What kind of bomb was dropped on Japan? Life after a nuclear explosion. Stories of people who survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Atomic bombing of Nagasaki

The only military use of nuclear weapons in the world was the bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It should be noted that the unfortunate cities found themselves in the role of victims largely due to the tragic circumstances.

Who are we going to bomb?

In May 1945, US President Harry Truman was given a list of several Japanese cities that were supposed to be attacked with nuclear weapons. Four cities were chosen as the main targets. Kyoto like main center Japanese industry. Hiroshima, as the largest military port with ammunition depots. Yokahama was chosen due to the defense factories located outside of its territory. Niigata was targeted because of its military port, and Kokura was on the hit list as the country's largest military arsenal. Note that Nagasaki was not originally on this list. According to the American military, the nuclear bombing should have had not so much a military as a psychological effect. After it, the Japanese government had to abandon further military struggle.

Kyoto was saved by a miracle

From the very beginning, it was assumed that main goal will become Kyoto. The choice fell on this city not only because of its enormous industrial potential. It was here that the flower of the Japanese scientific, technical and cultural intelligentsia was concentrated. If a nuclear strike on this city had actually taken place, Japan would have been thrown far back in terms of civilization. However, this is exactly what the Americans needed. The unfortunate Hiroshima was chosen as the second city. The Americans cynically believed that the hills surrounding the city would increase the force of the explosion, significantly increasing the number of victims. The most amazing thing is that Kyoto avoided a terrible fate thanks to the sentimentality of US Secretary of War Henry Stimson. In his youth, a high-ranking military man spent his honeymoon in the city. Not only did he know and appreciate the beauty and culture of Kyoto, but he also did not want to spoil the fond memories of his youth. Stimson did not hesitate to remove Kyoto from the list of cities proposed for nuclear bombing. Subsequently, General Leslie Groves, who led the US nuclear weapons program, recalled in his book “Now It Can Be Told” that he insisted on bombing Kyoto, but was persuaded by emphasizing the historical and cultural significance of the city. Groves was very unhappy, but nevertheless agreed to replace Kyoto with Nagasaki.

What have Christians done wrong?

At the same time, if we analyze the choice of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as targets for nuclear bombing, many uncomfortable questions arise. The Americans knew very well that the main religion of Japan is Shinto. The number of Christians in this country is extremely small. At the same time, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were considered Christian cities. It turns out that the American military deliberately chose cities populated by Christians for bombing? The first B-29 Great Artist had two targets: the city of Kokura as the main one, and Nagasaki as a backup. However, when the plane, with great difficulty, reached Japanese territory, Kukura found himself hidden by thick clouds of smoke from the burning Yawata Iron and Steel Works. They decided to bomb Nagasaki. The bomb fell on the city on August 9, 1945 at 11:02 am. In the blink of an eye, a 21-kiloton explosion destroyed tens of thousands of people. He was not saved even by the fact that in the vicinity of Nagasaki there was a camp for prisoners of war of the allied armies of the anti-Hitler coalition. Moreover, in the USA they knew very well about its location. During the bombing of Hiroshima, a nuclear bomb was dropped over the Urakamitenshudo Church, the largest Christian temple in the country. The explosion killed 160,000 people.

IN next year humanity will mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, which showed many examples of unprecedented cruelty, when entire cities disappeared from the face of the earth within a few days or even hours and hundreds of thousands of people, including civilians, died. The most striking example of this is the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the ethical justification of which is questioned by any sane person.

Japan during the final stages of World War II

As is known, fascist Germany capitulated on the night of May 9, 1945. This meant the end of the war in Europe. And also the fact that the only enemy of the countries of the anti-fascist coalition remained Imperial Japan, which at that time was officially declared war by about 6 dozen countries. Already in June 1945, as a result of bloody battles, its troops were forced to leave Indonesia and Indochina. But when on July 26 the United States, together with Great Britain and China, presented an ultimatum to the Japanese command, it was rejected. At the same time, even during the time of the USSR, it took upon itself the obligation to launch a large-scale offensive against Japan in August, for which, after the end of the war, South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands were to be transferred to it.

