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LITTLE BOY (LEFT) AND FAT MAN (RIGHT)
(SOURCE: www.csi.ad.jp/ABOMB/)
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LITTLE BOY |
"Little Boy" is the nickname given to the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. It was Monday morning. Little Boy was dropped from the ENOLA GAY, one of the B-29 bombers that flew over Hiroshima on that day.
After being released, it took about a minute for Little Boy to reach the point of explosion. Little Boy exploded at approximately 8:15 a.m. (Japan Standard Time) when it reached an altitude of 2,000 ft above the building that is today called the "A-Bomb Dome." Little Boy generated an enormous amount of energy in terms of air pressure and heat. In addition, it generated a significant amount of radiation that subsequently caused devastating human injuries.
The people who saw the Little Boy often say "We saw another sun in the sky when it exploded." The heat and the light generated by the Little Boy were far stronger than bombs which they had seen before. When the heat wave reached ground level it burnt all before it including people. The strong wind generated by the bomb destroyed most of the houses and buildings within a 1.5 miles radius. When the wind reached the mountains, it was reflected and again hit the people in the city center. The wind generated by Little Boy caused the most serious damage to the city and people.
The radiation generated by the bomb caused long-term problems to those affected. Many people died within the first few months and many more in subsequent years because of radiation exposure. Some people had genetic problems which sometimes resulted in having malformed babies or being unable to have children.
It is believed that more than 140,000 people died by the end of the year. The total number of people who have died due to the bomb is estimated to be 200,000.
FAT MAN
Just three days after the bomb was dropped to Hiroshima, the second atomic bomb called "Fat Man" was dropped to Nagasaki. Though the amount of energy generated by the bomb dropped to Nagasaki was significantly larger than that of the Little Boy, the damage given to the city was slighter than that given to Hiroshima due to the geographic structure of the city. It is estimated that approximately 70,000 people died by the end of the year because of the bombing.
(SOURCE: www.csi.ad.jp/ABOMB/)
TOP
SECRET DOCUMENTS ON THE
USE
OF A-BOMBS ON JAPAN IN WW2
& Students Works on Assignment Topic
Radiation
Effects (Link
to Radiation Effects Research Foundation)
Photography
Gallery "Hiroshima" by Hiromi Tsuchida
This site tells links you to the Hiroshima archives, information on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, atomic spaces, Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bomb Museums, damages, documents on the decisions to use the A-bombs on the Japanese cities and more....
Links
to Eye Witness Accounts:
| Voices of A-Bomb survivors |
| A Personal Record of Hiroshima A-Bomb Survival |
| A Child's Experiences |
