Nuclear bombing of Nagasaki. "The Manhattan Project": the history of the creation of the atomic bomb. Life is like a struggle

These are the shots! During World War II, on August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m., a U.S. B-29 Enola Gay bomber dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. About 140,000 people were killed in the explosion and died in the following months. Three days later, when the United States dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, an estimated 80,000 people were killed.

On August 15, Japan surrendered, ending World War II. To this day, this bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remains the only case of use nuclear weapons in the history of mankind.
The US government decided to drop the bombs, believing that this would hasten the end of the war and would not require prolonged bloody fighting on the main island of Japan. Japan was strenuously trying to control two islands, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, as the Allies approached.

These wrist watch, found among the ruins, stopped at 8.15 am on August 6, 1945 - during the explosion atomic bomb in Hiroshima.

The flying fortress Enola Gay lands on August 6, 1945 at a base on Tinian Island after bombing Hiroshima.


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


This photo provided by the U.S. Air Force shows the main crew of the B-29 Enola Gay bomber that dropped the Little Boy nuclear bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Pilot Colonel Paul W. Taibbetts stands in the center. The photo was taken in the Mariana Islands. This was the first time nuclear weapons were used during military operations in human history.

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


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


Survivors of the atomic bomb, first used in warfare on August 6, 1945, await medical treatment in Hiroshima, Japan. The explosion killed 60,000 people at the same moment, and tens of thousands died later due to radiation exposure.


August 6, 1945. In the photo: military medics provide first aid to the surviving residents of Hiroshima shortly after an atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, used in military action 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 the Second world war, 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 billows across 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 Potsdam Conference. They discuss the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.


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


Survivors of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki walk among the ruins, with raging fire in the background, August 9, 1945.


Crew members of the B-29 bomber "The Great Artiste" that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki surrounded Major Charles W. Swinney in North Quincy, Massachusetts. All crew members participated in the historic bombing. From left to right: Sergeant R. Gallagher, Chicago; Staff Sergeant A. M. Spitzer, Bronx, New York; Capt. 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, Texas, and Staff Sergeant J. D. Kucharek, Columbus, Nebraska.


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


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, immediately killed more than 70 thousand people, tens of thousands more died later as a result of radiation exposure.

A huge nuclear mushroom cloud over Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945, after a US bomber dropped an atomic bomb on the city. The nuclear explosion over Nagasaki occurred 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 published by the Japanese side, but after the end of the war they were shown to the world media by UN employees.


The boom was installed at the site of the atomic bomb fall in Nagasaki on August 10, 1945. Most of The affected area remains empty to this day, the trees remain charred and mutilated, and almost no reconstruction has been carried out.


Japanese workers clear debris from damaged areas in Nagasaki, an industrial city in the southwest of Kyushu island, after an atomic bomb was dropped on it on August 9. A chimney and a lonely building are visible in the background, while ruins are visible in the foreground. The photo was taken from the archives of the Japanese news agency Domei.

Mother and child try to move on with their lives. The photo was taken on August 10, 1945, the day after the bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.


As seen 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 tours the ruins in Hiroshima, Japan.

Victim of the first atomic bomb explosion in the ward of the first military hospital in Udzina in September 1945. The thermal radiation generated by the explosion burned a design from the kimono fabric onto the woman's back.


Most of the territory of Hiroshima was wiped off the face of the earth 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 Shoray Kan (Trade Promotion Center) in Hiroshima was left in ruins after an atomic bomb exploded 100 meters away in 1945.


A reporter stands among the rubble in front of the shell of what was once the city's 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 an atomic bomb over Hiroshima. Photo taken on September 8, 1945.


Very few buildings remain in the devastated Hiroshima, a Japanese city that was razed 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 created after the explosion of the first atomic bomb in Hiroshima on August 6 of the same year.


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


In this photo, which was provided by the Japan Association of Aftermath Photographers nuclear explosion in Hiroshima (Association of the Photographers of the Atomic (Bomb) Destruction of Hiroshima), a victim of an atomic explosion. The man is in quarantine on Ninoshima Island in Hiroshima, Japan, 9 kilometers from the blast's epicenter, a day after the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city.