Prerequisites for the use of atomic weapons

Long before these events, in the fall of 1944, at a meeting of the leaders of the United States and Great Britain, the issue of the possibility of using new super-destructive bombs against Japan was considered. After which the famous Manhattan Project, launched a year earlier and aimed at creating nuclear weapons, began to function with renewed vigor, and work on the creation of its first samples was completed by the end of hostilities in Europe.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki: reasons for the bombing

Thus, by the summer of 1945, the United States became the only owner of atomic weapons in the world and decided to use this advantage to put pressure on its longtime enemy and at the same time ally in the anti-Hitler coalition - the USSR.

At the same time, despite all the defeats, the morale of Japan was not broken. This was evidenced by the fact that every day hundreds of members of her imperial army became kamikazes and kaiten, directing their planes and torpedoes at ships and other military targets of the American army. This meant that when carrying out a ground operation on the territory of Japan itself, the Allied troops would expect huge losses. It is the latter reason that is most often cited today by US officials as an argument justifying the need for such a measure as the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At the same time, it is forgotten that, according to Churchill, three weeks before I. Stalin informed him about the Japanese attempts to establish a peaceful dialogue. It is obvious that representatives of this country were going to make similar proposals to both the Americans and the British, since the massive bombing of large cities brought their military industry to the brink of collapse and made capitulation inevitable.

Selecting targets

After receiving agreement in principle to use atomic weapons against Japan, a special committee was formed. Its second meeting took place on May 10-11 and was devoted to the selection of cities that were to be bombed. The main criteria that guided the commission were:

• mandatory presence of civilian objects around a military target;
• its importance for the Japanese not only from an economic and strategic point of view, but also from a psychological one;
• a high degree of significance of the object, the destruction of which would cause resonance throughout the world;
• the target had to be undamaged by bombing for the military to appreciate the true power of the new weapon.

Which cities were considered as targets?

The “contenders” included:

• Kyoto, which is the largest industrial and cultural center and the ancient capital of Japan;
• Hiroshima as an important military port and city where army depots were concentrated;
• Yokahama, which is the center of the military industry;
• Kokura is home to the largest military arsenal.

According to the surviving memories of participants in those events, although the most convenient target was Kyoto, the United States Secretary of War G. Stimson insisted on excluding this city from the list, since he was personally familiar with its sights and was aware of their value for world culture.

Interestingly, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was not initially covered. More precisely, the city of Kokura was considered as the second target. This is evidenced by the fact that before August 9, an air raid was carried out on Nagasaki, which caused concern among residents and forced the evacuation of most schoolchildren to the surrounding villages. A little later, as a result of long discussions, backup targets were selected in case of unforeseen situations. They became:

• for the first bombing, if Hiroshima fails to hit, Niigata;
• for the second (instead of Kokura) - Nagasaki.

Preparation

The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki required careful preparation. During the second half of May and June, the 509th Combined Aviation Group was redeployed to a base on Tinian Island and exceptional security measures were taken. A month later, on July 26, the atomic bomb “Baby” was delivered to the island, and on the 28th, some of the components for assembling “Fat Man” were delivered to the island. On the same day, who at that time served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, signed an order ordering nuclear bombing to be carried out at any time after August 3, when weather conditions were suitable.

First atomic strike on Japan

The date of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki cannot be stated unambiguously, since nuclear strikes on these cities were carried out within 3 days of each other.

The first blow was struck in Hiroshima. And this happened on June 6, 1945. The “honor” of dropping the “Baby” bomb went to the crew of a B-29 aircraft, nicknamed “Enola Gay,” commanded by Colonel Tibbetts. Moreover, before the flight, the pilots, confident that they were doing a good deed and their “feat” would be followed by a speedy end to the war, visited the church and received an ampoule of s in case they were captured.

