion of the second atomic bomb in the city of Nagasaki.

Major Thomas Fereby, left, from Moskvil, and Captain Kermit Behan, right, from Houston, talking at a hotel in Washington, DC, February 6, 1946. Ferebi is the person who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, and his interlocutor dropped the bomb on Nagasaki.

US Navy sailors stand among the ruins in Nagasaki, March 4, 1946.

View of Hiroshima, Japan, destroyed to its foundations, April 1, 1946.

Ikimi Kikkawa reveals his keloid scars from the treatment of burns sustained in the Hiroshima atomic bomb at the end of World War II. Photo taken at the Red Cross Hospital on June 5, 1947.

Akira Yamaguchi reveals his scars from the treatment of burns sustained in the Hiroshima nuclear bomb.

The body of Jinpe Terawama, who survived the explosion of the first-ever atomic bomb, left numerous burn scars, Hiroshima, June 1947.

Pilot Colonel Paul W. Tibbets waves from the cockpit of his bomber at a base on Tinian Island on August 6, 1945, before taking off to drop the first ever atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The day before, Tibbets had named the B-29 flying fortress "Enola Gay" after his mother.