This day in History 1945: Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki

History.com ^ | August 9, 2007 | Staff

[abb]

On this day in 1945, a second atom bomb is dropped on Japan by the United States, at Nagasaki, resulting finally in Japan's unconditional surrender.

The devastation wrought at Hiroshima was not sufficient to convince the Japanese War Council to accept the Potsdam Conference's demand for unconditional surrender. The United States had already planned to drop their second atom bomb, nicknamed "Fat Man," on August 11 in the event of such recalcitrance, but bad weather expected for that day pushed the date up to August 9th. So at 1:56 a.m., a specially adapted B-29 bomber, called "Bock's Car," after its usual commander, Frederick Bock, took off from Tinian Island under the command of Maj. Charles W. Sweeney. Nagasaki was a shipbuilding center, the very industry intended for destruction. The bomb was dropped at 11:02 a.m., 1,650 feet above the city. The explosion unleashed the equivalent force of 22,000 tons of TNT. The hills that surrounded the city did a better job of containing the destructive force, but the number killed is estimated at anywhere between 60,000 and 80,000 (exact figures are impossible, the blast having obliterated bodies and disintegrated records).

General Leslie R. Groves, the man responsible for organizing the Manhattan Project, which solved the problem of producing and delivering the nuclear explosion, estimated that another atom bomb would be ready to use against Japan by August 17 or 18-but it was not necessary. Even though the War Council still remained divided ("It is far too early to say that the war is lost," opined the Minister of War), Emperor Hirohito, by request of two War Council members eager to end the war, met with the Council and declared that "continuing the war can only result in the annihilation of the Japanese people...." The Emperor of Japan gave his permission for unconditional surrender.

[abb]

In other words, there were plenty more where the first two came from.

[abb]

ping

[abb]

To get your blood up this morning...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/uc/20070808/cm_uc_crrscx/op_173502

A Solemn Nuclear Anniversary Robert Scheer
Wed Aug 8, 3:00 AM ET

During a week of mayhem in Iraq, in which terrorists have rightly been condemned for targeting schoolchildren, it is sobering to recall that this week is also the 62nd anniversary of a U.S. attack that deliberately took the lives of thousands of children on their way to school in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

snip

[mainepatsfan]

In the minds of the left it would have been better if far more Japanese school children had been killed by conventional means rather than a smaller number by the atomic bombs.

[gridlock]

How can somebody as stupid as Robert Scheer remember to breathe in and out, day in and day out?

[A.A. Cunningham]

[back row (L-R)] Captain Beahan, Captain Van Pelt, Jr., First Lt. Albury, Second Lt. Olivi, Major Sweeney
Staff Sgt. Buckley, Master Sgt. Kuharek, Sgt. Gallagher, Staff Sgt. DeHart, Sgt. Spitzer

Bravo Zulu to the crew of Bock's Car for a job well done.

[Joe Boucher]

A fabulous book written by General Sweeney.
I loan my copy to anyone willing to read it.

Good job A.A.

[NavVet]

The Japanese had little concern for the fate of school children, or anyone else in territory they controlled. The list of Japanese war crimes is extensive. From sex slaves, to the live dissection of prisoners in medical schools and biological warfare centers.

The Japanese have only themselves to blame for what ultimately happened.

[Fresh Wind]

It’s not pleasant to consider what would have happened if the Japanese had gotten the bomb first. How many American school children would have died?

[tanknetter]

During a week of mayhem in Iraq, in which terrorists have rightly been condemned for targeting schoolchildren, it is sobering to recall that this week is also the 62nd anniversary of a U.S. attack that deliberately took the lives of thousands of children on their way to school in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

What a maroon. IIRC from "Hiroshima" and other books the children of Hiroshima and Nagasaki weren't on their way to school but to build firebreaks and defensive military structures.

The Japanese could have done what the Brits did during the Blitz and sent their children out of the cities (which were being firebombed well prior to the atomic attacks) to safety. Instead, children kept in the cities were used as laborers on military projects - making them legitimate military targets. The ONLY ones responsible for their deaths were the military and civillian leadership in Japan.

[Flintlock]

They deserved every single erg of energy.

[tanknetter]

It’s not pleasant to consider what would have happened if the Japanese had gotten the bomb first. How many American school children would have died?

Let's start with these:

Elsie Mitchell, 26
Edward Engen, 13
Jay Gifford, 13
Joan Patzke, 13
Dick Patzke, 14
Sherman Shoemaker, 11

The above were murdered on May 5, 1945 near Bly, Oregon when they stumbled upon one of the approximately 9000 balloon bombs the Japanese launched against the US in order to sow terror amongst the citizens of the US Pacific Northwest and burn down forests.

