Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Minute by Minute)

00:31:34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQBnTDJctJE

Resumo

TLDRVideo recounts the events leading to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, detailing the scientific discoveries, military decisions, and the aftermath of the bombings. It highlights the roles of key figures like Colonel Paul Tibbets and J. Robert Oppenheimer, the impact of the bombings on Japan, and the long-term consequences of nuclear warfare.

Conclusões

  • ✈️ 6 Agustus 1945: Bom atom dijatuhkan di Hiroshima.
  • 🔬 Penemuan fusi nuklir oleh ilmuwan Yahudi.
  • 💣 'Little Boy' adalah nama bom yang dijatuhkan.
  • 🌍 Akibat bom: 70,000 tewas seketika di Hiroshima.
  • 📜 Jepang menyerah setelah pengeboman.
  • 🧪 Oppenheimer memimpin Proyek Manhattan.
  • 🌪️ Uji coba Trinity: ledakan pertama bom atom.
  • ⚖️ Kontroversi penggunaan bom atom dalam perang.
  • 🌊 Dampak jangka panjang: radiasi dan kanker.
  • 🕊️ Perang Dunia II berakhir setelah pengeboman.

Linha do tempo

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Dina 6 Agustus 1945, jam 7:15 isuk, Kolonel Paul Tibbets, Jr. ngapungkeun Enola Gay ka Hiroshima, teu nyaho yén bencana badé datang. Timna nyiapkeun bom atom anu bakal nyiptakeun ledakan pangkuat anu pernah dipaké dina perang. Tibbets nyarios, "Kami ngadeukeutan target, arming weapon."

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Jam 8:00 isuk, Kolonel Tibbets nyarios ka timna yén targetna parantos katingali. Timna ngalakukeun doa pamungkas, nyangka yén ieu tiasa janten waktos terakhirna. Tibbets nyetir pesawat ka posisi serangan, nyiapkeun diri pikeun ngaleupaskeun bom atom.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Jam 8:12 isuk, Tibbets ngalihkeun komando ka Mayor Thomas Ferebee, bombardir Enola Gay. Ferebee nyaluyukeun trajektori pesawat pikeun nyocogkeun target. Saatos nyiapkeun, Ferebee nyarita, "Sadaya jalma, pasang kacamata pelindung," sareng nyiapkeun pikeun ngaleupaskeun bom.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    Jam 8:15 isuk, Ferebee nyarios, "Bomb's away!" sareng bom atom dijatuhkan. Tibbets ngagulung pesawat pikeun ngaleungitkeun diri ti zona ledakan. Saatos 30 detik, ledakan atom lumangsung, nyiptakeun cahaya anu pikasieuneun sareng ngancurkeun Hiroshima.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    Dina Januari 1939, Lise Meitner sareng Otto Frisch, dua ilmuwan Yahudi, mendakan prosés fusi nuklir anu tiasa nyiptakeun énergi anu ageung. Aranjeunna ngumpul sareng Neils Bohr di Denmark, anu teras ngabagi penemuanana ka ilmuwan di Amérika Serikat, nyiptakeun dasar pikeun bom atom.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:31:34

    Dina April 1943, Oppenheimer milih lokasi pikeun nguji bom atom anu munggaran. Sanajan aya résiko yén ledakan tiasa ngancurkeun planet, timna tetep maju. Akhirna, lokasi di Los Alamos dipilih pikeun nguji bom, sareng rébuan ilmuwan sumping pikeun ngembangkeun senjata anu tiasa ngancurkeun musuh.

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Vídeo de perguntas e respostas

  • What was the name of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima?

    The atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima was called 'Little Boy.'

  • Who piloted the Enola Gay?

    Colonel Paul Tibbets, Jr. piloted the Enola Gay.

  • What was the estimated death toll in Hiroshima after the bombing?

    Approximately 70,000 people were killed instantly, with another 30,000 dying within the year from injuries and radiation.

  • What was the name of the bomb dropped on Nagasaki?

    The bomb dropped on Nagasaki was called 'Fat Man.'

  • What was the main reason for dropping the atomic bombs?

    The main reason was to force Japan to surrender and avoid a costly invasion.

  • What was the outcome of the bombings?

    Japan surrendered, leading to the end of World War II.

  • What were the long-term effects of the bombings?

    Long-term effects included radiation poisoning, cancer, and environmental contamination.

  • Who was the lead scientist on the Manhattan Project?

    J. Robert Oppenheimer was the lead scientist on the Manhattan Project.

  • What was the Trinity test?

    The Trinity test was the first detonation of an atomic bomb, conducted on July 16, 1945.

  • What was the response of the Japanese government after the bombings?

    The Japanese government initially considered surrender but sought to maintain the Emperor's position.

