Atomic Bombs

"Little Boy"

"Fat Man"

Franklin Roosevelt was the president through most of the war until he died on April 12, 1945 from a cerebral hemorrhage (blood flow to a part of the brain stops). The Vice President at the time, Harry Truman took the office after Roosevelt’s death. Truman was left with a very difficult and huge decision of dropping an atomic bomb to end the war quicker. He gave Japan the chance to surrender but they declined. In return, on August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The plane that delivered the bomb was a B-29 Bomber called the Enola Gay. The bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima was named “Little Boy,” and weighed 8,000 pounds. The Japanese still did not surrender, so Truman ordered a second atomic bomb “Fat Man,” to be dropped on Nagasaki. The United States was the only country that had this kind of technology to produce the atomic bomb. These bombs had never been tested before and Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the first targets for this type of weapon. Little Boy and Fat Man did not reach the ground before they exploded. The first bomb that was dropped was 600 meters above the ground and the second was 500 meters above the ground. These atomic bombs exploded and made a huge mushroom cloud of fire. The heat of the bombs were so intense, it burned people and houses. There was so much power contained in the bombs, they destroyed houses within a mile and a half radius. The destruction of these homes consisted of being crumbled by the initial shock wave or the intense heat, which caused fires from the explosion. The light from the explosion was so bright that it left “shadows” on the sidewalk. These shadows were darker spots on the ground making what looked like a shadow from something blocking the light where the bomb went off, as if the ground was burnt. 

The atomic bomb killed people within range instantly from the intense heat of the explosion. Some others died from falling debris and other projectiles from buildings. Even after these explosions, people continued died from radiation. The radiation had such an impact on the body that even newborns had deformities. Survivors that lived through the bombings and are alive today now have DNA genetic changes that happened. These people are worried that their children may have things wrong with them. This could possibly be passed through many generations of people.