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


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


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


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


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


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 road cleared of ruins in Nagasaki on September 13, 1945, a month after the explosion of the atomic bomb.


On September 14, 1945, the Japanese are trying to drive through a street littered with ruins on the outskirts of the city of Nagasaki, over which a nuclear bomb exploded.


This area of ​​Nagasaki was once filled with industrial buildings and small residential buildings. In the background are the ruins of the Mitsubishi factory and the concrete school building located at the foot of the hill.

The top photo shows the bustling city of Nagasaki before the explosion, while the bottom photo shows the wasteland after the atomic bomb exploded. The circles measure the distance from the explosion point.


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


These huts, photographed on September 14, 1945, were constructed from the rubble of buildings that were destroyed by the explosion of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki.


In the Ginza district of Nagasaki, which was the equivalent of New York's Fifth Avenue, shopkeepers destroyed by a nuclear bomb 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 Nagarekawa Protestant Church after the atomic bomb destroyed the church in Hiroshima, 1945.


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


Major Thomas Ferebee, left, from Moscow, and Captain Kermit Behan, right, from Houston, talk at a hotel in Washington, February 6, 1946. Ferebee is the man who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, and his interlocutor dropped the bomb on Nagasaki.


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


View of the destroyed city of Hiroshima, Japan, April 1, 1946.


Ikimi Kikkawa shows his keloid scars left after treatment for burns suffered during the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima at the end of World War II. Photo taken at the Red Cross hospital on June 5, 1947.

Akira Yamaguchi shows his scars from treatment for burns suffered during the nuclear bomb explosion in Hiroshima.

Jinpe Terawama, a survivor of the first atomic bomb in history, has numerous burn scars on his body, Hiroshima, June 1947.

Pilot Colonel Paul W. Taibbetts waves from the cockpit of his bomber at a base on Tinian Island on August 6, 1945, before his mission to drop the first atomic bomb in history on Hiroshima, Japan. The day before, Tibbetts named the B-29 flying fortress "Enola Gay" in honor of his mother.

During World War II, on August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m., a U.S. B-29 Enola Gay bomber dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. About 140,000 people were killed in the explosion and died in the following months. Three days later, when the United States dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, an estimated 80,000 people were killed. On August 15, Japan surrendered, ending World War II. To this day, this bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remains the only case of the use of nuclear weapons in human history. The US government decided to drop the bombs, believing that this would hasten the end of the war and would not require prolonged bloody fighting on the main island of Japan. Japan was strenuously trying to control two islands, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, as the Allies approached.

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

2. The flying fortress Enola Gay lands on August 6, 1945 at a base on Tinian Island after bombing Hiroshima.

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

4. This photo provided by the US Air Force shows the main crew of the B-29 Enola Gay bomber that dropped the Little Boy nuclear bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Pilot Colonel Paul W. Taibbetts stands in the center. The photo was taken in the Mariana Islands. This was the first time nuclear weapons were used during military operations in human history.

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

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

7. Survivors of the atomic bomb, first used in warfare on August 6, 1945, await medical attention in Hiroshima, Japan. The explosion killed 60,000 people at the same moment, and tens of thousands died later due to radiation exposure.

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

9. 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.

10. August 7, 1945, the day after the explosion of the atomic bomb, smoke billows over the ruins in Hiroshima, Japan.

11. President Harry Truman (pictured left) sits 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.

13. Survivors of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki among the ruins, with raging fire in the background, August 9, 1945.

14. Crew members of the B-29 bomber "The Great Artiste" that dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki surrounded Major Charles W. Swinney in North Quincy, Massachusetts. All crew members participated in the historic bombing. From left to right: Sergeant R. Gallagher, Chicago; Staff Sergeant A. M. Spitzer, Bronx, New York; Capt. 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, Texas, and Staff Sergeant J. D. Kucharek, Columbus, Nebraska.

15. This photograph of an atomic bomb exploding 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 m long, 1.54 m in diameter, and weighed 4.6 tons. The power of the explosion reached about 20 kilotons of TNT.

16. 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. The explosion of a bomb dropped by a US Army Air Force B-29 Bockscar bomber immediately killed more than 70 thousand people, with tens of thousands more subsequently dying as a result of radiation exposure.