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  • 00:00:00
    August 6, 1945, 7:15 AM: 60 minutes before  the atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima.
  • 00:00:06
    The skies are clear over southern Japan. Colonel  Paul Tibbets, Jr. pilots the Enola Gay towards a
  • 00:00:12
    target blissfully unaware of the catastrophe about  to be unleashed over their heads. The crew of the
  • 00:00:16
    modified B-29 is silent as they prepare to drop  a bomb that promises to create the most powerful
  • 00:00:21
    explosion ever used in war. “We are approaching  our target,” Tibbets says. “Arm the weapon.”
  • 00:00:26
    In the cargo hold of the Enola Gay Captain William  Parsons prepares the atomic bomb for drop. Right
  • 00:00:31
    after take off, he put the final piece of the  Little Boy bomb together. Now he checks one last
  • 00:00:36
    time to make sure that the device detonates  at the appropriate altitude. A bead of sweat
  • 00:00:40
    trickles down the side of his face. Even though  what he is doing is relatively safe, there is
  • 00:00:45
    still the thought that one wrong move could make  the B-29 Ground Zero for an atomic explosion.
  • 00:00:49
    Tibbets pulls up on the flight stick  and ascends to an attacking altitude of
  • 00:00:53
    31,000 feet. The higher he can get the plane,
  • 00:00:55
    the more time he’ll have to evacuate the area  before the bomb reaches its detonation altitude.
  • 00:01:00
    He waits for the all-clear from the two B-29s  that have accompanied the Enola Gay on the
  • 00:01:04
    mission for reconnaissance. One of the aircraft  is scouting over the primary target of Hiroshima;
  • 00:01:09
    the other is conducting surveillance over  the secondary targets of Kokura and Nagasaki.
  • 00:01:13
    The radio aboard the Enola Gay crackles  as the signal comes in. “Weather over the
  • 00:01:18
    primary target is all clear. Proceed  to Primary Target.” Colonel Tibbets
  • 00:01:21
    adjusts his heading ever so slightly  and continues towards Hiroshima.
  • 00:01:25
    8:00 AM: 15 minutes before the  atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima.
  • 00:01:29
    Colonel Tibbets speaks to his crew. “Target is in  sight. Prepare to drop the bomb.” The 12 men on
  • 00:01:34
    the aircraft say their final prayers and think  about their loved ones. This is the first time
  • 00:01:38
    an atomic bomb has been dropped from a plane.  It is unclear if the bomb will work properly or
  • 00:01:43
    if there will be enough time to get the Enola  Gay out of the blast zone before detonation.
  • 00:01:47
    This may very well be the last time any of  the crew will have the luxury of reminiscing
  • 00:01:51
    about their families and friends. Tibbets  maneuvers the aircraft into striking position.
  • 00:01:55
    8:12 AM: 2 minutes before the  atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima.
  • 00:01:59
    “I’m transferring command to you, Ferebee,”  Tibbets says over his headset. Major Thomas
  • 00:02:04
    Ferebee, the Enola Gay’s bombardier, sits at the  front of the aircraft. He can see the city of
  • 00:02:08
    Hiroshima below through the glass of the plane’s  nose. From the Pedestal Gun Sighting Station,
  • 00:02:12
    Ferebee shouts out slight adjustments  that need to be made to the aircraft’s
  • 00:02:16
    trajectory. Tibbets makes the modifications  as Ferebee calls them out. He takes a deep
  • 00:02:20
    breath and lets it out slowly. A moment  later, the bombing run begins. Ferebee
  • 00:02:25
    has the Aioi Bridge lined up perfectly;  this is the precise target for the drop.
  • 00:02:29
    “Everyone put on your protective goggles,” Tibbets  says over the radio. Ferebee looks through the
  • 00:02:34
    viewfinder one last time before donning his  headgear and preparing to drop the atomic bomb.
  • 00:02:39
    8:15 AM: the atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima.
  • 00:02:42
    “Bomb’s away!” Ferebee yells into his headset.  The bomb bay doors open, and the Little Boy
  • 00:02:47
    atomic bomb plummets toward the ground. Tibbets  immediately banks hard into a turn. He pushes
  • 00:02:52
    the engines of the Enola Gay to their limit.  They roar under the strain of extra thrust;
  • 00:02:56
    the entire fuselage creeks as the plane  rapidly turns away. It is a race against time.
  • 00:03:01
    Every second that ticks by brings  the explosion of atomic energy closer
  • 00:03:05
    and closer. Tibbets grits his teeth,  willing the Enola Gay to move faster.
  • 00:03:09
    30 seconds to detonation.
  • 00:03:11
    The plane’s engines glow red from burning  at full power. The crew braces themselves.
  • 00:03:15
    15 seconds to detonation.
  • 00:03:18
    Sargent Bob Caron, the Enola Gay’s tail gunner,
  • 00:03:20
    squints through his goggles. He will  be the only member of the crew able to
  • 00:03:24
    see the initial blast as the bomb goes off.  This is not an honor Caron is sure he wants.
  • 00:03:29
    3… 2… 1…
  • 00:03:31
    There is a bright flash of light. Caron shields  his face with his forearm. His eyes are closed,
  • 00:03:36
    but when he opens them, he can hardly  believe what he sees. “It is like a
  • 00:03:40
    peep into hell,” Caron says over the  radio. There is a somber silence.
  • 00:03:44
    January 1939: 6 years before the  atomic bomb is dropped on Japan.
  • 00:03:49
    Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch, two Jewish  scientists fleeing Nazi Germany, have been
  • 00:03:54
    following a discovery made by two scientists  named Irène Joliot-Curie and Pavle Savić
  • 00:03:59
    working out of France. They have determined  that by bombarding uranium with neutrons,
  • 00:04:03
    a transformation can take place that has the  potential to release huge amounts of energy.
  • 00:04:07
    Meitner and Frisch are desperate to make it to  Cohepenhegan before another Great War breaks out,
  • 00:04:12
    both to save their lives and share  what they’ve learned with other
  • 00:04:15
    scientists. It is in Denmark that they meet with  a brilliant physicist by the name of Neils Bohr.
  • 00:04:20
    Bohr is about to leave for the United States and  is excited to share the new discovery brought to
  • 00:04:24
