World War 11
Using the atomic bomb in World War II changed the world forever. World War II was the first time in history that a nuclear weapon had been used during war. Two atomic bombs were released by the United States on Japan. The use of the bomb caused the world to realize how powerful weapons can be. Much controversy came from the United States use of the atomic bomb and people still debate today whether or not the US was justified in their decision to use the bomb. Because Hiroshima was a significant military spot for Japan, the United States decided to drop “Little Boy”, the nickname for one of the atomic bombs, here. It contained the 2nd Army headquarters, which commanded the defense of all of southern Japan. The city consisted of a communications center, storage spot, and an assembly area for the troops. In addition, it had not been greatly affected by other bombing raids throughout the warfare and therefore the effects of the atomic bomb could be measured accurately. The bomb was expected to destroy everything within a three-mile radius. (Hiroshima & Nagasaki Remembered.) An alert had been given to the people that American aircraft was coming, and that it would be advisable to take shelter, but many people did not take the warning seriously. Approximately 255,000 people were living there at the time (World War 2 Atomic Bomb.) On August 6, 1945, at 8:16 A.M, the B-29 Enola Gay, the first aircraft to ever drop a bomb, dropped this deathly “Little Boy” over the central area of the city. With a force equal to 12,500 tons of TNT, the first atomic bomb in history exploded (World War 2 Atomic Bomb.) Immediately, 80,000 people were killed (World War 2 Atomic Bomb.) The blast waves were felt as far as a distance of 37 miles away from the center point (Hiroshima & Nagasaki Remembered.) After this bomb, Japan did not immediately surrender because they did not believe that America had or would set of another bomb of that magnitude, but the events to come would change