The atomic bomb of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the explosion. Bomb Kid for Hiroshima, how it was

Nuclear weapons have been used for combat purposes only twice in the entire history of mankind. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 showed how dangerous it can be. It was the real experience of using nuclear weapons that was able to keep the two powerful powers (the USA and the USSR) from unleashing a third world war.

Dropping bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

During World War II, millions of innocent people suffered. The leaders of the world powers, without looking, put the lives of soldiers and civilians on the cards, in the hope of achieving superiority in the struggle for world domination. One of the worst disasters in the whole world history was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as a result of which about 200 thousand people were destroyed, and total number persons who died during and after the explosion (from radiation) reached 500 thousand.

Until now, there are only assumptions that made the President of the United States of America give the order to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Did he give himself an account, did he know what destruction and consequences the nuclear bomb would leave after the explosion? Or was this action intended to demonstrate combat power in front of the USSR, in order to completely kill any thoughts about attacks on the United States?

History has not retained the motives that drove 33rd US President Harry Truman when he gave the order for a nuclear attack on Japan, but one thing is certain: it was the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that forced the Japanese emperor to sign the surrender.

In order to try to understand the motives of the United States, it is necessary to carefully consider the situation that arose in the political arena in those years.

Emperor of Japan Hirohito

The Japanese emperor Hirohito was distinguished by good inclinations as a leader. In order to expand his lands, in 1935 he decides to seize all of China, which at that time was a backward agrarian country. Following the example of Hitler (with whom Japan forges a military alliance in 1941), Hirohito begins to invade China, using the methods loved by the Nazis.

In order to cleanse China of indigenous people, Japanese troops used chemical weapon which was banned. Inhuman experiments were carried out on the Chinese, aimed at finding out the limits of vitality human body in different situations. In total, about 25 million Chinese died during the Japanese expansion, most of of which were children and women.

It is possible that the nuclear bombing of Japanese cities could not have taken place if, after the conclusion of a military pact with Nazi Germany, the Emperor of Japan would not have given the order to launch an attack on Pearl Harbor, thereby provoking the United States to enter World War II. After this event, the date of the nuclear attack begins to approach with relentless speed.

When it became clear that Germany's defeat was inevitable, the question of Japan's surrender seemed a matter of time. However, the Japanese emperor, the embodiment of samurai arrogance and a real God for his subjects, ordered all the inhabitants of the country to fight to the last drop of blood. Everyone, without exception, had to resist the invader, from soldiers to women and children. Knowing the mentality of the Japanese, there was no doubt that the inhabitants would fulfill the will of their emperor.

In order to force Japan to surrender, it was necessary to take drastic measures. The atomic explosion, which thundered first in Hiroshima, and then in Nagasaki, was precisely the impetus that convinced the emperor of the futility of resistance.

Why was the nuclear attack chosen?

Although the number of versions why a nuclear attack was chosen to intimidate Japan is quite large, the following versions should be considered the main ones:

1. Most historians (especially American) insist that the damage caused by the dropped bombs is several times less than the bloody invasion of American troops could bring. According to this version, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not sacrificed in vain, as it saved the lives of the remaining millions of Japanese;
2. According to the second version, the purpose of the nuclear attack was to show the USSR how perfect the US military weapon is in order to intimidate a possible enemy. In 1945, the President of the United States was informed that activity was noticed. Soviet troops in the area of ​​the border with Turkey (which was an ally of England). Perhaps that is why Truman decided to intimidate the Soviet leader;
3. The third version says that the nuclear attack on Japan was American revenge for Pearl Harbor.

On Potsdam conference, which ran from July 17 to August 2, the fate of Japan was decided. Three states - the USA, England and the USSR, headed by their leaders, signed the declaration. It spoke of a post-war sphere of influence, although the Second World War was not finished yet. One of the points of this declaration spoke of the immediate surrender of Japan.

This document was sent to the Japanese government, which rejected this proposal. Following the example of their emperor, members of the government decided to continue the war to the end. After that, the fate of Japan was sealed. As the US military command was looking for where to use the latest atomic weapons, the president approved atomic bombing Japanese cities.

The coalition against Nazi Germany was on the verge of breaking (due to the fact that there was only one month left before victory), the Allied countries could not agree. The different policies of the USSR and the United States ultimately led these states to the Cold War.

The fact that US President Harry Truman was informed about the start of nuclear tests on the eve of the meeting in Potsdam played an important role in the decision of the head of state. Wanting to intimidate Stalin, Truman hinted to the Generalissimo that he had a new weapon ready that could leave huge casualties after the explosion.

Stalin ignored this statement, although he soon phoned Kurchatov and ordered the completion of work on the development of Soviet nuclear weapons.

Having received no answer from Stalin, american president decides to start an atomic bombing at his own peril and risk.

Why Hiroshima and Nagasaki were chosen for the nuclear attack

In the spring of 1945, the US military had to select suitable targets for a full-scale nuclear bomb test. Even then, it was possible to notice the prerequisites for the fact that the last test of the American nuclear bomb was planned to be carried out on civilian facility... The list of requirements for the last nuclear bomb test, created by scientists, looked like this:

1. The object had to be on a plain so that the explosive wave was not interfered with by the unevenness of the landscape;
2. Urban buildings should be wooden to the maximum, so that the destruction from fire is maximum;
3. The object must have the maximum building density;
4. The size of the object must exceed 3 kilometers in diameter;
5. The selected city should be located as far as possible from the enemy's military bases in order to exclude the intervention of the enemy's military forces;
6. For a strike to be of maximum benefit, it must target a major industrial center.

These requirements indicate that nuclear strike most likely, it was a long-planned business, and Germany could well be in the place of Japan.

The intended targets were 4 Japanese cities. These are Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kyoto and Kokura. Of these, it was only required to select two real targets, since there were only two bombs. The American connoisseur of Japan, Professor Rayshauer, begged to delete the city of Kyoto from the list, since it was of great historical value. It is unlikely that this request could affect the decision, but then the Minister of Defense intervened, who was spending his honeymoon in Kyoto with his wife. The minister went to a meeting and Kyoto was saved from a nuclear strike.

The place of Kyoto on the list was taken by the city of Kokura, which was chosen as a target together with Hiroshima (although later weather made their own adjustments, and instead of Kokura, Nagasaki had to be bombed). The cities had to be large and the destruction large-scale, for the Japanese people to be horrified and stop resisting. Of course, the main thing was to influence the position of the emperor.

Research conducted by historians different countries the world show that the American side was not at all worried about the moral side of the issue. Dozens and hundreds of potential civilian casualties were of no concern to either the government or the military.

By viewing entire volumes classified materials, historians concluded that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were doomed in advance. There were only two bombs, and these cities had a convenient geographic location... In addition, Hiroshima was a very densely built-up city, and an attack on it could reveal the full potential of a nuclear bomb. The city of Nagasaki was the largest industrial center working for the defense industry. It produced a large number of guns and military equipment.

