The atomic cloud over Nagasaki, 1945

This is the oldest photograph from the ground believed to be 15 minutes after the detonation of the plutonium bomb on Nagasaki. The devastation was so incredible that there is no account of how many people died that day.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will forever live on in the pages of history as the two most important turning points in modern history, marking the beginning of the atomic age to the world.

At 03:49 a.m. on August 9, 1945, Bosker carried Fat Man, with Kokura as the primary target and Nagasaki as the secondary target. The mission plan for the second attack was almost identical to the Hiroshima mission, with two B-29s flying an hour ahead as weather scouts and two additional B-29s flying boxcars for mission equipment and photographic support.

The crew was apparently ordered to select their target visually rather than by radar, as the bomb's explosive reach, although surprising, was still so limited that being a mile or two away resulted in most of its power. could be wasted.

After exceeding the original departure time limit by half an hour, Bosker was finally over Kokura. The delay was as a result of clouds and flowing smoke from a fire that started from a major firebombing raid on nearby Yahata the previous day of Kokura.

Additionally, Yavata Steel Works deliberately burnt bitumen to produce black smoke. Clouds and smoke covered 70% of Kokura's area, leaving the target point unclear. After three runs on the city, and with less fuel, the wing moved towards its secondary target, Nagasaki.

Bokskar reached Nagasaki at 11:50 am. By the time of Tinian, it had been in the air for about eight hours. Given the aircraft's mechanical problems, the crew was close to the point at which they would have to turn back or risk a ditch.

The Fat Man weapon, which contained a core of about 6.4 kg (14 lb) of plutonium, was dropped over the city's industrial valley. It exploded 47 seconds later at 1,650 feet (503 m) above the tennis court halfway between Mitsubishi Steel and Arms Works to the south and Nagasaki Arsenal to the north.

It was about 3 km northwest of the planned hypocenter. The resulting explosion had an explosion yield equivalent to 22,000 tons of TNT. The estimated heat from the eruption was 3,900 °C (7,050 °F) and winds were estimated at 1,005 km/h (624 mph).

According to the US government's post-war estimates, forty thousand people were killed, and another forty thousand wounded. The total destruction had a radius of about 1 mile (1.6 km), followed by a fire 2 miles (3.2 km) south of the bomb in the northern part of the city.

On 12 August, the Emperor of Japan informed the imperial family of his decision to surrender. Even though the War Council was still divided ("It is too early to say that the war is lost," said the War Minister), Emperor Hirohito met the request of two War Council members, eager to end the war. Council and declared that "the continuation of the war can only lead to the destruction of the Japanese people...". The Emperor of Japan allowed the unconditional surrender.