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

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

19. 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 remains empty to this day, the trees remained charred and mutilated, and almost no reconstruction was carried out.

20. Japanese workers remove rubble from damaged areas in Nagasaki, an industrial city in the southwest of Kyushu island, after an atomic bomb was dropped on it on August 9. A chimney and a lonely building are visible in the background, while ruins are visible in the foreground. The photo was taken from the archives of the Japanese news agency Domei.

22. As seen in this photo 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.

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

24. Victim of the explosion of the first atomic bomb in the department of the first military hospital in Udzina in September 1945. The thermal radiation generated by the explosion burned a design from the kimono fabric onto the woman's back.

25. Most of the territory of Hiroshima was wiped off the face of the earth by the explosion of an atomic bomb. This is the first aerial photograph after the explosion, taken on September 1, 1945.

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

27. A reporter stands among the rubble in front of the shell of what was once the 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.

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

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

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

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

32. This photo, which was provided by the Association of the Photographers of the Atomic (Bomb) Destruction of Hiroshima, shows a victim of the atomic explosion. The man is in quarantine on Ninoshima Island in Hiroshima, Japan, 9 kilometers from the blast's epicenter, a day after the US dropped an atomic bomb on the city.

33. A tram (top center) and its dead passengers after a bomb exploded over Nagasaki on August 9. The photo was taken on September 1, 1945.

34. 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.

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

36. View of Hachobori Street in Hiroshima shortly after a bomb was dropped on the Japanese city.

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

38. 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.

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

40. September 14, 1945, the Japanese are trying to drive through a street littered with ruins on the outskirts of the city of Nagasaki, over which a nuclear bomb exploded.

41. This area of ​​Nagasaki was once filled with industrial buildings and small residential buildings. In the background are the ruins of the Mitsubishi factory and the concrete school building located at the foot of the hill.

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

43. A Japanese family eats rice in a hut built from the rubble of what was once their home in Nagasaki, September 14, 1945.

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

45. In the Ginza district of Nagasaki, which was an analogue of New York's Fifth Avenue, store owners destroyed by a nuclear bomb sell their goods on the sidewalks, September 30, 1945.

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

47. Service at the Nagarekawa Protestant Church after the atomic bomb destroyed the church in Hiroshima, 1945.

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

49. Major Thomas Ferebee, left, from Moscow, and Captain Kermit Behan, right, from Houston, talk at a hotel in Washington, February 6, 1946. Ferebee is the man who dropped the bomb on Hiroshima, and his interlocutor dropped the bomb on Nagasaki.

52. Ikimi Kikkawa shows his keloid scars left after treatment for burns received during the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima at the end of World War II. Photo taken at the Red Cross hospital on June 5, 1947.

53. Akira Yamaguchi shows his scars left after treatment for burns received during the nuclear bomb explosion in Hiroshima.

54. Jinpe Terawama, a survivor of the first atomic bomb in history, had numerous burn scars on his body, Hiroshima, June 1947.

55. Pilot Colonel Paul W. Taibbetts waves from the cockpit of his bomber at the Tinian Island base on August 6, 1945, before his mission to drop the first atomic bomb in history on Hiroshima, Japan. The day before, Tibbetts named the B-29 flying fortress "Enola Gay" in honor of his mother.

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

***

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 for the Americans to test an atomic bomb under real conditions and demonstrate 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 what was applied powerful weapon. 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 combat effectiveness Japanese army was not seriously injured.

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 surrendered in 1945 because 2 nuclear bombs, 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. 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 in 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. Japanese soldier is coming through the 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 of shooting there had already been a flash of light and heat from fireball with a diameter of 370 m, and the blast wave quickly dissipated, having already caused the main damage to buildings and people within a radius of 3.2 km.

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 sticking out of the bridge. 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. 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.

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 in TNT equivalent. 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. Serial number cars - 44-27297. 1945

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

on the ground"

70 years of tragedy

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

70 years ago, on August 6 and 9, 1945, the United States bombed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with atomic bombs. The total number of victims of the tragedy is over 450 thousand people, and the survivors still suffer from diseases caused by radiation exposure. According to the latest data, their number is 183,519 people.