Details of the bombing of Hiroshima

The combat strike on the Japanese city of Hiroshima was planned in advance and carried out in accordance with a clear plan. Each point of this plan was clearly implemented, which indicates a thorough preparation of this operation.

On July 26, 1945, a nuclear bomb bearing the name "Kid" was delivered to the island of Tinian. By the end of the month, all preparations were completed, and the bomb was ready for military operation. After checking the meteorological readings, the date of the bombing was set - August 6. On this day, the weather was excellent and the bomber, with a nuclear bomb on board, took to the air. Its name (Enola Gay) has long been remembered not only by the victims of a nuclear attack, but throughout Japan.

The plane is in flight deathly on board, accompanied by three aircraft, whose task was to determine the direction of the wind so that the atomic bomb would hit the target as accurately as possible. An airplane flew behind the bomber, which was supposed to record all the explosion data using sensitive equipment. A bomber with a photographer on board flew at a safe distance. Several planes flying towards the city did not cause any concern to either the Japanese air defense forces or the civilian population.

Although Japanese radars detected an approaching enemy, they did not raise the alarm because of a small group of military aircraft. Residents were warned of a possible bombing, but they continued to work quietly. Since the nuclear strike did not look like a conventional air raid, no Japanese fighter jet took off to intercept. Even the artillery ignored the approaching aircraft.

At 0815 hours, the Enola Gay bomber dropped a nuclear bomb. This drop was carried out using a parachute to enable the group of attacking aircraft to retire to a safe distance. After dropping a bomb at an altitude of 9,000 meters, the battle group turned around and withdrew.

After flying about 8,500 meters, the bomb exploded at an altitude of 576 meters from the ground. A deafening explosion covered the city with an avalanche of fire, which destroyed everything in its path. Directly in the epicenter, people simply disappeared, leaving behind only the so-called "shadows of Hiroshima." Only a dark silhouette remained of the person, imprinted on the floor or walls. At a distance from the epicenter, people burned alive, turning into black embers. Those who were on the outskirts of the city were a little more fortunate, many of them survived, having received only terrible burns.

This day has become a day of mourning not only in Japan, but throughout the world. On this day, about 100,000 people died, and the following years claimed the lives of several hundred thousand more. All of them died from radiation burns and radiation sickness. According to official statistics from the Japanese authorities in January 2017, the death toll and victims of the American uranium bomb is 308,724.

Hiroshima today is largest city Chugoku region. The city has a memorial dedicated to the victims of the American atomic bombing.

What happened in Hiroshima on the day of the tragedy

The first Japanese official sources said that the city of Hiroshima was attacked with new bombs dropped from several American planes. People did not yet know that new bombs destroyed tens of thousands of lives in an instant, and the consequences from nuclear explosion will last for decades.

It is possible that even the American scientists who created atomic weapons did not assume the consequences of radiation for people. For 16 hours after the explosion, no signals were received from Hiroshima. Noticing this, the operator of the Broadcasting Station began to make attempts to contact the city, but the city was silent.

After a short period of time, s railway station, which was located near the city, received incomprehensible and confusing information, of which the Japanese authorities understood only one thing, an enemy raid was carried out on the city. It was decided to send the plane for reconnaissance, since the authorities knew for sure that no serious enemy air combat groups had broken through the front line.

Approaching the city at a distance of about 160 kilometers, the pilot and the officer accompanying him saw a huge dusty cloud. As they flew closer, they saw scary picture destruction: the whole city was ablaze with fires, and smoke and dust made it difficult to see the details of the tragedy.

After landing in a safe place, the Japanese officer conveyed to the command that the city of Hiroshima was destroyed by US aircraft. After that, the military began selflessly to provide assistance to the wounded and shell-shocked compatriots from the explosion.

This disaster has rallied all the surviving people into one big family. The wounded, people who were barely standing on their feet were dismantling the rubble and extinguishing the fires, trying to save as many compatriots as possible.

Washington made an official statement about the successful operation only 16 hours after the bombing.

Dropping the atomic bomb on Nagasaki

The city of Nagasaki, which was an industrial center, has never been subjected to massive air strikes. They tried to save it to demonstrate the enormous power of the atomic bomb. Only a few high-explosive bombs damaged weapons factories, shipyards and medical hospitals a week before the terrible tragedy.

It seems incredible now, but Nagasaki is the second Japanese city to be bombed by chance. The original target was the city of Kokura.

The second bomb was delivered and loaded onto the plane, following the same plan as in the case of Hiroshima. The plane with a nuclear bomb took off and flew towards the city of Kokura. On approaching the island, three American planes were to meet to record the explosion of an atomic bomb.

Two planes met, but they did not wait for the third. Contrary to the forecast of meteorologists, the sky over Kokura was covered with clouds, and the visual release of the bomb became impossible. After circling for 45 minutes over the island and without waiting for the third plane, the commander of the plane, which was carrying a nuclear bomb on board, noticed a malfunction in the fuel supply system. Since the weather has finally deteriorated, it was decided to fly to the area of ​​the reserve target - the city of Nagasaki. A group of two aircraft flew to an alternate target.

On August 9, 1945, at 7 hours 50 minutes in the morning, the residents of Nagasaki woke up from the air raid signal and went down to the shelters and bomb shelters. After 40 minutes, considering the alarm not worthy of attention, and referring two planes to reconnaissance, the military canceled it. People went about their usual business, not suspecting that an atomic explosion would now thunder.

The Nagasaki attack proceeded in the same way as the Hiroshima attack, only high clouds almost ruined the bomb release for the Americans. Literally in the last minutes, when the fuel supply was at its limit, the pilot noticed a "window" in the clouds and dropped a nuclear bomb at an altitude of 8,800 meters.

Striking at the carelessness of the Japanese forces air defense, who, despite the news of a similar attack on Hiroshima, did not take any measures to neutralize American military aircraft.

The atomic bomb, which was called "Fat Man", exploded in 11 hours 2 minutes, within a few seconds turned the beautiful city into a kind of hell on earth. 40,000 people died in an instant, and another 70,000 were severely burned and injured.

Consequences of nuclear bombing of Japanese cities

The consequences of a nuclear attack on Japanese cities were unpredictable. In addition to those killed at the time of the explosion and during the first year after it, radiation continued to kill people for many years. As a result, the number of victims has doubled.

Thus, the nuclear attack brought the long-awaited victory to the United States, and Japan had to make concessions. Emperor Hirohito was so impressed by the consequences of the nuclear bombing that he unconditionally accepted the terms of the Potsdam conference. According to the official version, the nuclear attack carried out by the US military did exactly what the American government wanted.

In addition, the troops of the USSR, which had accumulated on the border with Turkey, were urgently transferred to Japan, which the USSR declared war on. According to members of the Soviet Politburo, having learned about the consequences caused by nuclear explosions, Stalin said that the Turks were lucky, since the Japanese sacrificed themselves for them.

After the introduction of Soviet troops into Japan, only two weeks have passed, and Emperor Hirohito has already signed an act of unconditional surrender. This day (September 2, 1945) went down in history as the day of the end of the Second World War.