    his attention by Meitner and Frisch with  the scientists there. He discusses the
  • 00:04:28
    transformation and the resulting release of energy  with Albert Einstein and other scientists in the
  • 00:04:33
    U.S. After their meeting, the group of researchers  announces their findings. It is determined that by
  • 00:04:38
    striking uranium-235 or plutonium-239 atoms with  neutrons, the nucleus can be split into fragments,
  • 00:04:45
    resulting in a huge burst of energy. This  process has been termed fission by Meitner
  • 00:04:50
    and Frisch and lays the foundation for  what would one day become the atom bomb.
  • 00:04:53
    June 1940: 5 years before the  atomic bomb is dropped on Japan.
  • 00:04:58
    “When fission occurs, there is a  chance that neutrons are released,
  • 00:05:01
    and a sustained chain reaction will happen,”  Enrico Fermi says to Neils Bohr as they smoke
  • 00:05:06
    pipes in a university classroom. The two  scientists are working on the equations
  • 00:05:10
    necessary to harness nuclear energy and change  the world. “If that’s true,” Bohr replies,
  • 00:05:15
    “this process may be more powerful  than we could have ever imagined.
  • 00:05:18
    Scientists in the United States continue  to work on the prospect of atomic energy.
  • 00:05:22
    Slowly the secrets of the atom and the process of  fission become clearer. By the end of the month,
  • 00:05:27
    the basic facts about nuclear energy  are known by most scientists around
  • 00:05:30
    the world. The race to harness  the power of the atom has begun.
  • 00:05:34
    December 1941: 4 years before the  atomic bomb is dropped on Japan.
  • 00:05:38
    “Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will  live in infamy—the United States of America was
  • 00:05:45
    suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval  and air forces of the Empire of Japan.” President
  • 00:05:49
    Franklin Delano Rosevelt addresses Congress and  the people of the United States. The attack on
  • 00:05:54
    Pearl Harbor thrust the United States into World  War II. This single event will lead to millions
  • 00:05:59
    of lives lost during the War in the Pacific. The  conflict will end with two Japanese cities being
  • 00:06:04
    decimated and the area around them covered  in radioactive fallout for years to come.
  • 00:06:09
    September 1942: 3 years before the  atomic bomb is dropped on Japan.
  • 00:06:13
    General Leslie R. Groves is placed  in charge of the Manhattan Project,
  • 00:06:17
    named after the U.S. Army Corps of  Engineers Manhattan District based at
  • 00:06:21
    Columbia University. The atomic program  spans the country, but the Manhattan
  • 00:06:25
    Project has stuck as a code name for the top  secret project as it is where it all began.
  • 00:06:30
    For a while now, a scientist by the name of J.  Robert Oppenheimer has been deeply involved in
  • 00:06:35
    the efforts to develop the atomic bomb. General  Groves has taken note of Oppenheimer’s enthusiasm.
  • 00:06:40
    “How would you like to lead the team of  scientists working on the bomb?” Groves
  • 00:06:43
    asks. Oppenheimer pauses for a moment to  think about what this could mean. He has
  • 00:06:47
    been working tirelessly to help the government  achieve its goals and further the scientific
  • 00:06:51
    understanding necessary to achieve a working  atomic bomb. What the general is offering him
  • 00:06:56
    would change everything. He would be directly  responsible for the success of the project.
  • 00:07:00
    “It would be an honor, general,” Oppenheimer says  as he shakes Groves' hand. In the coming years,
  • 00:07:05
    Oppenheimer will lead the team that creates  a weapon which could literally end the world.
  • 00:07:09
    December 2, 1942.
  • 00:07:12
    “Everyone stand back and be prepared to  shut it down if something goes wrong,”
  • 00:07:15
    Enrico Fermi says to his team. They stand on  a platform, looking down on a squash court.
  • 00:07:19
    The court sits under the bleachers of Stagg  Field at the University of Chicago. On the
  • 00:07:24
    court itself is Chicago Pile No. 1. “Do  we think it wise to initiate a nuclear
  • 00:07:29
    reaction under the football field?” one  of the researchers asks. Everyone pauses.
  • 00:07:32
    “This is for science, for the United States,  and for the future of humanity,” one of the
  • 00:07:36
    physicists sitting at the control panel  says. There is agreement. The switch
  • 00:07:39
    is flipped. The reactor begins to hum.  Neutrons begin bombarding the fuel rods
  • 00:07:44
    in the reactor. A self-sustaining nuclear  chain reaction begins within Chicago Pile
  • 00:07:49
    No. 1. Atomic energy is released, plutonium  is created, all of the theoretical science
  • 00:07:54
    done up until this point around atomic  energy has been experimentally proven.
  • 00:07:57
    A scientist takes one of the rods out of  the reactor. He runs a Geiger Counter over
  • 00:08:02
    it. The machine rapidly begins to click. It  is clear that a huge amount of radiation has
  • 00:08:06
    been generated, but the ramifications  of this byproduct are not yet known.
  • 00:08:10
    January 1943: 2 years and 8 months before  the atomic bomb is dropped on Japan.
  • 00:08:15
    General Groves smiles as he reads progress reports  sent by Oppenheimer. They are getting close,
  • 00:08:20
    really close. The government has chosen a  580-square-mile parcel of land in Washington
  • 00:08:25
    State to generate the plutonium needed to  construct an arsenal of atomic bombs. The
  • 00:08:30
    only problem is there are people living  on the land that Groves wants. However,
  • 00:08:34
    this is an easy fix. He is backed  by the United States government and,
  • 00:08:37
    at this point, has been given the go-ahead  to do whatever it takes to make the bomb.
  • 00:08:40
    The local population of Hanford, Richland, and  White Bluffs are ordered to vacate their homes.
  • 00:08:45
    They have 90 days to do so, or the military  will be sent in to encourage them to make the
  • 00:08:50
    right choice. Groves won’t let a few holdouts  stop him and the Manhattan Project from getting
  • 00:08:55
    the resources they need to complete the bomb.  Along with the entire populations of these towns,
