Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - Essay Example

As commonly perceived, atomic bombs were intended as a deterrent to the German threat, but ended up as an offensive weapon of mass destruction against Japan in order to force an unconditional surrender and to end WWII (Zuberi 623).This paper explores the horrors of bombings and whether it was justifiable to use atomic bomb against Japan during WWII. The morning of August 6, 1945, U.S. Air Force B-29 bomber dropped bomb on Hiroshima, the primary target, at 8:15 A.M. Aircrafts pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets, named it after his mother, Enola Gay (Langley 8-10).

United States of America dropped two atomic bombs on Japanese cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, within a short time span to three days. The bombings killed more than 115,000 people (possibly 250,000) and injured 100,000(Bernstein 135). Later, thousands died because of injuries and radiation exposure. The bomb was called Little Boy that exploded about 2,000 feet above the city. Within fraction of a second, the bomb produced enormous fireball and temperature underneath that fireball reached 5,400 0F (2,982 0C).

The flash of heat caused instant death of those who where in half a mile. Their skin was parched to carbon and their internal organs boiled away. Flying birds turned into ashes in midair. Even the heat caused severe burns on exposed skin of the people who were at a distance of 2 miles from the centre of the blast. At the same time, blinding flash of light worked like a giant camera. This light was three thousand times more powerful than sunlight which bleached the surface of the whole city. People who looked directly at the flash suffered from permanent damage to their eyes.

After extreme heat and light, Hiroshima experienced the shockwaves caused by the explosion. From the centre, these shockwaves shot outward at a speed of 2 miles per second (Langley 12-15). This was the first atomic bomb used in combat. The consequences led Japanese government to announce unconditional