Was there an urgent need to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Even in modern Japan, the debate continues over whether it was necessary to carry out a nuclear bombing or not. Scientists from all over the world painstakingly study secret documents and archives from the Second World War. Most researchers agree that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sacrificed to end the world war.

The famous Japanese historian Tsuyoshi Hasegawa believes that the atomic bombing was started in order to prevent expansion. Soviet Union to the countries of Asia. It also allowed the United States to assert itself as a leader militarily, which they did brilliantly. After the nuclear explosion, it was very dangerous to argue with the United States.

If we stick to this theory, then Hiroshima and Nagasaki were simply sacrificed to the political ambitions of the superpowers. Tens of thousands of victims were absolutely not taken into account.

One can guess what could have happened if the USSR had time to complete the development of its nuclear bomb before the United States. It is possible that the atomic bombing would not have happened then.

Modern nuclear weapon surpasses the power of the bombs dropped on Japanese cities by a factor of thousands. It is difficult to even imagine what would happen if the two largest powers in the world started a nuclear war.

The least-known facts about the tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Although the tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is known to the whole world, there are facts that only a few know:

1. A man who managed to survive in hell. Although the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima killed everyone who was near the epicenter of the explosion, one person who was in the basement 200 meters from the epicenter managed to survive;
   
2. War is war, and the tournament must go on. At a distance of less than 5 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion in Hiroshima, a tournament in the ancient Chinese game "Go" was held. Although the building was destroyed by the explosion and many participants were injured, the tournament continued on the same day;
3. It can even withstand a nuclear explosion. Although the Hiroshima bombing destroyed most of the buildings, the safe in one of the banks was not damaged. After the end of the war, American company, which produced these safes, came thank you letter from the manager of the bank in Hiroshima;
4. Extraordinary luck. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was the only person on earth to officially survive two atomic explosions. After the explosion in Hiroshima, he went to work in Nagasaki, where he again managed to survive;
5. Pumpkin bombs. Before starting the atomic bombing, the United States dropped 50 Pumpkin bombs on Japan, so named for their resemblance to a pumpkin;
6. An attempt to overthrow the emperor. The emperor of Japan mobilized all the citizens of the country for "total war". This meant that every Japanese, including women and children, must defend their country to the last drop of their blood. After the emperor, frightened by atomic explosions, accepted all the conditions of the Potsdam conference and later capitulated, the Japanese generals tried to carry out a coup d'état, which failed;
7. Those who met a nuclear explosion and survivors. Japanese trees "Gingko biloba" are remarkable for their vitality. After the nuclear attack on Hiroshima, 6 of these trees survived and continue to grow to this day;
   
8. People who dreamed of salvation. After the explosion in Hiroshima, hundreds of survivors fled to Nagasaki. Of these, 164 people managed to survive, although only Tsutomu Yamaguchi is considered the official survivor;
9. The atomic explosion in Nagasaki did not kill a single policeman. The surviving law enforcement officers from Hiroshima were sent to Nagasaki in order to teach colleagues the basics of behavior after a nuclear explosion. As a result of these actions, not a single policeman was killed in the explosion in Nagasaki;
10. 25 percent of those killed in Japan were Koreans. Although it is believed that all those killed in the atomic explosions were Japanese, in fact, a quarter of them were Koreans who were mobilized by the Japanese government to take part in the war;
11. Radiation is a fairy tale for children. After atomic explosion American government long time hid the fact of the presence of radioactive contamination;
12. Meetinghouse. Few people know that the US authorities did not confine themselves to nuclear bombing of two Japanese cities. Before that, using carpet bombing tactics, they destroyed several Japanese cities. During Operation Meetinghouse, the city of Tokyo was virtually destroyed and 300,000 people were killed;
13. They did not know what they were doing. The crew of the plane that dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima was 12 people. Of these, only three knew what a nuclear bomb was;
14. On one of the anniversaries of the tragedy (in 1964), an eternal flame was lit in Hiroshima, which should burn as long as there is at least one nuclear warhead in the world;
    
15. Lost connection. After the destruction of Hiroshima, communication with the city was completely lost. Only three hours later did the capital learn that Hiroshima had been destroyed;
16. Deadly poison. The crew of "Enola Gay" were given ampoules with potassium cyanide, which they had to take in case of failure to complete the mission;
17. Radioactive mutants. The famous Japanese monster "Godzilla" was conceived as a mutation for radioactive contamination after a nuclear bombing;
18. Shadows of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Explosions nuclear bombs possessed such tremendous power that people literally evaporated, leaving only dark imprints on the walls and floor in memory of themselves;
19. Hiroshima symbol. The first plant to bloom after the Hiroshima nuclear attack was the oleander. It is he who is now official symbol the city of Hiroshima;
20. A warning before a nuclear attack. Before the start of the nuclear attack, US aircraft dropped millions of leaflets on 33 Japanese cities warning of an impending bombing;
21. Radio signals. The American radio station in Saipan broadcast warnings of a nuclear attack throughout Japan until the very last moment. The beeps were repeated every 15 minutes.

The tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened 72 years ago, but it still serves as a reminder that humanity should not mindlessly destroy their own kind.

The only military use of nuclear weapons in the world was the bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At the same time, it should be noted that the unfortunate cities turned out to be in the role of a victim in many respects, thanks to the tragically prevailing circumstances.

Who are we going to bomb?

In May 1945, US President Harry Truman was provided with a list of several Japanese cities that were supposed to be bombed. Four cities were selected as the main targets. Kyoto like main center Japanese industry. Hiroshima, as the largest military port with ammunition depots. Yokagama was chosen due to defense factories located on its territory. Niigata was targeted because of its naval port, and Kokura was put on the "firing squad" as the country's largest military arsenal. Note that Nagasaki was not originally on this list. In the opinion of the American military, the nuclear bombing should have had not so much a military as a psychological effect. After her, 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 huge 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 really took place, Japan would be thrown back in a civilizational sense. 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 amplify the force of the explosion, significantly increasing the number of casualties. Most surprisingly, Kyoto escaped a dire 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. He not only knew and appreciated the beauty and culture of Kyoto, but also did not want to spoil the fond memories of his youth. Stimson did not hesitate to cross Kyoto from the list of cities proposed for nuclear bombing. Subsequently, General Leslie Groves, who led the program for the creation of US nuclear weapons in his book "Now You Can Tell About It", recalled that he insisted on the bombing of Kyoto, but he was persuaded, emphasizing the historical and cultural significance cities. Groves was very unhappy, but nevertheless agreed to replace Kyoto with Nagasaki.

What are Christians guilty of?