  • 00:08:59
    the Wanapum Native Americans are forced to  relocate. They are sent to Priest Rapids and lose
  • 00:09:04
    access to their ancestral fishing grounds along  the Columbia River. This is just another egregious
  • 00:09:09
    mistreatment of the people who are native to  this land by the United States government.
  • 00:09:12
    The U.S. government suppresses as many  outcries as they need to in order to
  • 00:09:17
    complete the construction of their facility.  It is a matter of national security that the
  • 00:09:21
    Hanford Engineer Works be built to supply  the military with plutonium. To Groves
  • 00:09:25
    and the other high-ranking officials that are  aware of the Manhattan Project, a few thousand
  • 00:09:29
    unhappy citizens and Native Americans is a small  price to pay for the fate of the entire world.
  • 00:09:34
    April 1943: 2 years and 4 months before  the atomic bomb is dropped on Japan.
  • 00:09:39
    Oppenheimer sifts through several different  maps looking for the perfect locations to
  • 00:09:43
    carry out the first test of an atomic  bomb. The Hanford facility is remote,
  • 00:09:47
    but not as remote as he would like.  Using fission to create an atomic blast
  • 00:09:51
    has never been done before, and it is not clear  exactly how destructive the explosion will be.
  • 00:09:56
    According to some calculations, there is  a very small chance that the atomic blast
  • 00:10:00
    could ignite the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere  and cause the entire planet to become a raging
  • 00:10:05
    inferno. But Oppenheimer and his team on  the Manhattan Project are almost positive
  • 00:10:09
    that won’t happen. The risk of possibly  destroying the planet is outweighed by
  • 00:10:13
    their thirst for knowledge and the ability to  wipe their enemies off the face of the Earth.
  • 00:10:16
    “That’s the spot,” Oppenheimer says,  pointing to a map of New Mexico with
  • 00:10:20
    his index finger. He has chosen a remote  region on the Los Alamos mesa. It is 34
  • 00:10:25
    miles south of Santa Fe and in the middle of  the desert. This should be isolated enough
  • 00:10:29
    to conduct the necessary tests without  anyone finding out what they are doing.
  • 00:10:33
    Engineers begin arriving at the newly  dubbed Los Alamos Laboratory. The first
  • 00:10:37
    task is to create a bomb that can hold the  appropriate amount of fissionable material,
  • 00:10:42
    be dropped from a plane, and has a fuse that  will detonate at the appropriate altitude.
  • 00:10:46
    This all needs to be done before the team can  ramp up its stores of fissionable material.
  • 00:10:51
    If they don’t have a delivery method, there is  no point in reducing the fissionable products
  • 00:10:55
    being sent to New Mexico from plants such as  the Hanford Engineer Works into pure metal.
  • 00:11:00
    Every week more and more scientists,  engineers, and technicians arrive at
  • 00:11:03
    Los Alamos. By the time of the first test,  there will be around 5,000 people at the site.
  • 00:11:08
    April 12, 1945: 4 months before the  atomic bomb is dropped on Japan.
  • 00:11:13
    The nation mourns. President Franklin Delano  Roosevelt has just passed away. Many are in
  • 00:11:18
    shock. In the President’s last address, he looked  old and frail while seated at his desk. However,
  • 00:11:23
    his declining health had been kept a secret  from the general public. Now they have to
  • 00:11:27
    contend with the fact that their leader for over  a decade will not see them through World War II.
  • 00:11:31
    Germany will surrender in less than a month,  but there is still the Japanese threat in the
  • 00:11:35
    Pacific. Less than 24 hours after FDR’s death,  the United States' new President, Harry S. Truman,
  • 00:11:41
    is sworn in and briefed on the Manhattan  Project and the progress of the atomic bomb.
  • 00:11:45
    July 16, 1945, 5:29 am: 21 days before  the atomic bomb is dropped on Japan.
  • 00:11:52
    Sirens wail across Los Alamos. The  Trinity test is about to begin. Gadget,
  • 00:11:57
    the first atomic bomb to ever be tested, hangs  100 feet above the sand of Alamogordo Bombing
  • 00:12:03
    Range. Oppenheimer glances at his watch.  The experiment will commence in the next
  • 00:12:07
    45 seconds. When the timer hits zero, the  plutonium implosion device will detonate,
  • 00:12:12
    and the largest man-made explosion that has ever  been created will possibly destroy the planet.
  • 00:12:16
    30 seconds until detonation.
  • 00:12:18
    Military officials, scientists, and engineers are  at observation points between 5 and 10 miles away
  • 00:12:24
    from Ground Zero. They are ordered to lie on  their stomachs with their heads pointed away
  • 00:12:28
    from the bomb. Everyone in attendance gets down  on the ground, puts on their protective goggles,
  • 00:12:33
    and waits for the countdown to reach zero. This is  the moment they have all been waiting for. If the
  • 00:12:38
    test succeeds, the United States will have the  most powerful weapon the world has ever known.
  • 00:12:41
    15 seconds until detonation.
  • 00:12:44
    The skies are dark. Rain falls on  the parched desert sands. Lightning
  • 00:12:48
    illuminates the sky in the distance. It is  the perfect day to test a doomsday weapon.
  • 00:12:52
    Gadget detonates.
  • 00:12:53
    At 5:29 and 45 seconds, the bomb is  triggered. There is a blinding flash
  • 00:12:58
    of light that illuminates the mountain peaks ten  miles away. All is quiet for a brief moment; then,
  • 00:13:03
    there is the deafening sound of the explosion.  Hurricane-force winds sweep across the test site,
  • 00:13:08
    blowing sand and debris over the desert.  After several seconds observers throughout
  • 00:13:13
    the area turn toward Ground Zero.  A 40,000-foot mushroom cloud rises
  • 00:13:17
    up into the sky. Where the tower once  stood is now only a crater with a glassy
  • 00:13:21
    jade-colored mineral covering the surface.  This substance would later be named trinitite.
  • 00:13:26
    As far as 50 miles away, people report seeing  the explosion. Citizens phone the authorities,
  • 00:13:31
    asking what happened out in the desert.  Windows of houses 125 miles away shatter.
