The bombing of Hiroshima, codenamed Operation Centerboard I, was approved by Curtis LeMay on August 4, 1945. Department of Energy has estimated that after five years there were perhaps 200,000 or more fatalities as a result of the bombing, while the city of Hiroshima has estimated that 237,000 people were killed directly or indirectly by the bomb's effects, including burns, radiation sickness, and cancer. Between 90,000 and 166,000 people are believed to have died from the bomb in the four-month period following the explosion. At the time of the bombing, Hiroshima was home to 280,000-290,000 civilians as well as 43,000 soldiers. The bomb was known as 'Little Boy', a uranium gun-type bomb that exploded with about thirteen kilotons of force.
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. After the Interim Committee decided to drop the bomb, the Target Committee determined the locations to be hit, and President Truman issued the Potsdam Proclamation as Japan’s final warning, the world soon learned the meaning of “complete and utter destruction.” The first two atomic bombs ever used were dropped on Japan in early August, 1945.įor a detailed timeline of the bombings, please see Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombing Timeline.