Together with Enola Gay, three reconnaissance aircraft took off, designed to determine weather conditions, and 2 boards with photographic equipment and devices for studying the parameters of the explosion.

The bombing itself went completely without problems, since the Japanese military did not notice the objects rushing towards Hiroshima, and the weather was more than favorable. What happened next can be seen by watching the film “The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki” - documentary, assembled from newsreel footage taken in the Pacific region at the end of World War II.

In particular, it shows which, according to Captain Robert Lewis, who was a member of the Enola Gay crew, was visible even after their plane flew 400 miles from the bomb drop site.

Bombing of Nagasaki

The operation to drop the “Fat Man” bomb, carried out on August 9, proceeded completely differently. In general, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the photo of which evokes associations with known descriptions The Apocalypse was prepared extremely carefully, and the only thing that could make adjustments to its implementation was the weather. This is what happened when early morning On August 9, a plane under the command of Major Charles Sweeney and with the atomic bomb “Fat Man” on board took off from the island of Tinian. At 8:10 a.m. the plane arrived at the place where it was supposed to meet the second, the B-29, but did not find it. After 40 minutes of waiting, the decision was made to carry out the bombing without a partner aircraft, but it turned out that there was already 70% cloud cover over the city of Kokura. Moreover, even before departure it was known that the fuel pump was faulty, and at the moment when the board was over Kokura, it became obvious that the only way to drop the Fat Man was to do it while flying over Nagasaki. Then the B-29 headed towards this city and made a drop, focusing on the local stadium. Thus, by chance, Kokura was saved, and the whole world learned that the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had occurred. Fortunately, if such words are at all appropriate in this case, the bomb fell far from the original target, quite far from residential areas, which somewhat reduced the number of victims.

Consequences of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

According to eyewitness accounts, within a few minutes everyone who was within a radius of 800 m from the epicenters of the explosions died. Then fires started, and in Hiroshima they soon turned into a tornado due to the wind, whose speed was about 50-60 km/h.

The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki introduced humanity to the phenomenon of radiation sickness. The doctors noticed her first. They were surprised that the condition of the survivors first improved, and then they died from the disease, the symptoms of which resembled diarrhea. In the first days and months after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, few could have imagined that those who survived it would suffer for the rest of their lives various diseases and even produce unhealthy children.

Subsequent events

On August 9, immediately after the news of the bombing of Nagasaki and the declaration of war by the USSR, Emperor Hirohito advocated immediate surrender, subject to the preservation of his power in the country. And 5 days later, the Japanese media spread his statement about the cessation of hostilities to English language. Moreover, in the text, His Majesty mentioned that one of the reasons for his decision was the presence of “terrible weapons” in the enemy’s possession, the use of which could lead to the destruction of the nation.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki are some of the most famous Japanese cities in the world. Of course, the reason for their fame is very sad - these are the only two cities on Earth where atomic bombs were detonated to deliberately destroy the enemy. Two cities were completely destroyed, thousands of people died, and the world was completely changed. Here are 25 little-known facts about Hiroshima and Nagasaki that are worth knowing so that the tragedy never happens again anywhere.

1. Survive at the epicenter

The person who survived the closest to the epicenter of the Hiroshima explosion was less than 200 meters from the epicenter of the explosion in the basement.

2. An explosion is not a hindrance to the tournament

Less than 5 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion, a Go tournament was taking place. Although the building was destroyed and many people were injured, the tournament was completed later that day.

3. Made to last

A safe in a bank in Hiroshima survived an explosion. After the war, a bank manager wrote to Ohio-based Mosler Safe, expressing "his admiration for a product that survived the atomic bomb."

4. Dubious luck

Tsutomu Yamaguchi is one of the luckiest people on Earth. He survived the Hiroshima bombing in a bomb shelter and took the first train to Nagasaki for work the next morning. During the bombing of Nagasaki three days later, Yamaguchi again managed to survive.