At the same time, if we analyze the choice of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as targets for a nuclear bombing, then many uncomfortable questions... 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 exactly the cities inhabited by Christians for bombing? The first B-29 Great Artist had two targets: the city of Kokura as the main one, and Nagasaki as the spare. However, when the plane with great difficulty reached the territory of Japan, Kukura was hidden by thick clouds of smoke, burning the Yavata metallurgical plant. They decided to bomb Nagasaki. The bomb fell on the city on August 9, 1945 at 11 hours 02 minutes. In the blink of an eye, an explosion with a capacity of 21 kilotons destroyed several tens of thousands of people. He was not even saved by the fact that in the vicinity of Nagasaki there was a prisoner of war camp for the allied armies of the anti-Hitler coalition. Moreover, in the United States, 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.

Rising mushrooms from atomic bombings of Japanese cities have long been the main symbols of power and destructiveness. modern weapons, the personification of the beginning of the nuclear age. There is no doubt that the first nuclear tests on humans in August 1945, and a few years later obtained by the USSR and the USA thermonuclear bombs to this day remain the most powerful and destructive weapon while serving as a military deterrent. However, the true consequences of nuclear strikes on the health of the inhabitants of Japanese cities and their offspring are very different from the stereotypes living in society. This conclusion was reached on the anniversary of the bombing by a group of scientists from the University of Aix-Marseille in France in an article published in the journal GENETICS .

In their work, they showed that with all the destructive power of these two strikes, which led to the documented and numerous casualties among civilians and destruction in cities, the health of many Japanese who were in the bomb area was almost unaffected, as was believed for many years.

It is known that two uranium bombs were dropped by the United States and exploded at an altitude of 600 m above Hiroshima and 500 m above Nagasaki. As a result of these explosions, great amount heat and a strong shock wave was created, accompanied by powerful gamma radiation.

People who were within a radius of 1.5 km from the epicenter of the explosion died instantly, many of those who were further away died in the following days due to burns and the received dose of radiation. However, the prevailing idea of ​​the incidence of cancer and genetic deformities in children of those who survived the bombing turns out to be too exaggerated if the real consequences are scrupulously evaluated, scientists say.

“Most people, including many scientists, are under the impression that the survivors were exposed to debilitating effects and an increased incidence of cancer, and that their children were at high risk for genetic diseases,” said Bertrand Jordan, author of the study. -

There is a huge difference between people's perceptions and what was actually revealed by scientists. "

The article by scientists does not contain new data, but summarizes the results of more than 60 years of medical research, which assessed the health of survivors of the bombing of the Japanese and their children, and includes reasoning about the nature of existing misconceptions.

Studies have shown that exposure to radiation does increase the risk of cancer, but life expectancy is reduced by only a few months compared to control groups. At the same time, there were no statistically significant cases of harm to health in children who survived the stroke.

It has been established that approximately 200 thousand people became victims of the direct blow, who died mainly from the action of the shock wave, the resulting fires and radiation.

About half of those who survived were followed up by doctors for the rest of their lives. These observations began in 1947 and are still carried out by a special organization - the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) in Hiroshima, funded by the Japanese and American governments.

In total, 100 thousand survivors of the bombing of the Japanese, 77 thousand of their children and 20 thousand people who were not exposed to radiation took part in the research. The amount of data obtained, as cynical as it may sound, "was uniquely useful in assessing radiation threats, since the bombs were a single, well-studied source of radiation, and the dose received by each person could be reliably estimated by knowing its distance from the explosion site." , the scientists write in the release accompanying the article.

These data subsequently proved invaluable for establishing the permissible doses for workers in the nuclear industry and the population.

Analysis scientific research showed that the incidence of cancer among the victims was higher than among those who were outside the city at the time of the explosion. It was found that the relative risk to an individual increased depending on the proximity to the epicenter, age (young people were more exposed) and gender (the consequences were more serious in women).

However, most of the survivors did not develop cancer.

Among 44,635 surveyed survivors, the increase in cancer incidence in 1958-1998 was 10% (additional 848 cases), scientists calculated. Moreover, most of the survivors received medium doses of radiation. In contrast, those who were closer to the explosion and received a dose of more than 1 heating (about a thousand times higher than the existing permissible doses) had a 44% increased risk of cancer. In such severe cases, considering all causes of death, the high impact dose reduced life expectancy by 1.3 years on average.

Meanwhile, scientists cautiously warn: if exposure to radiation has not yet led to scientifically recorded consequences in children of survivors, such traces may appear in the future, possibly with more detailed sequencing of their genome.

Scientists believe that the inconsistency of existing ideas about medical consequences bombing with real data is associated with several factors, including the historical context. “People are more often afraid of the new danger than they are used to,” says Jordan. “For example, people tend to underestimate the dangers of coal, including those who mine it and those who are exposed to atmospheric pollution. Radiation is much easier to detect than many chemical contaminants. With a simple Geiger counter, you can catch tiny levels of radiation that pose no threat at all. " Scientists believe that their research should not be used as an excuse to downplay the dangers of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy.

Friends, before presenting a photo collection dedicated to the tragic events for Japan in early August 1945, a small excursion into history.

***

In fact, from a military point of view, there was no need for these bombings. The entry into the war of the USSR, and an agreement on this was reached a few months earlier, would thus lead to the complete surrender of Japan. The purpose of this inhuman act was to test the atomic bomb by the Americans in real conditions and demonstrate military power for the USSR.

Back in 1965, the historian Gar Alperowitz stated that atomic strikes against Japan were of little military significance. English researcher Ward Wilson, in his recently published book Five Myths About Nuclear Weapons, also concludes that it was not American bombs that influenced the Japanese resolve to fight.

The use of atomic bombs did not frighten the Japanese very much. They didn't even fully understand what it was. Yes, it became clear what was applied powerful weapon... But then no one knew about radiation. In addition, the Americans dropped bombs not on the armed forces, but on peaceful cities. Military factories and naval bases were damaged, but mostly civilians were killed, and the combat capability of the Japanese army did not suffer much.

Most recently, the authoritative American magazine Foreign Policy published a piece of Ward Wilson's book "5 Myths About Nuclear Weapons", where he, quite boldly for American historiography, questions the well-known American myth that Japan capitulated in 1945 because 2 nuclear bombs were dropped, which finally broke the Japanese government's confidence that the war could continue further.

The author essentially refers to the well-known Soviet interpretation of these events and reasonably points out that it was not nuclear weapons, but the entry of the USSR into the war, as well as the growing consequences of the defeat of the Kwantung group, destroyed the hopes of the Japanese to continue the war based on vast territories captured in China and Manchuria. ...

The title of an excerpt from Ward Wilson's book in Foreign Policy speaks for itself:

"The victory over Japan was won not by the bomb, but by Stalin"
(original, translation).

1. Japanese woman with her son in front of the destroyed Hiroshima. December 1945

2. A resident of Hiroshima I. Terawama, a survivor of the atomic bombing. June 1945

3. American bomber B-29 "Enola Gay" (Boeing B-29 Superfortness "Enola Gay") lands after returning from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

4. Destroyed by the atomic bombing of a building on the embankment of Hiroshima. 1945 g.

5. View of the Geibi area in Hiroshima after the atomic bombing. 1945 g.

6. Building in Hiroshima, damaged by the atomic bomb. 1945 g.

7. One of the few surviving buildings in Hiroshima after the atomic explosion on August 6, 1945 - Exhibition Center of the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 1945 g.

