CHAPTER 10 - HIRSOSHIMA
|
After considering several options, military leaders selected Hiroshima as the first target for the atomic bomb. Colonel Paul Tibbets, the pilot-in-command of the Enola Gay, and his crew knew the "aiming point": The Aioi Bridge. It was hot and sunny on August 6, 1945. An air raid sounded at about 7:09 a.m. as the scout plane checked the weather over the city. No one in Hiroshima could have anticipated what would happen an hour later when the Enola Gay (named for Tibbet's mother) released "Little Boy" at precisely 8:15:17 a.m. Not even Tibbets and his crew were prepared for what they saw. "Little Boy" detonated 1,870 feet above ground forty-three seconds after it was released from the Enola Gay. The bomb was on target. The explosion equaled about 13,000-15,000 tons of TNT. Follow this link to a photograph taken of the hypocenter immediately after the bombing. Never in the history of warfare had any bomb caused such massive destruction. Thousands of people died. Hiroshima was demolished. By the time the Enola Gay returned to Tinian Island, leaflets were ready to be dropped on other Japanese cities. Warning the Japanese to evacuate their cities, America threatened to drop more bombs: We are in possession of the most destructive explosive ever devised by man. A single one of our newly developed atomic bombs is actually the equivalent in explosive power to what 2000 of our giant B-29's can carry on a single mission. This awful fact is one for you to ponder and we solemnly assure you it is grimly accurate. Another leaflet warned: Before we use this bomb again and again to destroy every resource of the military by which they are prolonging this useless war, petition the Emperor now to end the war. America had one other bomb that was ready. Three days later, it was assembled and loaded onto "Bockscar," another B-29. This time the target was Nagasaki (because the primary target, Kokura, was obscured by smoke and haze). |
