Hiroshima+and+Nagasaki

Study Guide

"I do not believe that civilization will be wiped out in a war fought with the **atomic bomb** Perhaps two-thirds of the people of the earth will be killed."- Albert EinstienThe atomic Bomb dropping-The Aioi Bridge, one of 81 bridges connecting the seven-branched delta of the Ota River, was the target; ground zero was set at 1,980 feet. The target was only missed by 800 feet.[] American B-29's made bombing runs over military targets on the Japanese mainland an integral part of their air campaign. Japans low air capability adided in these runs. []

This website provides a vast number of links relating to the decision to drop the atomic bomb. []

In the early morning hours of August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber named //Enola Gay// took off from the island of Tinian and headed north by northwest toward Japan. The bomber's primary target was the **city of Hiroshima**, located on the deltas of southwestern Honshu Island facing the Inland Sea. Hiroshima had a civilian population of almost 300,000 and was an important military center, containing about 43,000 soldiers. The bomber, piloted by the commander of the 509th Composite Group, Colonel Paul Tibbets, flew at low altitude on automatic pilot before climbing to 31,000 feet as it neared the target area. At approximately 8:15 a.m. Hiroshima time the //Enola Gay// released "Little Boy," its 9,700-pound **uranium bomb**, over the city. []

__**Overview:**__The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were a series of two atomic bombs dropped by the United States against Japan in an act by the United States to end the war with Japan. Though the bombing ended the war, it resulted in much destruction of both cities and resulted in over 200,000 imediate deaths in Japan, with more later on as a result of the radiation fallout.


 * __Background:__** In the begining Hiroshima and Nagasaki were just two cities among a pool of choices for the targets to drop the bombs on. The commitee to choose a target was led by J.Robert Oppermier. Other cities that were disscussed as targets were Kyoto, Yokohama, and Kokura. Most of these cities had remained largley untouched by the war. Hiroshima was chosen for its strategic geography in the mountains, along with its large population and for it being a major industrial and military city in japan. while Nagasaki was chosen because out of the remaining choices it seemed the most strategic to bomb.When finally the plan was set, two bombs, the "fat man" and the "little boy" were created to be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

__**Hiroshima:**__ The "little boy" was the first of the two to be dropped. it was dropped at 8:15 hiroshima time on August 6th. The bomb created a blast with the power of over 13 kilotons of TNT. a one mile radius around ground zero was completely destroyed, while a fire was started that went over an additional 4 miles around the area where the bomb was dropped. Around 70% of all of hiroshimas buildings were destroyed with an additional 6% damaged. 70,000 to 80,000 were instantly killed around 30% of Hiroshima's population, while an additional 90,000 were injured. In addition 93% of all medical personal were killed from the blast. media type="custom" key="3698125"

http://teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=75697&title=bombing_of_nagasaki
 * __Nagasaki-__** Nagasaki was the second target the United states bombed. When Japan refused to surrender after the bombing of Hiroshima, the United States bombed Nagasaki. On August 9th 1945, at 11:02 a.m., "Fat man" was dropped on Nagasaki. It destroyed the north part of the city and killed 40,000 people. Due to nuclear fallout and radiation, the death toll rose to 73,884. It also left thousands with diseases and illness that resulted from radiation sickness. [[image:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Nagasaki_1945_-_Before_and_after_%28adjusted%29.jpg width="400" height="436" caption="Nagasaki Before-After"]]