5. 50 Pumpkin Bombs

Before “Fat Man” and “Little Boy,” the United States dropped about 50 Pumpkin bombs (they were named so for their resemblance to a pumpkin) on Japan. The "pumpkins" were not nuclear.

6. Attempted coup

The Japanese army was mobilized for "total war." This meant that every man, woman and child must resist the invasion to the point of death. When the emperor ordered surrender after the atomic bombing, the army attempted a coup.

7. Six Survivors

Gingko biloba trees are known for their amazing resilience. After the bombing of Hiroshima, 6 such trees survived and are still growing today.

8. Out of the frying pan and into the fire

After the bombing of Hiroshima, hundreds of survivors fled to Nagasaki, which was also hit by an atomic bomb. In addition to Tsutomu Yamaguchi, 164 other people survived both bombings.

9. Not a single police officer died in Nagasaki

After the bombing of Hiroshima, surviving police officers were sent to Nagasaki to teach local police how to behave after an atomic explosion. As a result, not a single policeman was killed in Nagasaki.

10. A quarter of the dead were Koreans

Nearly a quarter of all those killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were actually Koreans who had been conscripted to fight in the war.

11. Radioactive contamination is canceled. USA.

Initially, the United States denied that nuclear explosions would leave behind radioactive contamination.

12. Operation Meetinghouse

During World War II, it was not Hiroshima and Nagasaki that suffered the most from bombing. During Operation Meetinghouse, Allied forces nearly destroyed Tokyo.

13. Only three out of twelve

Only three of the twelve men on the Enola Gay bomber knew the real purpose of their mission.

14. "Fire of the World"

In 1964, the “Fire of Peace” was lit in Hiroshima, which will burn until nuclear weapons are destroyed throughout the world.

15. Kyoto narrowly escaped bombing

Kyoto miraculously escaped the bombing. It was removed from the list because former US Secretary of War Henry Stimson admired the city during his honeymoon in 1929. Nagasaki was chosen instead of Kyoto.

16. Only after 3 hours

In Tokyo, only 3 hours later they learned that Hiroshima had been destroyed. They learned exactly how this happened only 16 hours later, when Washington announced the bombing.

17. Carelessness of air defense

Before the bombing, Japanese radar operators detected three American bombers flying at high altitude. They decided not to intercept them because they believed that such a small number of aircraft did not pose a threat.

18. Enola Gay

The Enola Gay bomber crew had 12 potassium cyanide tablets that the pilots were required to take if the mission failed.

19. Peaceful Memorial City

After World War II, Hiroshima changed its status to a "peaceful memorial city" to remind the world of the destructive power of nuclear weapons. When Japan conducted nuclear tests, the mayor of Hiroshima bombarded the government with letters of protest.

20. Mutant monster

Godzilla was invented in Japan as a reaction to the atomic bombing. It was implied that the monster had mutated due to radioactive contamination.

21. Apology to Japan

Although Dr. Seuss advocated the occupation of Japan during the war, his post-war book Horton is an allegory about the events of Hiroshima and an apology to Japan for what happened. He dedicated the book to his Japanese friend.

22. Shadows on the remains of the walls

The explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were so strong that they literally evaporated people, forever leaving their shadows on the remains of the walls on the ground.

23. Official symbol of Hiroshima

Because the oleander was the first plant to bloom in Hiroshima after the nuclear explosion, it is the official flower of the city.

24. Warning of an upcoming bombing

Before launching nuclear strikes, the US Air Force dropped millions of leaflets over Hiroshima, Nagasaki and 33 other potential targets warning of impending bombing.

25. Radio announcement

The American radio station in Saipan also broadcast messages about the impending bombing throughout Japan every 15 minutes until the bombs were dropped.