Initially, the US had the idea of ​​dropping 9 atomic bombs on rice fields or in the sea to achieve a psychological effect to support landing operations planned for Japanese islands at the end of September 1945. But in the end it was decided to use new weapons against densely populated cities.

Now the cities have been rebuilt, but their inhabitants still bear the burden of that terrible tragedy. The history of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the memories of survivors is in a TASS special project.

Bombing of Hiroshima © AP Photo/USAF

Ideal goal

It was not by chance that Hiroshima was chosen as the target for the first nuclear strike. This city met all the criteria to achieve the maximum number of casualties and destruction: a flat location surrounded by hills, low buildings and flammable wooden buildings.

The city was completely wiped off the face of the Earth. Surviving eyewitnesses recalled that they first saw a flash of bright light, followed by a wave that burned everything around. In the area of ​​the epicenter of the explosion, everything instantly turned to ashes, and human silhouettes remained on the walls of the surviving houses. Immediately, by different estimates, killed from 70 to 100 thousand people. Tens of thousands more died from the consequences of the explosion, and total number victims as of August 6, 2014 are 292,325 people.
Immediately after the bombing, the city did not have enough water not only to put out the fires, but also for people who were dying of thirst. Therefore, even now the residents of Hiroshima are very careful about water. And during the memorial ceremony, a special ritual “Kensui” (Japanese - offering water) is performed - it reminds of the fires that engulfed the city and the victims who asked for water. It is believed that even after death, the souls of the dead need water to alleviate suffering.

The director of the Hiroshima Peace Museum with his dead father's watch and buckle © EPA/EVERETT KENNEDY BROWN

The clock hands have stopped

The hands of almost all the clocks in Hiroshima stopped at the moment of the explosion at 08:15 am. Some of them are collected at the Peace Museum as exhibits.

The museum was opened 60 years ago. Its building consists of two buildings designed by the outstanding Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. In one of them there is an exhibition about the atomic bombing, where visitors can see personal belongings of the victims, photographs, and various material evidence of what happened in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Audio and video materials are also shown there.

Not far from the museum is the Atomic Dome, the former building of the Exhibition Center of the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry, built in 1915 by Czech architect Jan Letzel. This structure miraculously survived the atomic bombing, although it stood only 160 meters from the epicenter of the explosion, which is marked by a regular memorial plaque in an alley not far from the dome. All the people inside the building died, and its copper dome instantly melted, leaving a bare frame. After the end of World War II, the Japanese authorities decided to preserve the building as a sign of memory of the victims of the bombing of Hiroshima. Now it is one of the main attractions of the city, reminiscent of tragic moments his stories.

Statue of Sadako Sasaki in Hiroshima Peace Park © Lisa Norwood/wikipedia.org

Paper cranes

Trees near the Atomic Dome are often decorated with colorful paper cranes. They have become an international symbol of peace. People from different countries They constantly bring homemade figurines of birds to Hiroshima as a sign of mourning for the terrible events of the past and in tribute to the memory of Sadako Sasaki, a girl who survived the atomic bombing in Hiroshima at the age of 2. At the age of 11, she was found to have signs of radiation sickness, and the girl’s health began to deteriorate sharply. One day she heard a legend that whoever folds a thousand paper cranes will definitely recover from any illness. She continued to fold the figures until her death on October 25, 1955. In 1958, a statue of Sadako holding a crane was installed in the Peace Park.

In 1949, a special law was passed, thanks to which large funds were provided for the restoration of Hiroshima. A Peace Park was built and a fund was established to store materials about the atomic bombing. Industry in the city was restored after the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 thanks to the production of weapons for the US Army.

Now Hiroshima is a modern city with a population of approximately 1.2 million people. It is the largest in the Chugoku region.

