In 1940 Nagasaki was a small Japanese city with a population of 240,000 people in it. Nagasaki was targeted because of its religious associations. Hiroshima was a fairly large Japanese city with 350,000 people in it. Hiroshima was used for housing Japanese troops and a communication system. Both atomic bombings caused emotional and physical damage to the people and the structure of both cities. Hiroshima was the first of 2 cities targeted for atomic attacks. "All around, I found dead and wounded. Some were bloated and scorched their legs and bodies stepped of clothes and burned with a huge blister." an unnamed Hiroshima survivor recalls. (Expect a Rain of Ruin 235). On August 6, 1945, the bomb was dropped just less than 2,000 feet above the city. The atomic bomb Little Boy was the first to fall. Little Boy destroyed over 60,000 buildings, destroyed in ten seconds three miles around. The fireball from the bomb was 3,200 feet tall. 70,000 people died and 70,000 people were injured. .
Nagasaki was the second to be bombed. August 9, 1945, three days after the Hiroshima bombing 20,000 people died and 50,000 people were injured. The bomb's code name was Fat Man. Three weeks after this bombing, Japan surrendered. .
Little Boy was the first atomic bomb dropped at 1,900 feet above the city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. They were approximately 550ft off target, the T-shape IOE bridge. The atomic bomb weighed nearly 9,000 pounds. It was also 10 feet in length. Little Boy used a gun-type bomb with a projectile and a target within the bomb, if the projectile did not hit the target fast enough the bomb would fail to explode. The atomic bomb took 4 Quardite gun powder and the installation time was about 15 minutes. .
Fat Man was the second atomic bomb dropped only three days after Little Boy. It was dropped at an altitude of approximately 1,800 feet over Nagasaki. The bomb had an explosive force of about 20,000 tons of TNT.