  • 00:13:36
    Residents in Gallup, New Mexico, 180  miles from Alamogordo Bombing Range,
  • 00:13:40
    say they felt the ground shake. Later, the  government will release a brief statement
  • 00:13:44
    to the press giving an explanation for the large  explosion and the phenomena associated with it:
  • 00:13:49
    “A remotely located ammunition magazine  containing a considerable amount of high
  • 00:13:53
    explosives and pyrotechnics exploded, but  there was no loss of life or limb to anyone.”
  • 00:13:57
    This is clearly a lie, but the government  can’t let anyone know what has just occurred
  • 00:14:02
    at Los Alamos. The atomic bomb must  remain a secret until the opportune
  • 00:14:06
    moment when the U.S. military is ready  to unleash its power on their enemies.
  • 00:14:09
    Oppenheimer stands with his mouth  open, staring at the aftermath of
  • 00:14:13
    the weapon of mass destruction he played  an integral role in creating. A line from
  • 00:14:18
    a Hindu passage passes through his  thoughts. “Now I am become Death,
  • 00:14:21
    the destroyer of worlds.” The mushroom  cloud continues to grow larger and larger.
  • 00:14:26
    July 16th, late afternoon.
  • 00:14:28
    Top military officials receive a communication  stating that the atomic bomb test at Los Alamos
  • 00:14:33
    has been a success. The weapon is everything  they hoped for and more. Military leaders
  • 00:14:37
    have been grappling with the reality of what  is unfolding in the Pacific. Japan will not
  • 00:14:41
    give up. It seems as if the only way to end the  war is by invading the home island itself. This
  • 00:14:46
    is estimated to result in 1.7 to 4 million  U.S. casualties. The number is staggering,
  • 00:14:52
    but it may be the only way to force  the Japanese leadership to surrender.
  • 00:14:55
    Now there is another option. The United States  can use its newest and most powerful weapon to
  • 00:15:00
    force Japan’s hand. An order is sent to  military bases on the West Coast that
  • 00:15:04
    have components for several atomic bombs  stored at their facilities. They are to
  • 00:15:08
    begin shipping the parts of the bomb to an  island within striking distance of Japan.
  • 00:15:12
    Early that evening, the USS Indianapolis leaves  San Francisco. On board the ship is a gun assembly
  • 00:15:17
    mechanism for detonating the atomic weapon,  about half of the U.S. supply of uranium-235,
  • 00:15:22
    and several Los Alamos scientists who will oversee  the construction of the bombs. The rest of the
  • 00:15:28
    United States stockpile of uranium-235 is loaded  onto a transport plane and flown to Tinian Island.
  • 00:15:34
    This is where everything will come together  before a nuclear attack is launched against Japan.
  • 00:15:38
    July 26, 1945: 11 days before the  atomic bomb is dropped on Japan.
  • 00:15:44
    The USS Indianapolis reaches Tinian Island.  Assembly of Little Boy begins. Later when the
  • 00:15:49
    plutonium arrives by aircraft, the construction  of Fat Man starts. The Big Three: Truman,
  • 00:15:54
    Churchill, and Stalin are at the Potsdam  Conference in Germany when Truman receives
  • 00:15:58
    a message reporting the successful  test of the atomic bomb at Los Alamos.
  • 00:16:02
    Truman leans over to Stalin. “I’ve just  received word that U.S. scientists have
  • 00:16:05
    created a new weapon of unusual destructive  force,” he says. “The time for a Japanese
  • 00:16:10
    surrender is at hand.” Stalin hesitates for a  moment. His own scientists have been working
  • 00:16:14
    around the clock to harness the power of the  atom and make their own bomb. He is slightly
  • 00:16:18
    annoyed that the U.S. beat him to it. “Very  well,” Stalin replies. “Let’s contact Tokyo.
  • 00:16:23
    The Big Three issue an ultimatum to Japan. It  states that they either surrender unconditionally
  • 00:16:28
    or face “prompt and utter destruction.”  There is no response to their request.
  • 00:16:31
    After dropping off the components for the bombs,  the Indianapolis departs for the Philippines,
  • 00:16:36
    where it will continue to aid in the war  effort. Four days later, it is sunk by
  • 00:16:40
    the Japanese submarine I-58. 900 out of the  1,200 sailors survive the attack and float in
  • 00:16:46
    the dark Pacific waters. The men are accidentally  stumbled upon by U.S. ships four days later. Only
  • 00:16:51
    316 men survived. It is theorized from first-hand  accounts and the carnage left in the water that
  • 00:16:57
    hundreds of men were attacked and eaten by Oceanic  white-tipped sharks while they waited for rescue.
  • 00:17:01
    August 2, 1945: 4 days before the  atomic bomb is dropped on Japan.
  • 00:17:06
    It has been decided that the United States will  not launch a land invasion of Japan but will force
  • 00:17:11
    them to surrender by using their newest weapon  instead. No one except the highest-ranking U.S.
  • 00:17:15
    officials and scientists present at the Trinity  test knows the power of the atomic bomb. However,
  • 00:17:21
    no one can predict the destructive power  and the deadly aftermath of the bomb,
  • 00:17:24
    as this will be the first time anything  like it has been used in warfare. The
  • 00:17:28
    collateral damage will be immense,  but the U.S. feels it needs to send
  • 00:17:31
    a clear message in order to get the  Japanese leadership to end the war.
  • 00:17:35
    The U.S. military is watching the weather  over Japan. They are waiting for the
  • 00:17:39
    opportune moment to carry out their attack.  The targets have been narrowed down to Kokura,
  • 00:17:43
    Hiroshima, Niigata, and Kyōto. Although  Kyōto was at the top of the list,
  • 00:17:48
    Secretary of War Henry Lewis Stimson pleaded  with President Truman to reconsider due to its
  • 00:17:53
    historical and cultural significance. Truman  agrees; Kyōto is swapped out for Nagasaki.
  • 00:17:58
    August 6, 1945, 2:30 am: 5 hours and 45 minutes  before the atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima.
  • 00:18:05
    Colonel Paul Tibbets walks around the B-29 that  will be flown to Japan to drop the atomic bomb
  • 00:18:09