8. War correspondent of the Allies on the street of the destroyed city of Hiroshima at the Exhibition Center of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry about a month after the atomic bombing. September 1945

9. View of the bridge over the Ota River in the ruined city of Hiroshima. 1945 g.

10. View of the ruins of Hiroshima the day after the atomic bombing. 07.08.1945.

11. Japanese military medics provide assistance to victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 08/06/1945

12. View of the cloud of the atomic explosion in Hiroshima from a distance of about 20 km from the naval arsenal in Kure. 08/06/1945

13. Bombers B-29 (Boeing B-29 Superfortness) "Enola Gay" (on foreground right) and the "Great Artist" (Great Artist) of the 509th mixed air group at the airfield in Tinian (Mariana Islands) a few days before the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 2-6.08.1945

14. Victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in a hospital in former building jar. September 1945

15. Japanese, injured in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, lies on the floor in a hospital in a former bank building. September 1945

16. Radiation and thermal burns on the legs of a victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 1945 g.

17. Radiation and thermal burns on the hands of a victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 1945 g.

18. Radiation and thermal burns on the body of a victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 1945 g.

19. American engineer Commander Francis Birch (Albert Francis Birch, 1903-1992) marks the atomic bomb "Little Boy" with the inscription "L11". To his right is Norman Ramsey (Norman Foster Ramsey, Jr., 1915-2011).

20. The Little Boy atomic bomb lies on the trailer shortly before the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Main characteristics: length - 3 m, diameter - 0.71 m, weight - 4.4 tons. Explosion power - 13-18 kilotons of TNT. August 1945

21. American bomber B-29 "Enola Gay" (Boeing B-29 Superfortness "Enola Gay") at the airfield in Tinian on the Mariana Islands on the day it returned from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 08/06/1945

22. American bomber B-29 "Enola Gay" (Boeing B-29 Superfortness "Enola Gay") stands at the airfield in Tinian on the Mariana Islands, from which the plane took off with an atomic bomb to bomb the Japanese city of Hiroshima. 1945 g.

23. Panorama of the destroyed Japanese city of Hiroshima after the atomic bombing. The photo shows the destruction of the city of Hiroshima, about 500 meters from the center of the explosion. 1945 g.

24. Panorama of the destruction of the Motomachi area of ​​the city of Hiroshima, destroyed by an atomic bomb explosion. Taken from the roof of the Hiroshima Prefecture Commercial Association building 260 meters (285 yards) from the epicenter of the explosion. To the left of the center of the panorama is the building of the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce, now known as the Nuclear Dome. The epicenter of the explosion was 160 meters further and slightly to the left of the building, closer to the Motoyasu Bridge at an altitude of 600 meters. The Aioi Bridge with tram tracks (on the right in the photo) was the targeting point for the bombardier of the Enola Gay plane, which dropped an atomic bomb on the city. October 1945

25. One of the few surviving buildings in Hiroshima after the atomic explosion on August 6, 1945 - Exhibition Center of the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry. As a result of the atomic bombing, it was badly damaged, but survived, despite the fact that it was only 160 meters from the epicenter. The building partially collapsed from the shock wave and burned out from the fire; all people who were in the building at the time of the explosion were killed. After the war, the Gembaku Dome (Atomic Explosion Dome, Atomic Dome) was reinforced to prevent further destruction and became the most famous atomic explosion exhibit. August 1945

26. Street of the Japanese city of Hiroshima after the American atomic bombing. August 1945

27. The explosion of the atomic bomb "Kid" dropped by an American bomber on Hiroshima. 08/06/1945

28. Paul Tibbets (1915-2007) waves his hand from the cockpit of a B-29 bomber before flying to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Paul Tibbets named his plane Enola Gay on August 5, 1945, after his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets. 08/06/1945

29. A Japanese soldier goes through the desert in Hiroshima. September 1945

30. Data from the US Air Force - a map of Hiroshima before the bombing, on which you can observe a circle at an interval of 304 meters from the epicenter, which instantly disappeared from the face of the earth.

31. A photo taken from one of the two American bombers of the 509th Combined Group, shortly after 8:15 am on August 5, 1945, shows smoke rising from the explosion over the city of Hiroshima. By the time of shooting, a flash of light and heat from a fireball with a diameter of 370 m had already occurred, and the blast wave quickly dissipated, already causing major damage to buildings and people within a radius of 3.2 km.

32. View of the epicenter of Hiroshima in autumn 1945 - complete destruction after the first atomic bomb was dropped. The photo shows the hypocenter (center point of the explosion) - approximately above the Y-junction in the center on the left.

33. Destroyed Hiroshima in March 1946.

35. Ruined street in Hiroshima. See how the sidewalk was raised and a drainpipe protrudes from the bridge. Scientists say this was due to the vacuum created by the pressure from the atomic explosion.

36. This patient (photo taken by the Japanese military on October 3, 1945) was approximately 1,981.20 m from the epicenter when the radiation rays overtook him from the left. The cap protected part of the head from burns.

37. Gnarled iron beams are all that remains of the theater building, located about 800 meters from the epicenter.

38. The Hiroshima Fire Department lost its only vehicle when the western station was destroyed by an atomic bomb. The station was located 1200 meters from the epicenter.

39. Ruins of central Hiroshima in autumn 1945.

40. "Shadow" of the valve handle on the painted wall of a gas tank after the tragic events in Hiroshima. The radiation heat instantly burned the paint where the radiation rays passed unhindered. 1,920 m from the epicenter.

41. Top view of the destroyed industrial area of ​​Hiroshima in the fall of 1945.

42. View of Hiroshima and the mountains in the background in the fall of 1945. The picture was taken from the ruins of the Red Cross hospital, less than 1.60 km from the hypocenter.

43. Members of the US Army explore the area around the epicenter in Hiroshima in the fall of 1945.

44. Victims of the atomic bombing. 1945 g.

45. A victim during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki feeds her child. 08/10/1945

46. ​​Bodies of tram passengers in Nagasaki, killed during the atomic bombing. 09/01/1945

47. Ruins of Nagasaki after the atomic bombing. September 1945

48. Ruins of Nagasaki after the atomic bombing. September 1945.

49. Japanese civilians are walking along the streets of the destroyed Nagasaki. August 1945

50. Japanese doctor Nagai examines the ruins of Nagasaki. 09/11/1945

51. View of the cloud of the atomic explosion in Nagasaki from a distance of 15 km from Koyaji-Jima. 08/09/1945

52. Japanese woman and her son who survived the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. The photograph was taken the day after the bombing, southwest of the center of the explosion, 1 mile away. The woman and the son are holding rice in their hands. 08/10/1945

53. Japanese military and civilians are walking along the street Nagasaki, destroyed by the atomic bomb. August 1945

54. Trailer with the atomic bomb "Fat Man" stands in front of the warehouse gates. The main characteristics of the "Tolstyak" atomic bomb: length - 3.3 m, maximum diameter - 1.5 m, mass - 4.633 tons. Explosion power - 21 kilotons in TNT equivalent. Plutonium-239 was used. August 1945