Zero mark of the atomic explosion in Nagasaki. Photo taken in December 1946 © AP Photo

Zero mark

Nagasaki became the second Japanese city, after Hiroshima, to be subject to American bombing in August 1945. The initial target of the B-29 bomber under the command of Major Charles Sweeney was the city of Kokura, located in the north of the island of Kyushu. By coincidence, on the morning of August 9, there was heavy cloudiness over Kokura, so Sweeney decided to turn the plane to the southwest and head to Nagasaki, which was considered as a backup option. Here the Americans were also beset by bad weather, but the plutonium bomb called “Fat Man” was eventually dropped. It was almost twice as powerful as the one used in Hiroshima, but inaccurate aiming and the local terrain somewhat reduced the damage from the explosion. Nevertheless, the consequences of the bombing were catastrophic: at the moment of the explosion, at 11.02 local time, 70 thousand residents of Nagasaki were killed, and the city was practically wiped off the face of the Earth.

In subsequent years, the list of disaster victims continued to grow with those who died from radiation sickness. This number increases every year, and the numbers are updated every year on August 9th. According to data announced in 2014, the number of victims of the Nagasaki bombing increased to 165,409 people.

Years later, an atomic bomb museum was opened in Nagasaki, as in Hiroshima. Last July, his collection was replenished with 26 new photographs, which were taken a year and four months after the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japanese cities. The images themselves were recently discovered. In particular, they depict the so-called zero mark - the site of the direct explosion of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki. Signatures on back side The photographs show that the pictures were taken in December 1946 by American scientists who were visiting the city at that time to study the consequences of a terrible atomic attack. “The photographs are of particular value, as they clearly demonstrate the full scale of the destruction, and, at the same time, make it clear what work was done to restore the city practically from scratch,” the Nagasaki administration believes.

One of the photos shows a strange arrow-shaped monument installed in the middle of the field, the inscription on which reads: “Zero mark of the atomic explosion.” Local experts are at a loss as to who installed the almost 5-meter monument and where it is now. It is noteworthy that it is located exactly in the place where the official monument to the victims of the atomic bombing of 1945 now stands.

Hiroshima Peace Museum © AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye

Blind spots of history

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has been the subject of careful study by many historians, but 70 years after the tragedy, many blank spots remain in this story. There are some testimonies of individuals who believe that they were born "in the shirt" because, according to them, a few weeks before the atomic bombing, information appeared about a possible deadly attack on these Japanese cities. Thus, one of these people claims that he studied at a school for children of high-ranking military personnel. According to him, several weeks before the strike, all personnel educational institution and his students were evacuated from Hiroshima, which saved their lives.

There are also completely conspiracy theories according to which, on the threshold of the end of World War II, Japanese scientists, with the help of colleagues from Germany, approached the creation of an atomic bomb. Weapons of terrible destructive power could supposedly appear in the imperial army, whose command was going to fight to the end and was constantly rushing the nuclear scientists. The media claim that records have recently been found containing calculations and descriptions of equipment for enriching uranium for subsequent use in creating a Japanese atomic bomb. The scientists received the order to complete the program on August 14, 1945, and apparently were ready to carry it out, but did not have time. American atomic bombing of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, entry into the war Soviet Union did not leave Japan any chance to continue hostilities.

No more war

Survivors of the bombings in Japan are referred to by the special word "hibakusha" ("person who suffered from the bombing").

In the first years after the tragedy, many hibakusha hid the fact that they survived the bombing and received a high dose of radiation because they were afraid of discrimination. Then they were not provided with financial assistance and were denied treatment. It took 12 years before the Japanese government passed a law making treatment for bomb victims free of charge.

Some of the hibakusha have dedicated their lives to educational work to ensure that the terrible tragedy does not happen again.

“About 30 years ago, I happened to see a friend of mine on TV, he was among the participants in the march to ban nuclear weapons. This prompted me to join this movement. Since then, remembering my experience, I explain that atomic weapons are "This is an inhumane weapon. It is completely indiscriminate, unlike conventional weapons. I have dedicated my life to explaining the need to ban atomic weapons to those who do not know anything about atomic bombings, especially young people," wrote hibakusha Michimasa Hirata on one of the websites, dedicated to preserving the memory of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Many Hiroshima residents whose families were affected to varying degrees by the atomic bomb are trying to help others learn more about what happened on August 6, 1945 and to convey the message of the dangers of nuclear weapons and war. Near the Peace Park and the Atomic Dome memorial you can meet people who are ready to talk about the tragic events.