    named Little Boy. His crew has gathered and made  final preparations. Tibbets stops at the nose of
  • 00:18:14
    the plane and looks at the hull. “George,  can you come over here for a second?” asks
  • 00:18:18
    Tibbets. A maintenance worker walks over to the  plane. Tibbets whispers something into his ear.
  • 00:18:22
    The maintenance worker leaves and comes  back with stencils and paint. He gets
  • 00:18:26
    to work writing something on the nose  of the aircraft. After a few minutes,
  • 00:18:29
    he steps away. Tibbets smiles at his mother’s name  that is now painted on the hull of the aircraft.
  • 00:18:34
    2:45 am: 5 hours and 30 minutes before  the atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima.
  • 00:18:39
    Tibbets pushes the throttle forward. The engines  of the B-29 Superfortess, now named the Enola Gay,
  • 00:18:44
    roar to life. The aircraft picks up speed as it  races down the runway. Tibbets pulls back on the
  • 00:18:50
    flight stick; the plane rises into the air. It  is a little unwieldy due to the modifications
  • 00:18:54
    made to the craft, which allow it to carry and  drop atomic bombs. A few seconds after lift-off,
  • 00:18:59
    Tibbets feels a slight dip, and his stomach sinks.  He makes a few adjustments; the plane begins
  • 00:19:04
    to climb again. He breathes a sigh of relief.  However, he knows the hardest part is yet to come.
  • 00:19:08
    Moments later, two other B-29s take off  from the airfield on Tinian island. They
  • 00:19:13
    will provide reconnaissance on the  targets for the Enola Gay to make
  • 00:19:15
    sure that the conditions are right to  drop the bomb. They will also be used
  • 00:19:18
    to film the detonation of the atomic  device and the immediate aftermath.
  • 00:19:22
    Once the Enola Gay levels off, Captain William  Parsons begins adding the final components to
  • 00:19:26
    Little Boy. This was not done prior to takeoff  because several of the modified B-29s crashed
  • 00:19:31
    during test flights. A major concern is that if a  B-29 crashes with a fully assembled bomb on board,
  • 00:19:37
    it might detonate and wipe out the entire  military base on Tinian Island. This might
  • 00:19:42
    serve as a demonstration of the destructive  power of the atomic bomb, but not in the way
  • 00:19:46
    the United States had hoped for. Therefore,  the atomic bomb aboard the Enola Gay was
  • 00:19:50
    not to be fully assembled until the B-29 was in  the air and a safe distance away from the base.
  • 00:19:55
    “We are good to go, Colonel,” Parsons says  over the radio once he finishes preparations
  • 00:19:59
    on Little Boy. “Roger that,” Tibbets confirms. He  continues to fly towards the home island of Japan.
  • 00:20:05
    8:15 am: 1 second before the atomic  bomb detonates over Hiroshima.
  • 00:20:09
    Little Boy falls to an altitude of  1,900 feet. The gun assembly device
  • 00:20:13
    fires and critical mass is achieved when  the uranium projectile strikes the uranium
  • 00:20:18
    target within the bomb. This results in the  initiation of a chain reaction. Atoms split;
  • 00:20:22
    neutrons are ripped from their nuclei.  This creates a massive amount of energy
  • 00:20:26
    resulting in an atomic explosion directly  over the Shima Hospital in Hiroshima.
  • 00:20:31
    When the bomb detonates, the temperature directly  below the blast reaches 12,600 degrees Fahrenheit
  • 00:20:36
    or around 7,000 degrees Celsius. Everything  within the vicinity is immediately incinerated,
  • 00:20:41
    including people, vehicles, and  buildings. The blast wave levels
  • 00:20:45
    any structures within its radius, destroying  around two-thirds of the city. Out of the
  • 00:20:49
    343,000 inhabitants living in Hiroshima,  around 70,000 are killed almost instantly;
  • 00:20:55
    another 30,000 will be dead within the year  from severe burns and radiation poisoning.
  • 00:21:00
    All the remains of anyone caught in  the thermal radiation blast is their
  • 00:21:03
    nuclear shadows imprinted on the stone  structures of Hiroshima. Their bodies
  • 00:21:07
    shielded the stone from the radiation,  keeping it from being bleached by the
  • 00:21:11
    intense heat and leaving an imprint of  their body forever etched into the rock.
  • 00:21:15
    As the Enola Gray speeds away, it is rocked  by the shockwave of the atomic bomb. “Hold
  • 00:21:20
    onto something!” Tibbets yells over the  headset. The crew is restrained to their
  • 00:21:23
    seats by safety harnesses; if they had not been  wearing them, they would have been tossed around
  • 00:21:27
    the fuselage like pinballs. Tibbets clutches  the flight stick tightly with both hands. He
  • 00:21:32
    adjusts the angle of the B-29 to level the  plane out. Moments later, the air is still
  • 00:21:36
    once again. Tibbets climbs to cruising altitude  and begins the journey back to Tinian Island.
  • 00:21:42
    8:18 am: 3 minutes after the atomic  bomb detonated over Hiroshima.
  • 00:21:46
    The mushroom cloud from the blast rises higher  and higher into the air, reaching 40,000 feet
  • 00:21:50
    above the ground. Less than 2% of the uranium  contained within Little Boy achieved fission,
  • 00:21:55
    yet the destruction is utterly unbelievable.  The bomb released the equivalent of more than
  • 00:22:00
    15,000 tons of TNT on the city  of Hiroshima. A member of the
  • 00:22:04
    Enola Gray’s crew looks back at the  destruction from a window. “Good God,
  • 00:22:07
    what have we done?” he says into his  headset. For a minute, there is only silence.
  • 00:22:11
    “We saved American lives,” someone  responds. “But at what cost?” a third
  • 00:22:15
    voice says. The crew is silent for  much of the journey back to base.
  • 00:22:19
    8:15 pm: 12 hours after the atomic  bomb detonated over Hiroshima.
  • 00:22:23
    The Enola Gay touches down at Tinian. Upon  disembarking, the crew is greeted by cheers
  • 00:22:28
    and applause. Colonel Paul Tibbets is awarded  the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions.
  • 00:22:32
    Four hours later, President Harry Truman  addresses the American people. “Sixteen
  • 00:22:37
    hours ago, an American airplane dropped one  bomb on Hiroshima, an important Japanese Army
  • 00:22:41