Other versions of the balloon bombs were designed to carry radiological material and plague-infected rats ...

[Bulldawg Fan]

In the non minds of the modern left, anything that results in the deaths of more American soldiers, in WW2, Iraq or anywhere else is the best possible outcome. Their complete hatred of our military and nation become more evident every day.

[Bulldawg Fan]

Harry Truman: Well done!

[LibLieSlayer]

Hiroshima and Nagasaki both leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling, when I think of ALL of the AMERICANS that survived because of these bombs... and ALL of their AMERICAN offspring that were born because their fathers did not die invading the Japanese homeland!

LLS

[Dixie Yooper]

In other words, there were plenty more where the first two came from.

The Enola Gay and Bock's Car were 2 of 15 B-29's that were specially fitted for delivery of atomic bombs. We were also processing all of the uranium we had obtained from the Germans into bombs. I don't know if we actually had any more bombs ready at the time Fat Man was used.

[LibLieSlayer]

We got “their mind right” in a big hurry too. America should never apologize... but instead should remind “mess with us and it can happen to you”!

LLS

[caver]

I had always heard that we only had the two atomic bombs. Now they’re saying we had more?

[caver]

Amen to that brother!

[sushiman]

The Japanese never would have given up if we hadn’t attacked both Hiroshima and Nagasaki . Truman was right .Even my Japanese father-in-law agreed .

[Dixie Yooper]

Hiroshima and Nagasaki both leave me with a warm and fuzzy feeling, when I think of ALL of the AMERICANS that survived because of these bombs... and ALL of their AMERICAN offspring that were born because their fathers did not die invading the Japanese homeland!

I am one of those offspring! My father was a drill sargent at Camp Pendleton getting our recruits and himself ready for the invasion of Japan. From people I have talked to who have seen the defenses of Japan's shores, it would have made D-Day look like a picnic.

[pikachu]

My father was an officer in the Merchant Marine and was prepping a freighter for use in the invasion of Japan when the bombs were dropped. His orders were to ram his ship ashore, get the troops off, and then find his own way back to the states. If he could re-float fine and if not he was on his own. He said they were expecting 80% of the troops they would be moving to be dead and most of the rest injured.

Years later I found out a friend's dad was a POW near Nagasaki when the bomb went off. He said the Japanese were preparing to fight to the last person standing and assumed he would be killed as soon as the invasion started by his guards. His guards had already killed many of his buddies. Compare that to what we do now with 'enemy combatants'

If the bombs had not been dropped, it would have been as one US Admiral said 'Japanese is a language only spoken in Hell'.

[abb]

They were under construction.

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/67.pdf

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/index.htm

Document 67: General L. R. Groves to Chief of Staff George C. Marshall, August 10, 1945, Top Secret
Source: George C. Marshall Papers, George C. Marshall Library, Lexington, VA (copy courtesy of Barton J. Bernstein)

While Groves was making plans for the use of a third atomic weapon sometime after 17 August, depending on the weather, Marshall’s note on this memo shows that he was following Truman’s instructions to halt nuclear strikes: “It is not to be released over Japan without express authority from the President.”

[texson66]

100% concur!

[abb]

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/59a.pdf
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/59b.pdf
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB162/59c.pdf

[Dixie Yooper]

Considering the way the Japanese fought to defend islands they had taken over, the thought of them defending their homeland to the last person against us is something we all were spared. Most of Europe was populated by people who hated Hitler. All of Japan was populated by people who worshiped and loved their Emperor.

[weegee]

62nd anniversary of a U.S. attack that deliberately took the lives of thousands of children on their way to school in the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Almost makes you forget that they were in the middle of an imperialistic war that they declared against the US, China, and other nations, partnered with Nazi Germany.

And what of the German scientists who were working on their own nuclear device? Weren't some at work in Japan after the fall of Nazi Germany?

"So innocent". I don't think so.

[weegee]

Or if they had successfully managed to launch their bubonic plague attack against the American west coast.

[Old Grumpy]

“The Japanese have only themselves to blame for what ultimately happened.”

Agree totally.

[abb]

This is how it all started. We merely finished it.

[mortal19440]

This is when we knew how to win and finish the job. Dimmocrats were different then.

[weegee]

Wasn’t there a third that was tested in the US prior to the missions in Japan?

[abb]

http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Usa/Tests/Trinity.html

[LibLieSlayer]

Yep... and GOD bless your Dad! You nailed it!

LLS

[weegee]

Something to remind the Left when they moan how "we" won WWII in shorter time than this war in Iraq. (A) they begin any notion of that war as starting on Dec 7, 1941, when other nations had been warring with Nazi Germany for years. and (B) it took 2 nuclear bombs to end it. Can we use them again? Nope, that is off the table.