“August 6, 1945 is a special day for me, it’s my second birthday. When the atomic bomb was dropped on us, I was only 9 years old. I was in my house about two kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion in Hiroshima. A sudden brilliant flash hit over my head. She fundamentally changed Hiroshima... This scene, which then developed, defies description. This is a living hell on earth," Michimasa Hirata shares his memories.

Bombing of Hiroshima © EPA/A PEACE MEMORIAL MUSEUM

"The city was enveloped in huge fire whirlwinds"

“70 years ago, I was three years old. On August 6, my father was at work 1 km from the place where the atomic bomb was dropped,” said one of the hibakusha, Hiroshi Shimizu. “At the moment of the explosion, he was thrown back by a huge shock wave. He immediately felt that numerous shards of glass were pierced into his face, and his body began to bleed. The building where he was working instantly burst into flames. Everyone who could ran out to a nearby pond. My father spent about three hours there. At that time, the city was enveloped in huge fiery vortices.

He was only able to find us the next day. Two months later he died. By that time, his stomach had completely turned black. Within a radius of one kilometer from the explosion, the radiation level was 7 sieverts. This dose can destroy cells of internal organs.

At the time of the explosion, my mother and I were at home about 1.6 km from the epicenter. Since we were inside, we were able to avoid a lot of radiation. However, the house was destroyed by the shock wave. Mother managed to break through the roof and get out into the street with me. After that, we evacuated to the south, away from the epicenter. As a result, we managed to avoid the real hell that was going on there, because there was nothing left within a radius of 2 km.

For 10 years after the bombing, my mother and I suffered from various illnesses caused by the dose of radiation we received. We had stomach problems, nosebleeds constantly, and there was also very bad general state immunity. All this happened in 12 years, and after that for a long time I didn't have any health problems. However, after 40 years, illnesses began to haunt me one after another, the functioning of my kidneys and heart sharply deteriorated, my spine began to hurt, signs of diabetes and problems with cataracts appeared.

Only later did it become clear that it was not just the dose of radiation that we received during the explosion. We continued to live and eat vegetables grown on contaminated soil, drink water from contaminated rivers and eat contaminated seafood."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (left) and hibakusha Sumiteru Taniguchi in front of photographs of people affected by the bombing. On top photo Taniguchi himself © EPA/KIMIMASA MAYAMA

"Kill me!"

A photograph of one of the most famous figures of the hibakusha movement, Sumiteru Taniguchi, taken in January 1946 by an American war photographer, spread throughout the world. The photo, dubbed "red back," shows severe burns on Taniguchi's back.

“In 1945, I was 16 years old,” he says. “On August 9, I was delivering mail on a bicycle and was about 1.8 km from the epicenter of the bombing. At the moment of the explosion, I saw a flash, and the blast wave threw me off my bicycle. The heat was burning everything is in its path. At first I had the impression that a bomb had exploded next to me. The ground under my feet was shaking, as if there had been a strong earthquake. After I came to my senses, I looked at my hands - I was literally hanging from them. skin. However, at that moment I didn’t even feel pain.”

“I don’t know how, but I managed to get to the ammunition factory, which was located in an underground tunnel. There I met a woman, and she helped me cut off pieces of skin on my hands and bandage them somehow. I remember how after that they immediately announced evacuation, but I could not go on my own. Other people helped me. They carried me to the top of the hill, where they laid me under a tree. After that, I fell asleep for a while. I woke up from machine gun fire American aircraft. The fires made it as light as day, so the pilots could easily monitor the movements of people. I lay under the tree for three days. During this time, everyone who was next to me died. I myself thought I was going to die, I couldn’t even call for help. But I was lucky - on the third day people came and saved me. Blood oozed from the burns on my back, and the pain grew rapidly. In this condition, I was sent to the hospital,” Taniguchi recalls.

Only in 1947 was the Japanese able to sit down, and in 1949 he was discharged from the hospital. He underwent 10 operations, and treatment continued until 1960.

“In the first years after the bombing, I couldn’t even move. The pain was unbearable. I often shouted: “Kill me!” The doctors did everything so that I could live. I remember how they repeated every day that I was alive. During the treatment, I learned for myself everything that radiation is capable of, all the terrible consequences of its impact,” Taniguchi said.

