On August 6, 1945, six B-29 bombers departed from a base in the Pacific. Three planes scouted weather conditions over potential targets. The others carried observers, instruments, and a bomb. The bomb was dropped over Hiroshima, instantly killing thousands and marking humanity's entry into the nuclear age. A second bomb devastated Nagasaki three days later, causing tens of thousands of deaths. These bombings remain the only use of nuclear weapons in war and played a role in ending World War II. The selection of these cities is linked to the deadliest air raid in history and the extensive firebombing campaign by the Allies against Japan, which had already decimated Tokyo and other cities. The bombings raised moral questions about targeting civilians and the justification of such actions in warfare.
Here are the key facts extracted from the text:
1. Six B-29 Stratofortress bombers took off from a Pacific base on August 6, 1945.
2. Three planes flew ahead to check weather conditions at potential targets.
3. Three planes were assigned different roles: one carried observers, one carried instruments, and one carried a payload.
4. The payload plane, named Enola Gay after the pilot's mother, dropped a bomb on Hiroshima.
5. The bomb vaporized thousands of people on the spot and caused widespread destruction.
6. Many more people died from burns, falling debris, and radiation.
7. The bomb hit 50% of the population of Hiroshima.
8. Three days later, a second bombing run obliterated a residential neighborhood in Nagasaki.
9. Estimates of casualties in Nagasaki ranged from 40,000 to 70,000 dead.
10. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the only cities to have been bombed with atomic bombs in a war.
11. The atomic bombings played a role in the end of World War II.
12. The US had been working on a top-secret project to develop a nuclear weapon.
13. The project cost $2 billion to develop.
14. The US had been bombing Japanese cities since 1944.
15. The war industry in Japan was not centralized, making it harder to target.
16. The US firebombed a total of 69 cities in Japan.
17. The firebombing of Tokyo killed 100,000 people, the largest number of casualties from an air raid.
18. The US War Secretary, Henry Stimson, was worried that the allies would be seen as bad as the Germans.
19. Stimson was also worried that Japan had been bombed so much that a new weapon would not have a fair background to show its strength.
20. The president laughed at Stimson's concerns.
21. The US firebombed cities in Japan, including Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo.
22. The firebombing killed an estimated half a million people and left 15 million people homeless.
23. The use of firebombs was designed to target cities and create firestorms.
24. The firebombs were tested on mock German and Japanese houses.
25. The US Air Force bombed cities in Japan with the intention of creating an unprecedented refugee problem.
26. The targeting committee had to beg the Air Force to stop bombing cities so that there would be targets left for the atomic bomb.
27. The US War Secretary, Henry Stimson, told the president that he was worried about the bombardments.
28. The president laughed at Stimson's concerns.
29. The US firebombed a total of 69 cities in Japan.
30. The firebombing of Tokyo killed 100,000 people, the largest number of casualties from an air raid.