55. Inscriptions on the stabilizer of the atomic bomb "Fat Man", made by American military personnel shortly before its use in the Japanese city of Nagasaki. August 1945

56. The atomic bomb "Fat Man" dropped from American bomber B-29, exploded 300 meters above the Nagasaki Valley. "Atomic mushroom" explosion - a column of smoke, hot particles, dust and debris - rose to a height of 20 kilometers. The photo shows the wing of the aircraft from which the photograph is taken. 08/09/1945

57. Drawing on the nose of the B-29 "Bockscar" bomber (Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Bockscar"), made after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It depicts the "route" from Salt Lake City to Nagasaki. In Utah, of which Salt Lake City is the capital, Wendover was training base The 509th mixed group, which included the 393rd squadron, to which the aircraft was transferred before the flight to Pacific Ocean... The serial number of the machine is 44-27297. 1945 g.

65. Ruins of a Catholic temple in the Japanese city of Nagasaki, destroyed by the explosion of an American atomic bomb. Catholic Cathedral Urakami was built in 1925 and until August 9, 1945 was the largest Catholic cathedral South-East Asia... August 1945

66. The Fat Man atomic bomb dropped from an American B-29 bomber exploded 300 meters above the Nagasaki Valley. "Atomic mushroom" explosion - a column of smoke, hot particles, dust and debris - rose to a height of 20 kilometers. 08/09/1945

67. Nagasaki one and a half months after the atomic bombing on August 9, 1945. In the foreground is a ruined temple. 09.24.1945 g.

Nuclear weapons have been used for combat purposes only twice in the entire history of mankind. The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 showed how dangerous it can be. It was the real experience of using nuclear weapons that was able to keep the two powerful powers (the USA and the USSR) from unleashing a third world war.

Dropping bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

During World War II, millions of innocent people suffered. The leaders of the world powers, without looking, put the lives of soldiers and civilians on the cards, in the hope of achieving superiority in the struggle for world domination. One of the worst disasters in world history was the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as a result of which about 200 thousand people were destroyed, and the total number of people who died during and after the explosion (from radiation) reached 500 thousand.

Until now, there are only assumptions that made the President of the United States of America give the order to drop atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Did he give himself an account, did he know what destruction and consequences the nuclear bomb would leave after the explosion? Or was this action intended to demonstrate combat power in front of the USSR, in order to completely kill any thoughts about attacks on the United States?

History has not retained the motives that drove 33rd US President Harry Truman when he gave the order for a nuclear attack on Japan, but one thing is certain: it was the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that forced the Japanese emperor to sign the surrender.

In order to try to understand the motives of the United States, it is necessary to carefully consider the situation that arose in the political arena in those years.

Emperor of Japan Hirohito

The Japanese emperor Hirohito was distinguished by good inclinations as a leader. In order to expand his lands, in 1935 he decides to seize all of China, which at that time was a backward agrarian country. Following the example of Hitler (with whom Japan forges a military alliance in 1941), Hirohito begins to invade China, using the methods loved by the Nazis.

In order to cleanse China of indigenous people, Japanese troops used chemical weapons, which were banned. Inhuman experiments were carried out on the Chinese, aimed at finding out the limits of the viability of the human body in various situations. In total, about 25 million Chinese died during the Japanese expansion, most of whom were children and women.

It is possible that the nuclear bombing of Japanese cities could not have taken place if, after the conclusion of a military pact with Nazi Germany, the Emperor of Japan would not have given the order to launch an attack on Pearl Harbor, thereby provoking the United States to enter World War II. After this event, the date of the nuclear attack begins to approach with relentless speed.

When it became clear that Germany's defeat was inevitable, the question of Japan's surrender seemed a matter of time. However, the Japanese emperor, the embodiment of samurai arrogance and a real God for his subjects, ordered all the inhabitants of the country to fight to the last drop of blood. Everyone, without exception, had to resist the invader, from soldiers to women and children. Knowing the mentality of the Japanese, there was no doubt that the inhabitants would fulfill the will of their emperor.

In order to force Japan to surrender, it was necessary to take drastic measures. The atomic explosion, which thundered first in Hiroshima, and then in Nagasaki, was precisely the impetus that convinced the emperor of the futility of resistance.

Why was the nuclear attack chosen?

Although the number of versions why a nuclear attack was chosen to intimidate Japan is quite large, the following versions should be considered the main ones:

1. Most historians (especially American) insist that the damage caused by the dropped bombs is several times less than the bloody invasion of American troops could bring. According to this version, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were not sacrificed in vain, as it saved the lives of the remaining millions of Japanese;
2. According to the second version, the purpose of the nuclear attack was to show the USSR how perfect the US military weapon is in order to intimidate a possible enemy. In 1945, the President of the United States was informed that the activity of Soviet troops was noticed in the area of ​​the border with Turkey (which was an ally of England). Perhaps that is why Truman decided to intimidate the Soviet leader;
3. The third version says that the nuclear attack on Japan was American revenge for Pearl Harbor.

The fate of Japan was decided at the Potsdam Conference, which took place from July 17 to August 2. Three states - the USA, England and the USSR, headed by their leaders, signed the declaration. It spoke of a post-war sphere of influence, although the Second World War was not yet over. One of the points of this declaration spoke of the immediate surrender of Japan.

This document was sent to the Japanese government, which rejected this proposal. Following the example of their emperor, members of the government decided to continue the war to the end. After that, the fate of Japan was sealed. As the US military command was looking for where to use the latest atomic weapons, the president approved the atomic bombing of Japanese cities.

The coalition against Nazi Germany was on the verge of breaking (due to the fact that there was only one month left before victory), the Allied countries could not agree. The different policies of the USSR and the United States ultimately led these states to the Cold War.

The fact that US President Harry Truman was informed about the start of nuclear tests on the eve of the meeting in Potsdam played an important role in the decision of the head of state. Wanting to intimidate Stalin, Truman hinted to the Generalissimo that he had a new weapon ready that could leave huge casualties after the explosion.

Stalin ignored this statement, although he soon phoned Kurchatov and ordered the completion of work on the development of Soviet nuclear weapons.

Having received no answer from Stalin, the American president decides to start an atomic bombing at his own peril and risk.

Why Hiroshima and Nagasaki were chosen for the nuclear attack

In the spring of 1945, the US military had to select suitable targets for a full-scale nuclear bomb test. Even then, it was possible to notice the prerequisites for the fact that the last test of the American nuclear bomb was planned to be carried out at a civilian facility. The list of requirements for the last nuclear bomb test, created by scientists, looked like this:

1. The object had to be on a plain so that the explosive wave was not interfered with by the unevenness of the landscape;
2. Urban buildings should be wooden to the maximum, so that the destruction from fire is maximum;
3. The object must have the maximum building density;
4. The size of the object must exceed 3 kilometers in diameter;
5. The selected city should be located as far as possible from the enemy's military bases in order to exclude the intervention of the enemy's military forces;
6. For a strike to be of maximum benefit, it must target a major industrial center.

