In the desperate new war governments, scientists became aware of this potential source of immense power trapped inside atomic nucleus. Germany, Japan, Britain with America all had active programs during World War II to develop atomic weapons. As the theoretical underpinnings of atomic energy came into focus so did the staggering complexity of the industrial effort required to make an atomic bomb. This is where Germany and Japan were left behind as the United States spent $2 billion to design, test and manufacture the atom bomb under the Manhattan project.
From a political stand point, it would have been unthinkable not to use the bomb. All the money and effort going into building a super powerful weapon that is left on the shelf as American troops die by the thousands trying to take Japan and end the war. This is where the debate begins and has never ended over the morality of using such a terrible weapon.
The decision to drop the atomic bomb was not a group decision, in the end president Harry S. Truman made it. Among the president's senior military commanders most felt that a massive invasion of Japan would probably be necessary to end the war, although each service still wanted to claim ultimate victory for itself. The Navy proposed that its ongoing blockade of Japan would eventually force surrender. Likewise, the Army Air Force saw victory in continuing the fire bombing raids by B-29 bombers now numbering close to a 1,000 that were currently laying waste to huge areas of Japanese cities. Of course the Army felt strongly that only an invasion and occupation by troops would secure victory.
Truman in fact approved the invasion of Japan before he later decided to authorize the use of the atomic bomb against Japan. No one knew exactly how the Japanese leaders would respond to an atomic bomb blast on one or even several of their cities. Excellent code breaking by the Americans did reveal however the steps Japanese were taking and planning to take in defending their country. The likely number of casualties the armed forces of the United States would suffer invading Japan was given as 200,000 to a million men, depending on the source. But everyone realized including President Truman, who fought in the first World War, that the number of casualties was more of a guess than a fact. The atomic bomb was seen as a potentially war winning weapon and in that hope it was used but no one alive then truly comprehended its horrifying power.
Here’s what happened:
Well before dawn on the 6th of August three special reconnaissance F-13As took off to report the weather over the primary and secondary targets. Colonel Tibbets lifted the Enola Gay off the runway at 2:45 A.M. shortly followed by two other B-29 bombers.
Navy weapons expert Captain William Parsons armed the bomb in flight, as it had been deemed too risky to arm before take off in case of accident, possibly wiping out the entire base.
At 7:42 came the coded message from the Hiroshima weather scout recommending bombing the primary target. Enola Gay was now at 26,000 ft and in a slight climb at a little less than 200 miles an hour. For the first time, his crew was told that they were about to deliver an entirely new type of weapon of staggering destructive power.
At 8:05 Enola Gay was coming in at 30,800 ft, followed by the observer planes, and less than 50 miles from Hiroshima. Major Thomas Ferebee, the bombardier, took up position in the Plexiglas nose to fix the crosswire of his sight on the city's T-shaped Aioi Bridge.
Through the shimmering haze, Ferebee made out the bridge and locked the cross hairs of his bombsight. The final fifteen seconds to bomb drop were automatic. At seventeen seconds past 8:15, the bomb bay doors opened and the bomb fell free.
At 1,800 ft, the barometric pressure device triggered the detonating mechanism. In a few milliseconds a brief flash had become an engulfing ball of light and destructive energy.
With this release of apocalyptic power 75,000 people were killed and 48,000 buildings destroyed. Strategic air power reached a terrifying new level of destruction in the smouldering ashes of Hiroshima.
When another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, the bomb was more powerful but the terrain and layout of the city resulted in fewer deaths. Still, 40,000 were killed instantly and 45,000 more would die later from burns and radiation. The previous day Russia had declared war on Japan and launched a huge offensive involving thousands of tanks and self propelled guns.
The Atomic bomb
In the desperate new war governments, scientists became aware of this potential source of immense power trapped inside atomic nucleus. Germany, Japan, Britain with America all had active programs during World War II to develop atomic weapons. As the theoretical underpinnings of atomic energy came into focus so did the staggering complexity of the industrial effort required to make an atomic bomb. This is where Germany and Japan were left behind as the United States spent $2 billion to design, test and manufacture the atom bomb under the Manhattan project.From a political stand point, it would have been unthinkable not to use the bomb. All the money and effort going into building a super powerful weapon that is left on the shelf as American troops die by the thousands trying to take Japan and end the war. This is where the debate begins and has never ended over the morality of using such a terrible weapon.
The decision to drop the atomic bomb was not a group decision, in the end president Harry S. Truman made it. Among the president's senior military commanders most felt that a massive invasion of Japan would probably be necessary to end the war, although each service still wanted to claim ultimate victory for itself. The Navy proposed that its ongoing blockade of Japan would eventually force surrender. Likewise, the Army Air Force saw victory in continuing the fire bombing raids by B-29 bombers now numbering close to a 1,000 that were currently laying waste to huge areas of Japanese cities. Of course the Army felt strongly that only an invasion and occupation by troops would secure victory.
Truman in fact approved the invasion of Japan before he later decided to authorize the use of the atomic bomb against Japan. No one knew exactly how the Japanese leaders would respond to an atomic bomb blast on one or even several of their cities. Excellent code breaking by the Americans did reveal however the steps Japanese were taking and planning to take in defending their country. The likely number of casualties the armed forces of the United States would suffer invading Japan was given as 200,000 to a million men, depending on the source. But everyone realized including President Truman, who fought in the first World War, that the number of casualties was more of a guess than a fact. The atomic bomb was seen as a potentially war winning weapon and in that hope it was used but no one alive then truly comprehended its horrifying power.
Here’s what happened:
Well before dawn on the 6th of August three special reconnaissance F-13As took off to report the weather over the primary and secondary targets. Colonel Tibbets lifted the Enola Gay off the runway at 2:45 A.M. shortly followed by two other B-29 bombers.
Navy weapons expert Captain William Parsons armed the bomb in flight, as it had been deemed too risky to arm before take off in case of accident, possibly wiping out the entire base.
At 7:42 came the coded message from the Hiroshima weather scout recommending bombing the primary target. Enola Gay was now at 26,000 ft and in a slight climb at a little less than 200 miles an hour. For the first time, his crew was told that they were about to deliver an entirely new type of weapon of staggering destructive power.
At 8:05 Enola Gay was coming in at 30,800 ft, followed by the observer planes, and less than 50 miles from Hiroshima. Major Thomas Ferebee, the bombardier, took up position in the Plexiglas nose to fix the crosswire of his sight on the city's T-shaped Aioi Bridge.
Through the shimmering haze, Ferebee made out the bridge and locked the cross hairs of his bombsight. The final fifteen seconds to bomb drop were automatic. At seventeen seconds past 8:15, the bomb bay doors opened and the bomb fell free.
At 1,800 ft, the barometric pressure device triggered the detonating mechanism. In a few milliseconds a brief flash had become an engulfing ball of light and destructive energy.
With this release of apocalyptic power 75,000 people were killed and 48,000 buildings destroyed. Strategic air power reached a terrifying new level of destruction in the smouldering ashes of Hiroshima.
When another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, the bomb was more powerful but the terrain and layout of the city resulted in fewer deaths. Still, 40,000 were killed instantly and 45,000 more would die later from burns and radiation. The previous day Russia had declared war on Japan and launched a huge offensive involving thousands of tanks and self propelled guns.