To modern man worth knowing and . This knowledge will allow you to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Contentarticles:

• The leadership of the commission put forward the main criterion for attack targets

The United States, with the consent of the United Kingdom, as provided for in the Quebec Treaty, dropped nuclear weapons on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. This happened during the final stage of World War II. The two bombings, which killed at least 129,000 people, remain the deadliest use of nuclear weapons in warfare in human history.

The war in Europe came to an end when Nazi Germany signed act of surrender May 8, 1945 of the year. The Japanese, faced with the same fate, refused to surrender unconditionally. And the war continued. Along with the United Kingdom and China, the United States called for the unconditional surrender of the Japanese military in the Potsdam Declaration of July 26, 1945. The Japanese Empire ignored this ultimatum.

How it all began: the background to the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Back in the fall of 1944, a meeting between the leadership of the United States and the United Kingdom took place. At this meeting, the leaders discussed the possibility of using atomic weapons in the fight against Japan. A year before, the Manhattan Project was launched, which involved the development of nuclear (atomic) weapons. The project was now in full swing. The first samples of nuclear weapons were presented during the end of hostilities on European territory.

Reasons for the nuclear bombing of Japanese cities

In the summer of 1954, the United States became the sole possessor of nuclear weapons throughout the world, causing catastrophic damage to the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This weapon became a kind of regulator of relations between the long-time rival of the United States of America - the Soviet Union. This was despite the fact that in the current situation in the world, both powers were allies against Nazi Germany.

Japan suffered defeats, but this did not stop the people from being morally strong. The Japanese resistance was considered by many to be fanatical. This was confirmed by frequent cases when Japanese pilots went to ram other aircraft, ships or other military targets. Everything led to the fact that any enemy ground troops could be attacked by kamikaze pilots. Losses from such raids were expected to be large.
To a greater extent, it was precisely this fact that was cited as an argument for the use of nuclear weapons by the United States against the Japanese Empire. However, there was no mention of the Potsdam Conference. At it, as Churchill said, Stalin negotiated with the Japanese leadership about establishing a peaceful dialogue. For the most part, such proposals would go to both the United States and the United Kingdom. Japan was in a situation where the industry was in a deplorable state, corruption was becoming something inevitable.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki as targets for attack

After the decision was made to attack Japan with nuclear weapons, the question arose about choosing a target. For this purpose, a specialized committee was organized. Immediately after the signing of Germany's surrender, at the second meeting of the committee, the agenda of the meeting was the choice of cities for atomic bombing.

The leadership of the commission put forward the main criterion for attack targets:
. Civilian objects also had to be located near military targets (which were supposed to be the immediate target).
. Cities should be important objects from the point of view of the country's economy, strategic side and psychological importance.
. The hit target should cause a great resonance in the world.
. Cities damaged during the war were not suitable. As a result of the atomic bombing, it is necessary to assess the degree of destructive power of the weapon.

The city of Kyoto was considered as a contender for the purpose of testing nuclear weapons. It was a major industrial center and ancient capital, had historical value. The next contender was the city of Hiroshima. Its value lay in the fact that it had military warehouses and a military port. The military industry was concentrated in the city of Yokahama. A large military arsenal was based in the city of Kokura. The city of Kyoto was excluded from the list of potential targets; despite meeting the requirements, Stimson was unable to destroy the city with its historical heritage. Hiroshima and Kokura were chosen. An air raid was carried out on the city of Nagasaki, which provoked the evacuation of children from the entire area. Now the facility did not quite meet the requirements of the American leadership.

Later, there were long discussions about backup targets. If for some reason the selected cities cannot be attacked. The city of Niigata was chosen as insurance for Hiroshima. Nagasaki was chosen as the city of Kokura.
Before the actual bombing, careful preparations were made.

The beginning of the nuclear bombing of Japan
It is impossible to identify a specific single date for the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both cities were attacked three days apart. The city of Hiroshima came under the first attack. The military was distinguished by its unique sense of humor. The bomb dropped was called "Baby" and destroyed the city on June 6. The operation was commanded by Colonel Tibbetts.