    base. That bomb had more power than 20,000  tons of TNT.” Some listeners shake their
  • 00:22:46
    heads in dismay. Others are terrified of what  this weapon could be used for in the future.
  • 00:22:50
    And yet the majority smile at the awesome  power that the United States now wields.
  • 00:22:55
    Truman continues: “It is an atomic bomb. It is  a harnessing of the basic power of the universe.
  • 00:23:00
    The force from which the sun draws its power has
  • 00:23:03
    been loosed against those who  brought war to the Far East.”
  • 00:23:05
    The world has changed forever.
  • 00:23:07
    August 8, 1945: 1 day before the  atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki.
  • 00:23:12
    As news of the destruction of Hiroshima  circulates around the world, people grapple
  • 00:23:16
    with the consequences of such a powerful  weapon. It is almost incomprehensible. Some
  • 00:23:21
    in the Japanese leadership claim that since their  own atomic program has stalled due to difficulties
  • 00:23:25
    in procuring materials, perhaps the United States  only had that one bomb. Others argue it is time to
  • 00:23:31
    reach a settlement with the U.S. and its allies.  Advocates for surrendering note that if the United
  • 00:23:35
    States could build and drop one atomic bomb, it is  only a matter of time before they can do it again.
  • 00:23:39
    At this point, the Soviet Union has yet  to declare war on Japan. It is proposed
  • 00:23:44
    by some Japanese officials that Stalin  might be willing to mediate negotiations
  • 00:23:48
    between the United States and Japan. However,  before anything can become of such an idea,
  • 00:23:52
    the Soviet Union declares war. Their  forces push into Manchuria and Sakhalin
  • 00:23:57
    Island. Japan will receive no help from  the Soviets, only death and destruction.
  • 00:24:01
    August 9, 1945, 3:47 AM: 10 hours and 15 minutes  before the atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki.
  • 00:24:08
    The United States still has not received word of  a Japanese surrender. There is growing unease as
  • 00:24:13
    Soviet forces move closer and closer to the  main island of Japan. U.S. leadership worries
  • 00:24:18
    that if the Soviet Union invades and forces a  surrender, they may claim Japan and much of the
  • 00:24:23
    territory it conquered during the war for their  own. The United States cannot let this happen.
  • 00:24:27
    The Bockscar, a B-29 loaded with the Fat Man  atomic bomb, takes off from Tinian and proceeds
  • 00:24:32
    toward Japan. Major Charles Sweeney is at the  controls. The bomb the Bockscar carries is more
  • 00:24:37
    powerful than the one dropped on Hiroshima.  It is plutonium-fueled and similar to the
  • 00:24:42
    bomb detonated during the Trinity  test at Alamogordo Bombing Range.
  • 00:24:45
    While taking off, Sweeney is particularly careful.  Unlike the Little Boy bomb, Fat Man is already
  • 00:24:50
    completely assembled in his cargo hold. Once the  plane is safely in the air Commander Frederick
  • 00:24:55
    Ashworth arms the bomb. Again, two other B-29s  accompany the Bockscar on their mission to
  • 00:25:00
    ensure that the targets are visible. At the  time of take-off, clear skies with light haze
  • 00:25:04
    are reported over the primary target of Kokura.  Sweeney pilots the plane toward this destination.
  • 00:25:10
    9:45 AM: 1 hour and 17 minutes before  the atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki.
  • 00:25:14
    “I can’t see anything,” Sweeney exclaims  over the radio. The weather over Kokura
  • 00:25:19
    has deteriorated. Visibility of the  city below is nearly zero. This may
  • 00:25:23
    have been caused by the firebombing  runs conducted on the nearby city of
  • 00:25:27
    Yahata the night before. “I’m circling  around for another pass,” Sweeney says.
  • 00:25:30
    On the second time around, the city below  is still covered by haze and clouds. There
  • 00:25:34
    is no way to tell where the target is and when to  drop the bomb. “Can anyone see anything?” Sweeney
  • 00:25:39
    shouts as he circles back for one more pass,  hoping that there is a break in the overcast
  • 00:25:43
    skies. Their target is a massive arsenal that  contains large stores of weapons and explosives
  • 00:25:48
    that the Japanese desperately need if they are  going to mount a defense of their home island.
  • 00:25:52
    The destruction of the target makes sense in  the scheme of the war. But if the crew of the
  • 00:25:56
    Bockscar can’t sight it, they could hit the wrong  part of the city and leave the arsenal unharmed.
  • 00:26:01
    Sweeney checks the fuel gauge. They have been  circling above Kokura for nearly 45 minutes. The
  • 00:26:05
    clouds have not cleared. Time is slowly slipping  away. “I’m calling it off,” Sweeney says over the
  • 00:26:10
    radio. There is an eerie stillness throughout  the aircraft as the crew waits for the Major’s
  • 00:26:13
    next decision. “We are moving to the secondary  target. Prepare to drop the bomb over Nagasaki.”
  • 00:26:18
    10:58 AM: 4 minutes before the  atomic bomb is dropped on Nagasaki.
  • 00:26:22
    “Damn it!” Sweeney yells. “The cloud cover  here is worse than at Kokura.” He looks out
  • 00:26:26
    the cockpit window to try and identify any  landmarks below. Captain Kermit Beahan is
  • 00:26:31
    serving as bombardier on the mission and  looks through his scope to try and locate
  • 00:26:35
    the Mitsubishi arms plant. This structure  is supposed to be their target in Nagasaki.
  • 00:26:39
    “Beahan, you see anything?” Sweeney asks.  “It’s bad, Major. All I can see is clouds.”
  • 00:26:44
    Kermit Beahan responds. Sweeney glances at the  fuel gauge again. We’re not going to make it,
  • 00:26:48
    he thinks. “Major! I got something,” Beahan says  over the headset. A clearing in the clouds has
  • 00:26:52
    appeared in the northern part of the city. It  is not their preplanned target, but it is close
  • 00:26:56
    enough that the bomb will take out the arms  plant in the blast. “Drop it!” Sweeney yells.
  • 00:27:01
    11:02 AM: the atomic bomb drops on Nagasaki.
  • 00:27:04
    Fat Man falls to an altitude of 1,650  feet. The detonation mechanism triggers.
  • 00:27:09