These demands indicate that the nuclear strike was most likely a long-planned affair, and Germany could well have been in Japan's place.

The intended targets were 4 Japanese cities. These are Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Kyoto and Kokura. Of these, it was only required to select two real targets, since there were only two bombs. The American connoisseur of Japan, Professor Rayshauer, begged to delete the city of Kyoto from the list, since it was of great historical value. It is unlikely that this request could affect the decision, but then the Minister of Defense intervened, who was spending his honeymoon in Kyoto with his wife. The minister went to a meeting and Kyoto was saved from a nuclear strike.

The place of Kyoto on the list was taken by the city of Kokura, which was chosen as a target along with Hiroshima (although later the weather conditions made their own adjustments, and instead of Kokura, Nagasaki had to be bombed). The cities had to be large and the destruction large-scale, for the Japanese people to be horrified and stop resisting. Of course, the main thing was to influence the position of the emperor.

The studies carried out by historians from different countries of the world show that the American side was not at all worried about the moral side of the issue. Dozens and hundreds of potential civilian casualties were of no concern to either the government or the military.

After reviewing whole volumes of classified materials, historians came to the conclusion that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were doomed in advance. There were only two bombs, and these cities had a convenient geographical location. In addition, Hiroshima was a very densely built-up city, and an attack on it could reveal the full potential of a nuclear bomb. The city of Nagasaki was the largest industrial center working for the defense industry. A large number of guns and military equipment were produced there.

Details of the bombing of Hiroshima

The combat strike on the Japanese city of Hiroshima was planned in advance and carried out in accordance with a clear plan. Each point of this plan was clearly implemented, which indicates a thorough preparation of this operation.

On July 26, 1945, a nuclear bomb bearing the name "Kid" was delivered to the island of Tinian. By the end of the month, all preparations were completed, and the bomb was ready for military operation. After checking the meteorological readings, the date of the bombing was set - August 6. On this day, the weather was excellent and the bomber, with a nuclear bomb on board, took to the air. Its name (Enola Gay) has long been remembered not only by the victims of a nuclear attack, but throughout Japan.

In flight, the plane carrying death on board was accompanied by three planes, whose task was to determine the direction of the wind so that the atomic bomb would hit the target as accurately as possible. An airplane flew behind the bomber, which was supposed to record all the explosion data using sensitive equipment. A bomber with a photographer on board flew at a safe distance. Several planes flying towards the city did not cause any concern to either the Japanese air defense forces or the civilian population.

Although Japanese radars detected an approaching enemy, they did not raise the alarm because of a small group of military aircraft. Residents were warned of a possible bombing, but they continued to work quietly. Since the nuclear strike did not look like a conventional air raid, no Japanese fighter jet took off to intercept. Even the artillery ignored the approaching aircraft.

At 0815 hours, the Enola Gay bomber dropped a nuclear bomb. This drop was carried out using a parachute to enable the group of attacking aircraft to retire to a safe distance. After dropping a bomb at an altitude of 9,000 meters, the battle group turned around and withdrew.

After flying about 8,500 meters, the bomb exploded at an altitude of 576 meters from the ground. A deafening explosion covered the city with an avalanche of fire, which destroyed everything in its path. Directly in the epicenter, people simply disappeared, leaving behind only the so-called "shadows of Hiroshima." Only a dark silhouette remained of the person, imprinted on the floor or walls. At a distance from the epicenter, people burned alive, turning into black embers. Those who were on the outskirts of the city were a little more fortunate, many of them survived, having received only terrible burns.

This day has become a day of mourning not only in Japan, but throughout the world. On this day, about 100,000 people died, and the following years claimed the lives of several hundred thousand more. All of them died from radiation burns and radiation sickness. According to official statistics from the Japanese authorities in January 2017, the death toll and victims of the American uranium bomb is 308,724.

Hiroshima is today the largest city in the Chugoku region. The city has a memorial dedicated to the victims of the American atomic bombing.

What happened in Hiroshima on the day of the tragedy

The first Japanese official sources said that the city of Hiroshima was attacked with new bombs dropped from several American planes. People did not yet know that new bombs destroyed tens of thousands of lives in an instant, and the consequences of a nuclear explosion would last for decades.

It is possible that even the American scientists who created atomic weapons did not assume the consequences of radiation for people. For 16 hours after the explosion, no signals were received from Hiroshima. Noticing this, the operator of the Broadcasting Station began to make attempts to contact the city, but the city was silent.

After a short period of time, from the railway station, which was located near the city, incomprehensible and confusing information came, of which the Japanese authorities understood only one thing, an enemy raid was carried out on the city. It was decided to send the plane for reconnaissance, since the authorities knew for sure that no serious enemy air combat groups had broken through the front line.

Approaching the city at a distance of about 160 kilometers, the pilot and the officer accompanying him saw a huge dusty cloud. Having flown closer, they saw a terrible picture of destruction: the whole city was blazing with fires, and smoke and dust prevented them from seeing the details of the tragedy.

After landing in a safe place, the Japanese officer conveyed to the command that the city of Hiroshima was destroyed by US aircraft. After that, the military began selflessly to provide assistance to the wounded and shell-shocked compatriots from the explosion.

This disaster has rallied all the surviving people into one big family. The wounded, people who were barely standing on their feet were dismantling the rubble and extinguishing the fires, trying to save as many compatriots as possible.

Washington made an official statement about the successful operation only 16 hours after the bombing.

Dropping the atomic bomb on Nagasaki

The city of Nagasaki, which was an industrial center, has never been subjected to massive air strikes. They tried to save it to demonstrate the enormous power of the atomic bomb. Only a few high-explosive bombs damaged weapons factories, shipyards and medical hospitals a week before the terrible tragedy.

It seems incredible now, but Nagasaki is the second Japanese city to be bombed by chance. The original target was the city of Kokura.

The second bomb was delivered and loaded onto the plane, following the same plan as in the case of Hiroshima. The plane with a nuclear bomb took off and flew towards the city of Kokura. On approaching the island, three American planes were to meet to record the explosion of an atomic bomb.

Two planes met, but they did not wait for the third. Contrary to the forecast of meteorologists, the sky over Kokura was covered with clouds, and the visual release of the bomb became impossible. After circling for 45 minutes over the island and without waiting for the third plane, the commander of the plane, which was carrying a nuclear bomb on board, noticed a malfunction in the fuel supply system. Since the weather has finally deteriorated, it was decided to fly to the area of ​​the reserve target - the city of Nagasaki. A group of two aircraft flew to an alternate target.

On August 9, 1945, at 7 hours 50 minutes in the morning, the residents of Nagasaki woke up from the air raid signal and went down to the shelters and bomb shelters. After 40 minutes, considering the alarm not worthy of attention, and referring two planes to reconnaissance, the military canceled it. People went about their usual business, not suspecting that an atomic explosion would now thunder.