The pilots believed that they were doing it all for the good. It was assumed that the result of the bombing would be the end of the war. Before departure, the pilots visited the church. They also received ampoules of potassium cyanide. This was done to avoid the pilots being captured.
Before the bombing, reconnaissance operations were carried out to determine weather conditions. The area was photographed to assess the scale of the explosion.
The bombing process was not influenced by any extraneous factors. Everything went according to plan. The Japanese military did not see objects approaching the target cities, despite the fact that the weather was favorable.

After the explosion occurred, the “mushroom” was visible from a great distance. At the end of the war, newsreel footage of that region was edited to create a documentary about this terrible bombing.

The city that was supposed to be attacked is the city of Kokura. On August 9, when a plane with a nuclear bomb (“Fat Man”) on board was circling over the target city, the weather made its own adjustments. High clouds became a hindrance. At the beginning of nine in the morning, the two partner aircraft were supposed to meet at their destination. The second aircraft did not appear even after more than half an hour.

It was decided to bomb the city from one plane. Since time was lost, the above-mentioned weather conditions prevented the city of Kokura from suffering. Early in the day, it was discovered that the aircraft's fuel pump was faulty. Together with all the events (natural and technical), the plane with nuclear weapons had no choice but to attack the backup city - Nagasaki. The landmark for dropping an atomic bomb in the city was the stadium. This is how the city of Kokura was saved and the city of Nagasaki was destroyed. The only “luck” of the city of Nagasaki was that the atomic bomb did not fall in the place where it was originally planned. Its landing site was further away from residential buildings, which led to less severe destruction and fewer casualties than in Hiroshima. People located within a radius of just under a kilometer from the center of the explosion did not survive. After the explosion in the city of Hiroshima, a deadly tornado formed. Its speed reached 60 km/h. This tornado was formed from numerous fires after the explosion. In the city of Nagasaki, the fires did not lead to a tornado.

The results of a terrible tragedy and human experiment
After such a monstrous experiment, humanity learned of terrible radiation sickness. Initially, doctors were concerned that the survivors were symptomatic with diarrhea and then died after severely deteriorating health. In general, nuclear weapons are widespread due to their destructive properties. If conventional weapons had one or two destructive properties, then nuclear weapons had an extended range of action. It contains damage from light rays that lead to skin burns, depending on the distance, until complete charring. The shock wave can destroy concrete floors in houses, leading to their collapse. And a terrible force, like radiation, haunts people to this day.

Even then, after the nuclear experiment in the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, people could not even imagine the scale of the consequences. Those who survived directly after the atomic explosions began to die. And no one could cope with this. Everyone who was injured but survived had serious health problems. Even years later, the echo of the American nuclear experiment resonated with the descendants of the victims. In addition to people, animals were also affected, and subsequently gave birth to offspring with physical defects (such as two heads).

After the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Soviet Union comes into conflict. The Americans achieved their goal. Japan announced its surrender, but subject to the preservation of the current government. Information appeared in the Japanese media about the end of hostilities. All of them were in English. The gist of the messages was that Japan's enemy possesses terrible weapons. If military operations continue, such weapons can lead to the complete extermination of the nation. And they were right, it is pointless to fight weapons of this scale if one bombing can destroy all living things within a kilometer radius and cause huge losses at a greater distance from the center of the explosion.
General results

After the horrific consequences of a nuclear explosion in Japan, the United States continued to develop atomic weapons and its longtime enemy, the Soviet Union, became involved in this process. This was the beginning of an era Cold War. The worst thing is that the actions of the American government were carefully thought out and planned. When developing nuclear weapons, it was clear that they would cause enormous destruction and death.

The cold-bloodedness with which the American army prepared to assess the consequences of the destructive power of weapons is appalling. The obligatory presence of residential areas in the affected area suggests that people in power begin to flirt with other people's lives, without any twinge of conscience.
In the city of Volgograd, there is Hiroshima Street. Despite participating in different sides military conflict, the Soviet Union helped destroyed cities, and the name of the street testifies to humanity and mutual assistance in conditions of inhuman cruelty.
Today, young people, under the influence of propaganda and unreliable facts, have the opinion that atomic bombs were dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the Soviet army.

