Читать книгу The Worst World Disasters of All Time - Kevin Baker - Страница 14

Nagasaki Fat Man bomb mushroom cloud.

Date: August 9th, 1945.

Location: Nagasaki, Japan.

Disaster Type: Nuclear explosion.

Fatalities: 80,000 deaths as well as radiation poisoning.

Resulting Damage: Destroyed a large part of the town and irradiated areas within a 1.6 km radius.

In 1945, World War II was all but over in Europe, with the allied forces having invaded Germany and put an end to conflict in the Western theatre. But in the Pacific, Japan was standing strong. Despite several losses, the Japanese Empire refused to surrender as ordered by the allied forces. It was thus decided by the American government to use nuclear weapons as a means to bring the war to a quick end. This included the initial bombing of Hiroshima, along with a number of other planned bombings, followed by ground and naval attacks.

After the initial atomic bomb was released, Japan was still refusing the unconditional surrender that the United States and the Soviet Union were demanding. Instead, the Empire wanted some concessions, including the preservation of their empire, no occupation of Japanese soil, and the delegation of punishment for war crimes. In the days that followed, the Soviet Union declared war on Japan, and the American military prepared a second atomic bomb for delivery.

Initially, Nagasaki was not the target for Fat Man, the nuclear weapon prepared for delivery. The initial target was Kokura and on August 9th, a formation of six planes flew in its direction. The Brockscar was the delivery plane and had a mission to drop the bomb if weather conditions permitted it. However, after three passes over the city, the thick cloud cover did not allow the bomb to be dropped. So instead, they headed to a secondary target, the port city of Nagasaki.

This town was an old city with wooden constructions, but it was a strategic port for goods and merchandise. When the B-29 planes reached the city around 8 AM, an air raid siren was sounded, but then the all-clear signal was given shortly after. Seeing only a few planes, the Japanese forces likely guessed that these were scout planes. By 11 AM, the Brockscar was circling over the city, and a last minute break in the clouds allowed American forces to drop the bomb.

The Fat Man bomb had a core of 6.5 kg of plutonium giving it a yield of 21 kt. The nuclear device exploded above ground at 11:01 killing over 40,000 people instantly. It also destroyed a large part of the town and irradiated an area of around 1.6 km in circumference. By the end of 1945, estimates placed the number of dead from the bomb at 80,000. Japan protested the atomic bombings the next day through a communiqué to the government of the US, but this had no impact. This attack was the second strike but many more were already being planned, with the next attack being scheduled for August 19th. But by August 14th, the Emperor of Japan surrendered to the Allied forces, bringing the war to an end.