Children after the bombing of Nagasaki © AP Photo/United Nations, Yosuke Yamahata

"Then there was silence..."

“When the atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, I was six years old and living with my family in a traditional Japanese house,” recalls Yasuaki Yamashita. “Usually in the summer, when it was hot, I and my friends would run to the mountains to catch dragonflies and cicadas. But that day I was playing at home. Mom was cooking dinner nearby, as usual. Suddenly, at exactly 11.02, we were blinded by a light, as if 1000 lightning flashed simultaneously. Mom pushed me to the ground and covered me with herself. We heard a roar strong wind and the rustle of the fragments of the house flying towards us. Then there was silence..."

“Our house was 2.5 km from the epicenter. My sister, she was in the next room, was badly cut by flying glass shards. One of my friends went to play in the mountains that ill-fated day, and a heat wave from a bomb explosion hit him. "He suffered severe burns and died a few days later. My father was sent to help clear the rubble in the center of Nagasaki. At that time we did not yet know about the dangers of radiation, which caused his death," he writes.

Next year, humanity will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which showed many examples of unprecedented cruelty, when entire cities disappeared from the face of the earth within a few days or even hours and hundreds of thousands of people, including civilians, died. The most a shining example what has been said is the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the ethical justification of which is questioned by any sane person.

Japan during the final stages of World War II

As is known, fascist Germany capitulated on the night of May 9, 1945. This meant the end of the war in Europe. And also the fact that the only opponent of the countries of the anti-fascist coalition remained imperial japan, which at that time was officially declared war by about 6 dozen countries. Already in June 1945, as a result of bloody battles, its troops were forced to leave Indonesia and Indochina. But when on July 26 the United States, together with Great Britain and China, presented an ultimatum to the Japanese command, it was rejected. At the same time, even during the time of the USSR, it took upon itself the obligation to launch a large-scale offensive against Japan in August, for which, after the end of the war, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were to be transferred to it.

Prerequisites for the use of atomic weapons

Long before the events listed above, in the fall of 1944, at a meeting of the leaders of the United States and Great Britain, the issue of the possibility of using new super-destructive bombs against Japan was considered. After which the famous Manhattan Project, launched a year earlier and aimed at creating nuclear weapons, began to function with new strength, and work on the creation of its first samples was completed by the end of hostilities in Europe.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: reasons for the bombing

Thus, by the summer of 1945, the United States became the only owner of atomic weapons in the world and decided to use this advantage to put pressure on its longtime enemy and at the same time ally in the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR.

At the same time, despite all the defeats, the morale of Japan was not broken. As evidenced by the fact that every day hundreds of members of her imperial army became kamikazes and kaiten, directing their planes and torpedoes at ships and other military targets American army. This meant that when carrying out a ground operation on the territory of Japan itself, the Allied troops would expect huge losses. Exactly last reason Today, it is most often cited by US officials as an argument justifying the need for such a measure as the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At the same time, it is forgotten that, according to Churchill, three weeks before I. Stalin informed him about the Japanese attempts to establish a peaceful dialogue. It is obvious that representatives of this country were going to make similar proposals to both the Americans and the British, since the massive bombing major cities brought their military industry to the brink of collapse and made capitulation inevitable.

Selecting targets

After receiving agreement in principle to use atomic weapons against Japan, a special committee was formed. Its second meeting took place on May 10-11 and was devoted to the selection of cities that were to be bombed. The main criteria that guided the commission were:

• mandatory presence of civilian objects around a military target;
• its importance for the Japanese not only from an economic and strategic point of view, but also from a psychological one;
• a high degree of significance of the object, the destruction of which would cause resonance throughout the world;
• the target had to be undamaged by bombing for the military to appreciate the true power of the new weapon.

Which cities were considered as targets?

The “contenders” included:

• Kyoto, which is the largest industrial and cultural center and the ancient capital of Japan;
• Hiroshima as an important military port and city where army depots were concentrated;
• Yokahama, which is the center of the military industry;
• Kokura is home to the largest military arsenal.

According to the surviving memories of participants in those events, although the most convenient target was Kyoto, the United States Secretary of War G. Stimson insisted on excluding this city from the list, since he was personally familiar with its sights and was aware of their value for world culture.