“The city of Nagasaki is divided into two parts by a large mountain: the old city and the new city. The bomb was dropped over the new city, so the old city was destroyed much less, especially since the mountain prevented the spread of the rays of the atomic bomb” - this is how the part of the report of the USSR Ambassador to Japan after the atomic bombings dedicated to Nagasaki begins. The Ambassador of the Soviet Union to Japan, Yakov Malik, was able to get to Nagasaki only on September 16, almost a month after the bombing itself.

A few days ago, the science department of Gazeta.Ru bombed the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the United States. Over the days that have passed since August 6, 1945, the authorities have not understood what kind of bomb the Americans dropped on them. At the same time, Truman’s statements that if Japan did not capitulate, then several more atomic bombs would be dropped on it were perceived in Japan as a bluff.

Initially, the Americans planned to deliver the second strike on August 12, but due to circumstances, the bomber flight was postponed to August 9. It was then, before dawn, that an American B-29 Bockscar bomber took off from the island of Tinian, carrying a five-ton bomb. It turned out to be “Fat Man” - a plutonium implosion bomb created as part of the Manhattan Project.

Just before departure, Vice Admiral William Purnell addressed the commander of Bockscar:

- Young man, do you know how much this bomb costs?

— I know, about $25 million.

- So, try not to let this money go to waste.

A scientific observer was taken aboard one of the B-29s that accompanied Bockscar on the flight. The New York Times William L. Lawrence.

The main target of the bombers was the city of Kokura, Japan's largest center of military production and supply of a wide variety of military equipment. As an alternative, the city of Nagasaki was proposed, which was mistakenly forgotten to be included in the original list of potential targets for atomic bombing. This was due to the fact that it was in this city that the largest shipbuilding and repair factories in Japan were located. By the way, from 1639 to 1859, Nagasaki was the only Japanese port open to foreigners.

During the flight, an inquisitive journalist saw luminous beams appearing in the area of ​​the aircraft's propellers. When asked what it was, William L. Lawrence received the answer that this is how a phenomenon called “St. Elmo’s Fire” manifests itself. Such discharges are formed when the electric field strength in the atmosphere at the tip reaches a value of about 500 volts per meter or higher, which most often happens during a thunderstorm.

The pilots told the journalist that St. Elmo's Fire was a good sign and that the bombing mission would be successful.

However, at first everything did not go quite as planned: when the American planes flew to Kokura, they saw that the smoke from the steel plant that had been bombed the day before made the task impossible: the Americans were obliged to bomb visually, which in this case was not possible. The only option left was to fly to Nagasaki. At the same time, there was little fuel in the plane, and the fuel pump was malfunctioning.

Despite average visibility, at 11.02 local time “Fat Man” took off.

The bomb exploded at an altitude of 500 meters above the city.

“We all took off our sunglasses after the first of the flashes, but the glow did not stop, and soon a bluish-green lightened up the sky around us. A huge blast wave hit our plane, and it began to shake from the cockpit to the tail. Then four explosions occurred in quick succession, each sounding like a cannon shot. It was as if they were hitting our plane from all sides. The crew members sitting at the rear of the plane saw a giant fireball begin to rise from the bowels of the Earth, belching huge white rings of smoke. Then they saw a giant column of violet fire, which at once rose to a height of three kilometers,” recalled William L. Lawrence.

By the time Great Artiste, the plane in which the journalist was, turned again in the direction of the explosion, the column of purple fire had reached the level of the aircraft. According to the memoirs of William L. Lawrence, “the pillar flew like a meteor, only into space, and not vice versa.”

