DNA Explainer: Nagasaki Day 2021 -Know why the atomic bomb was dropped on the city

It was a usual morning on that fateful day of August 9, 1945. Everyone was busy with their daily chores when something dreadful happened that changed history forever. The clock showed 11:02 am Japanese time when mushroom clouds were seen in the sky. The US had struck once again, this time in Nagasaki, just three days after Hiroshima was destroyed by the first nuclear bomb.

Code-named the 'Fat Man', the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki led to Japan's unconditional surrender in the Second World War. Records suggest, at least 70,000 people were killed in the initial blast at Nagasaki, while approximately 65,000 more died from radiation-related illnesses later.

Department of Energy's history of the Manhattan Project, "The five-year death total may have reached or even exceeded 200,000, as cancer and other long-term effects took hold." Those who survived the bombings are known as 'hibakusha'. Hibakusha literally means an individual affected by a bomb. Survivors faced horrifying aftermath in the cities, including psychological trauma.

What happened on that fateful day

The 'Fat Man' was dispatched via a US bomber aircraft nicknamed Enola Gay. It was dropped at 11:02 am, about 1,650 feet above Nagasaki.

Besides its beautiful off-shore islands, it was also one of the key shipbuilding centres of Japan. The powerful atomic bomb unleashed a force euqal to around 22,000 tons of Trinitrotoluene (TNT), one of the most explosive non-nuclear substances made by man. 

The bombings brought about an abrupt end to the war with Japan surrendering unconditionally to the Allies on August 14, 1945. The 1946 survey says due to the uneven terrain of Nagasaki, damage there was confined to the valley over which the bomb exploded. Hence the area of nearly complete devastation was much smaller, about 1.8 square miles.

Why Hiroshima and Nagasaki were targets

The US targeted cities keeping in mind the military production in the area. They made sure that the target sites did not hold cultural significance for Japan, like Kyoto. This was because the aim was to destroy Japan's ability to fight wars.

Nagasaki was a shipbuilding center, the very industry intended for destruction. Hiroshima was primarily a military target with the most important military command stations in Japan. Hiroshima at the time was the headquarters of the Second Army and of the Chugoku Regional Army.