    The sub-critical plutonium core is  surrounded by several thousand pounds
  • 00:27:13
    of explosives. They are arranged  in a way that when they detonate,
  • 00:27:16
    the explosive forces are directed inward toward  the plutonium core. The force of the explosion
  • 00:27:21
    crushes the plutonium into a super-critical  state, and a nuclear chain reaction commences.
  • 00:27:26
    This type of atomic bomb creates a much  bigger explosion than Little Boy. Fat Man
  • 00:27:31
    goes off with the force of 21,000 tons of  TNT. 40,000 people are instantly vaporized,
  • 00:27:36
    and another 30,000 will die in the  aftermath from radiation poisoning.
  • 00:27:39
    40% of the city’s buildings are destroyed.  As the mushroom cloud erupts into the air,
  • 00:27:44
    the shockwave strikes the Bockscar rattling  the hull of the plane. Sweeney regains control
  • 00:27:49
    and steers the craft further away  from the spreading cloud of debris.
  • 00:27:52
    Sweeney wipes sweat from his brow as he looks  at the fuel gauge. There isn’t enough fuel to
  • 00:27:56
    make it back to Tinian. He looks at a map  and decides their best chance is to get to
  • 00:28:00
    Okinawa to the south of Japan. The Island is  under U.S. control, so if they can make it,
  • 00:28:05
    it should be a safe place to land. The challenge  is to reach the island before the Bockscar runs
  • 00:28:10
    out of fuel and plummets into the choppy,  shark-filled waters of the Pacific. Sweeney
  • 00:28:14
    informs his crew of the new plan. Most are still  in shock from the explosion they just witnessed.
  • 00:28:18
    They had heard of the destructive power of the  bomb, but seeing it first hand is different.
  • 00:28:22
    Several hours later, a voice crackles over  the radio. “This is Major Charles Sweeney
  • 00:28:26
    of the Bockscar. We are coming  in for an emergency landing.”
  • 00:28:29
    “Roger that, Major,” responds flight control  from Yontan Airfield on Okinawa. “The runway
  • 00:28:33
    is all yours. You’re clear for landing.”  Sweeney eases back on the throttle;
  • 00:28:37
    the B-29 descends and touches down on the  tarmac. The fuel needle gently rests on “E.”
  • 00:28:42
    August 10, 1945: 1 day after the  atomic bomb detonated over Hiroshima.
  • 00:28:47
    Emperor Hirohito supports accepting  the terms laid out by the Allies. The
  • 00:28:51
    Japanese government releases a statement  saying they will surrender but only if the
  • 00:28:55
    Emperor is allowed to keep his position  as sovereign ruler of the nation. The
  • 00:28:59
    United States rejects this counteroffer  and makes their position clear. They want
  • 00:29:03
    the unconditional surrender of Japan,  or there will be further consequences.
  • 00:29:06
    President Truman is in constant communication  with General Groves. “Yes, Mr. President,
  • 00:29:11
    we already have another bomb ready for  shipment. It should reach the Pacific
  • 00:29:14
    in a matter of days,” says Groves.  The President thanks him and has
  • 00:29:17
    his military advisors draw plans for  a third atomic bombing run on Japan.
  • 00:29:21
    August 14, 1945: Japan surrenders.
  • 00:29:24
    The Japanese government accepts the Allies' terms  for unconditional surrender. The next day Emperor
  • 00:29:29
    Hirohito is heard on every radio across the  country. The pre-recorded message is played on
  • 00:29:34
    every station. It is the first time Japan's people  have heard their Emperor's voice in a long time.
  • 00:29:39
    Tears are shed. Many can’t believe that Japan  has been defeated; others refuse to accept it
  • 00:29:44
    altogether. The future of Japan is uncertain, but  one thing is clear: they will not be able to rule
  • 00:29:49
    themselves for some time. The U.S. military  will occupy Japan for the next seven years.
  • 00:29:53
    September 2, 1945: The War in the  Pacific officially comes to an end.
  • 00:29:59
    The USS Missouris sits in Tokyo Bay. Its deck has  been outfitted with a table and chairs. Resting
  • 00:30:05
    on the table are the instruments of surrender.  Foreign Minister Mamoru Shigemitsu and General
  • 00:30:09
    Yoshijiro Umezu approach the table while U.S.  officers and sailors look on. The documents are
  • 00:30:15
    signed. World War II officially comes to an end.  Cheers erupt around the world as the most bloody
  • 00:30:20
    conflict in human history is now over. Fighting  will continue sporadically throughout the Pacific
  • 00:30:25
    until word can reach soldiers in the furthest  reaches of the conflict that the war has ended.
  • 00:30:30
    Astonishingly some will even continue fighting for
  • 00:30:33
    decades. The last official surrender by  a Japanese soldier occurs on March 9,
  • 00:30:37
    1974 when Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda finally  hands over his sword in the Philippine Jungle.
  • 00:30:43
    In the coming decades, the aftereffects  of the atomic bombs dropped on Japan will
  • 00:30:47
    come to light. Thousands will suffer from  radiation poisoning. Countless civilians
  • 00:30:51
    will die from cancer. The contamination  of soil and water will last for years.
  • 00:30:55
    It will be argued that the United States had  to use the atomic bombs to force a Japanese
  • 00:30:59
    surrender. That launching an invasion of the  home island would have caused much more death
  • 00:31:03
    and destruction than the bombs did. The  other side will advocate for reparations,
  • 00:31:07
    that the United States massacred innocent men,  women, and children. They’ll say that using the
  • 00:31:11
    atomic bomb was irresponsible. Regardless  of which side is right, the destruction of
  • 00:31:16
    Hiroshima and Nagaskai still remain the only two  instances where nuclear weapons have been used in
  • 00:31:21
    a war. Perhaps their sacrifice avoided an all-out  nuclear holocaust during the Cold War to come.
  • 00:31:26
    Now watch “What If Japan Was Never  Hit By Nuclear Bombs.” Or check
  • 00:31:30
    out “The Truth About Why America  Dropped Atomic Bombs on Japan.”
Etiquetas
  • Hiroshima
  • Nagasaki
  • atomic bomb
  • World War II
  • Manhattan Project
  • J. Robert Oppenheimer
  • Paul Tibbets
  • Little Boy
  • Fat Man
  • nuclear warfare