And the subsequent Cold War with the USSR lasted nearly 50 years and led to a continued US presence in Europe.

We are no longer fighting against "Iraq" but some claim that it is all the same war.

The Civil War in the US must not have ended so quickly either because the KKK "insurgency" that rose up during Reconstruction continued to be a terrorist threat in the US for over 100 years.

[sono]

“War is cruelty. There’s no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.”

William Tecumseh Sherman

[AU72]

My wife's grandfather was a Transport Commander in the Navy and his flagship was the first American warship into Nagasaki after the bomb.

He received the surrender of what was left of the city in his wardroom. I only found out about when I ran across some pictures in his house showing some really haggard Japanese sitting at a table.

They presented him with a tea set which is now in a marine museum in Maine.

He never talked about but after 4 years in the Pacific he turned down a chance at advancement in DC and retired.

[weegee]

And wasn't there another atomic bomb that accidently dropped off a plane during transport that didn't explode (maybe Tennessee?). Wasn't that during WWII or am I mistaken?

Point being that the first and possibly second nukes were dropped stateside.

I read another article that made the claim that the bombs used in Japan were the last nukes ever dropped. Except there were decades of nuclear tests that followed around the world. They were the first, last, and only nukes used in combat. And perhaps it was their use in Japan that prevented their use in Korea.

If the nuke had been developed and not used in WWII, we likely would've seen it used by some nation at some point.

And just for history's sake, I'll remind readers that the Soviets almost launched a Mutually Assured Destruction attack against the US in the early 1980s because of some faulty equipment readings that indicated the US had "launched". The operator denied the readings he say and refused to launch. He was reprimanded but later his action was celebrated. It wasn't acknowledged until after the fall of the USSR.

[abb]

http://www.cdi.org/Issues/NukeAccidents/accidents.htm

[magslinger]

What a maroon. IIRC from "Hiroshima" and other books the children of Hiroshima and Nagasaki weren't on their way to school but to build firebreaks and defensive military structures.

You neglected to mention training to repel invaders with bamboo pikes and satchel charges. When I was in Japan I had some very sobering discussions with a guy who was 12 when the war ended. He credited Harry S with saving his life.

[magslinger]

and ALL of their AMERICAN offspring that were born because their fathers did not die invading the Japanese homeland!

Thank you. I sometimes feel forgotten in these discussions.

[OESY]

Looks like Nagasaki proves this grandmother's statement wrong,
but imagine the condemnation if Truman had been a Republican.
Media elites would not be so eager to resuscitate his reputation.

.

[TonyInOhio]

My wife’s aunt was General Groves’ secretary. She took her oath to secrecy so seriously that we only discovered her Manhattan Project job after her death, some 40 years later.

[indcons]

Thanks, abb, for this ping.

To all: please ping me to threads that are relevant to the MilHist list (and/or) please add the keyword "MilHist" to the appropriate thread. Thanks in advance.

Please FREEPMAIL indcons if you want on or off the "Military History (MilHist)" ping list.

[Pistolshot]

Actually, there was just enough materials left for another smaller bomb. The Oak Ridge processing had not caught up with requested materials, and some of the explosives had not been finished. It would have been smaller than 'Fat Man'.

The third bomb would have possibly 'fizzled'.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks indcons. If we’d have had 50 more, and Japan had continued to refuse surrender, and we’d used the bombs to wipe Japan off the face of the Earth, the rest of the world, particularly the victims of Japan in the Far East, would have cheered so loud we’d have heard them over here.

BTW, I just mentioned your list on my profile page. :’)

[Badeye]

Time to sit back and reflect on a very good bombing day long long ago.....

[AnAmericanMother]

My husband and I too!

My dad was in the European Theater, but they had already told him his unit was going to the Far East when Truman dropped the bomb.

On the other hand, my father in law was on Iwo and his orders had been cut for the invasion of the mainland. He was Signal Corps, and he'd already had his jeep blown up on Iwo (wasn't even scratched though).

So neither of us or our siblings would be here at all, but for Truman!

[TRY ONE]

Remember, Klintoon apologized to Japan for the US’s dropping the BIG-ONE on them. If we had dropped more NUK’s he would have been so busy apologizing that he would have had no time for Monica!

[Thermalseeker]

I just visited the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson last weekend. Bock's Car, along with demilitarized versions of "Fat Man" and "Little Boy" are all on display, along with more modern nukes.

It's an amazing museum. I highly recommend it if you are ever in the area, but plan to spend at least a whole day, maybe two.