The Nagasaki attack proceeded in the same way as the Hiroshima attack, only high clouds almost ruined the bomb release for the Americans. Literally in the last minutes, when the fuel supply was at its limit, the pilot noticed a "window" in the clouds and dropped a nuclear bomb at an altitude of 8,800 meters.

The carelessness of the Japanese air defense forces is striking, which, despite news of a similar attack on Hiroshima, did not take any measures to neutralize American military aircraft.

The atomic bomb, which was called "Fat Man", exploded in 11 hours 2 minutes, within a few seconds turned the beautiful city into a kind of hell on earth. 40,000 people died in an instant, and another 70,000 were severely burned and injured.

Consequences of nuclear bombing of Japanese cities

The consequences of a nuclear attack on Japanese cities were unpredictable. In addition to those killed at the time of the explosion and during the first year after it, radiation continued to kill people for many years. As a result, the number of victims has doubled.

Thus, the nuclear attack brought the long-awaited victory to the United States, and Japan had to make concessions. Emperor Hirohito was so impressed by the consequences of the nuclear bombing that he unconditionally accepted the terms of the Potsdam conference. According to the official version, the nuclear attack carried out by the US military did exactly what the American government wanted.

In addition, the troops of the USSR, which had accumulated on the border with Turkey, were urgently transferred to Japan, which the USSR declared war on. According to members of the Soviet Politburo, having learned about the consequences caused by nuclear explosions, Stalin said that the Turks were lucky, since the Japanese sacrificed themselves for them.

After the introduction of Soviet troops into Japan, only two weeks have passed, and Emperor Hirohito has already signed an act of unconditional surrender. This day (September 2, 1945) went down in history as the day of the end of the Second World War.

Was there an urgent need to bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Even in modern Japan, the debate continues over whether it was necessary to carry out a nuclear bombing or not. Scientists from all over the world painstakingly study secret documents and archives from the Second World War. Most researchers agree that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were sacrificed to end the world war.

The famous Japanese historian Tsuyoshi Hasegawa believes that the atomic bombing was started in order to prevent the expansion of the Soviet Union into Asian countries. It also allowed the United States to assert itself as a leader militarily, which they did brilliantly. After the nuclear explosion, it was very dangerous to argue with the United States.

If we stick to this theory, then Hiroshima and Nagasaki were simply sacrificed to the political ambitions of the superpowers. Tens of thousands of victims were absolutely not taken into account.

One can guess what could have happened if the USSR had time to complete the development of its nuclear bomb before the United States. It is possible that the atomic bombing would not have happened then.

Modern nuclear weapons are thousands of times more powerful than bombs dropped on Japanese cities. It is difficult to even imagine what would happen if the two largest powers in the world started a nuclear war.

The least-known facts about the tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Although the tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki is known to the whole world, there are facts that only a few know:

1. A man who managed to survive in hell. Although the atomic bomb explosion in Hiroshima killed everyone who was near the epicenter of the explosion, one person who was in the basement 200 meters from the epicenter managed to survive;
   
2. War is war, and the tournament must go on. At a distance of less than 5 kilometers from the epicenter of the explosion in Hiroshima, a tournament in the ancient Chinese game "Go" was held. Although the building was destroyed by the explosion and many participants were injured, the tournament continued on the same day;
3. It can even withstand a nuclear explosion. Although the Hiroshima bombing destroyed most of the buildings, the safe in one of the banks was not damaged. After the end of the war, the American company that produced these safes received a letter of thanks from a bank manager in Hiroshima;
4. Extraordinary luck. Tsutomu Yamaguchi was the only person on earth to officially survive two atomic explosions. After the explosion in Hiroshima, he went to work in Nagasaki, where he again managed to survive;
5. Pumpkin bombs. Before starting the atomic bombing, the United States dropped 50 Pumpkin bombs on Japan, so named for their resemblance to a pumpkin;
6. An attempt to overthrow the emperor. The emperor of Japan mobilized all the citizens of the country for "total war". This meant that every Japanese, including women and children, must defend their country to the last drop of their blood. After the emperor, frightened by atomic explosions, accepted all the conditions of the Potsdam conference and later capitulated, the Japanese generals tried to carry out a coup d'état, which failed;
7. Those who met a nuclear explosion and survivors. Japanese trees "Gingko biloba" are remarkable for their vitality. After the nuclear attack on Hiroshima, 6 of these trees survived and continue to grow to this day;
   
8. People who dreamed of salvation. After the explosion in Hiroshima, hundreds of survivors fled to Nagasaki. Of these, 164 people managed to survive, although only Tsutomu Yamaguchi is considered the official survivor;
9. The atomic explosion in Nagasaki did not kill a single policeman. The surviving law enforcement officers from Hiroshima were sent to Nagasaki in order to teach colleagues the basics of behavior after a nuclear explosion. As a result of these actions, not a single policeman was killed in the explosion in Nagasaki;
10. 25 percent of those killed in Japan were Koreans. Although it is believed that all those killed in the atomic explosions were Japanese, in fact, a quarter of them were Koreans who were mobilized by the Japanese government to take part in the war;
11. Radiation is a fairy tale for children. After the atomic explosion, the American government for a long time hid the fact of the presence of radioactive contamination;
12. Meetinghouse. Few people know that the US authorities did not confine themselves to nuclear bombing of two Japanese cities. Before that, using carpet bombing tactics, they destroyed several Japanese cities. During Operation Meetinghouse, the city of Tokyo was virtually destroyed and 300,000 people were killed;
13. They did not know what they were doing. The crew of the plane that dropped the nuclear bomb on Hiroshima was 12 people. Of these, only three knew what a nuclear bomb was;
14. On one of the anniversaries of the tragedy (in 1964), an eternal flame was lit in Hiroshima, which should burn as long as there is at least one nuclear warhead in the world;
    
15. Lost connection. After the destruction of Hiroshima, communication with the city was completely lost. Only three hours later did the capital learn that Hiroshima had been destroyed;
16. Deadly poison. The crew of "Enola Gay" were given ampoules with potassium cyanide, which they had to take in case of failure to complete the mission;
17. Radioactive mutants. The famous Japanese monster "Godzilla" was conceived as a mutation for radioactive contamination after a nuclear bombing;
18. Shadows of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The explosions of nuclear bombs were so powerful that people literally evaporated, leaving only dark imprints on the walls and floor in their memory;
19. Hiroshima symbol. The first plant to bloom after the Hiroshima nuclear attack was the oleander. It is he who is now the official symbol of the city of Hiroshima;
20. A warning before a nuclear attack. Before the start of the nuclear attack, US aircraft dropped millions of leaflets on 33 Japanese cities warning of an impending bombing;
21. Radio signals. The American radio station in Saipan broadcast warnings of a nuclear attack throughout Japan until the very last moment. The beeps were repeated every 15 minutes.

The tragedy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki happened 72 years ago, but it still serves as a reminder that humanity should not mindlessly destroy their own kind.