“It was no longer smoke, or dust, or even a cloud of fire. It was something alive, born right before our incredulous eyes. It was an evolution that took a few seconds instead of millions of years. It took the form of a giant square totem pole with a base about 5 kilometers long, which tapered two kilometers above. Its bottom was brown, its center was amber, and its top was white. It was a real living totem, illuminating the Earth with a million grotesque grimaces of death,” the journalist recalled.

Then the pillar finally took the shape of a giant mushroom 14 kilometers high.

According to William L. Lawrence, the mushroom was much more alive at the top than at the bottom, “boiling in a white fury of creamy foam” like a thousand geysers.

“The pillar was in a state of primal rage, as if a creature had broken free of the chains that held it. And then it abruptly burst into the stratosphere and ascended to a height exceeding 18 kilometers. But even before this happened, a second mushroom, smaller in size, emerged from the column. It was as if the pillar had been decapitated and had a new leader. And the bluer the first mushroom became, the more it began to resemble a flower - creamy white on the outside, pink on the inside,” the journalist recalled.

In Nagasaki, more than 70 thousand people died, about 40% of houses were completely destroyed. The Fat Man bomb exploded over the industrial valley of Nagasaki between the Mitsubishi steel and weapons factories to the south and the Mitsubishi-Urakami torpedo factory to the north, completely destroying Christian Church, built by the first Europeans to visit Japan. Thus, about 4 km 2 of the city were completely destroyed.

In total, the explosion affected 110 km 2 of the city. In the area of ​​a kilometer from the hypocenter of the explosion, all living things died - the temperature was so high that most of living creatures were instantly turned into steam, and only shadows remained of people.

“That day I sat at home and played. Our house was located 2.5 km from the epicenter of the explosion. When the explosion occurred, my sister was seriously cut by flying glass shards. At first we only saw a flash, which was like a thousand flashes. Then there was an explosion, my mother jumped and covered me with her body. Then there was silence. One of my friends was playing on the hills, the blast wave threw him several tens of meters - he was badly burned and subsequently died,” recalled Yasuaki Yamashita, who was then six years old.

The Japanese authorities described what happened as follows: “The city resembles a cemetery in which not a single tombstone has survived.”

“Many came to Nagasaki to find out about the fate of their relatives. They all died,” recalled the Soviet Ambassador to Japan Yakov Malik.

According to him, on the first day after the explosion there was no rescue work - fire was raging everywhere. At the same time, everyone in the area closest to the bomb explosion died, including prisoners of war - mostly Filipinos. In addition, everyone who was in the Urokami University Hospital also died. Finally, the smell of corpses was felt in the city - there was no time to get corpses out from under the ruins.

In the USA, revanchist sentiments prevailed - Pearl Harbor was avenged. But the scientists who created the bombs watched in horror what happened and slowly but inevitably realized what a deadly weapon they had created.

In addition, after the bombing of Nagasaki, President Truman again addressed the nation:

“We thank God that the bomb came to us and not to our adversaries, and we pray that he will show us how to use it according to his will and to achieve his purpose...”

The Bockscar crew successfully flew to Okinawa - there would not have been enough fuel to reach Tinian. But the pilots and crew, only some of whom took part in the bombing of Hiroshima, were very burdened by the fact that they were second. The military decided to attract attention in a different way - after leaving Nagasaki, they sent out a lot of alarm signals, so when they arrived, they were met at the airfield by about 200 people who really believed that some emergency situation had occurred.

William L. Lawrence continued to write his exclusives and even visited Hiroshima, where, as he described, there was no radiation. Naturally, this was a lie - people in both cities continued to die from radiation sickness, and in some places high levels of radiation continue to persist today.

Japanese Emperor Hirohito made a statement - in addition to the fact that his country was bombed by the Americans, on August 8 the Soviet Union declared war on Japan. The monarch said the following: “I do not want further destruction of cultures, I do not want more misfortunes for other peoples of the world. That is why we must accept intolerable conditions.”

So the Japanese began negotiations on surrender, and on August 15, Emperor Hirohito decided to surrender.