Interestingly, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not initially covered. More precisely, the city of Kokura was considered as the second target. This is evidenced by the fact that before August 9, an air raid was carried out on Nagasaki, which caused concern among residents and forced the evacuation of most schoolchildren to the surrounding villages. A little later, as a result of long discussions, backup targets were selected in case of unforeseen situations. They became:

• for the first bombing, if Hiroshima fails to hit, Niigata;
• for the second (instead of Kokura) - Nagasaki.

Preparation

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki required careful preparation. During the second half of May and June, the 509th Combined Aviation Group was redeployed to a base on Tinian Island and exceptional security measures were taken. A month later, on July 26, the atomic bomb “Baby” was delivered to the island, and on the 28th, some of the components for assembling “Fat Man” were delivered to the island. On the same day, who at that time served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, signed an order ordering the implementation of nuclear bombing any time after August 3 when weather conditions are suitable.

First atomic strike on Japan

The date of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki cannot be stated unambiguously, since nuclear strikes on these cities were carried out within 3 days of each other.

The first blow was struck in Hiroshima. And this happened on June 6, 1945. The “honor” of dropping the “Baby” bomb went to the crew of a B-29 aircraft, nicknamed “Enola Gay,” commanded by Colonel Tibbetts. Moreover, before the flight, the pilots, confident that they were doing a good deed and their “feat” would be followed by a speedy end to the war, visited the church and received an ampoule of s in case they were captured.

Together with Enola Gay, three reconnaissance aircraft took off, designed to determine weather conditions, and 2 boards with photographic equipment and devices for studying the parameters of the explosion.

The bombing itself went completely without problems, since the Japanese military did not notice the objects rushing towards Hiroshima, and the weather was more than favorable. What happened next can be seen by watching the film “The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki” - documentary, assembled from newsreel footage taken in the Pacific region at the end of World War II.

In particular, it shows which, according to Captain Robert Lewis, who was a member of the Enola Gay crew, was visible even after their plane flew 400 miles from the bomb drop site.

Bombing of Nagasaki

The operation to drop the “Fat Man” bomb, carried out on August 9, proceeded completely differently. In general, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the photo of which evokes associations with known descriptions The Apocalypse was prepared extremely carefully, and the only thing that could make adjustments to its implementation was the weather. This is what happened when early morning On August 9, a plane under the command of Major Charles Sweeney and with the atomic bomb “Fat Man” on board took off from the island of Tinian. At 8:10 a.m. the plane arrived at the place where it was supposed to meet the second, the B-29, but did not find it. After 40 minutes of waiting, the decision was made to carry out the bombing without a partner aircraft, but it turned out that there was already 70% cloud cover over the city of Kokura. Moreover, even before departure it was known that the fuel pump was malfunctioning, and at the moment when the board was over Kokura, it became obvious that the only way to drop the Fat Man was to do it while flying over Nagasaki. Then the B-29 headed towards this city and made a drop, focusing on the local stadium. Thus, by chance, Kokura was saved, and the whole world learned that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had occurred. Fortunately, if such words are at all appropriate in this case, the bomb fell far from the original target, quite far from residential areas, which somewhat reduced the number of victims.

Consequences of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

According to eyewitness accounts, within a few minutes everyone who was within a radius of 800 m from the epicenters of the explosions died. Then fires started, and in Hiroshima they soon turned into a tornado due to the wind, whose speed was about 50-60 km/h.

The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki introduced humanity to such a phenomenon as radiation sickness. The doctors noticed her first. They were surprised that the condition of the survivors first improved, and then they died from the disease, the symptoms of which resembled diarrhea. In the first days and months after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, few could have imagined that those who survived it would suffer for the rest of their lives various diseases and even produce unhealthy children.

Subsequent events

On August 9, immediately after the news of the bombing of Nagasaki and the declaration of war by the USSR, Emperor Hirohito advocated immediate surrender, subject to the preservation of his power in the country. And 5 days later, the Japanese media spread his statement about the cessation of hostilities to English language. Moreover, in the text, His Majesty mentioned that one of the reasons for his decision was that the enemy had “ terrible weapon”, the use of which could lead to the destruction of the nation.