Leaving from the Marianas, more specifically Tinian Island, the Enola Gay, a Boeing B29 Super fortress begins a very controversial mission. On August 6, 1945, the plane and its crew were headed for the island of Japan and the city of Hiroshima. The cargo that was held within the belly of the bomber was of extraordinary significance and power. "Little Boy," as was its code name, was the first nuclear bomb that was to be used at wartime. At 9:15 a.m. on that day the crew of the aircraft dumped the bomb over the city of Hiroshima and killed approximately 90,000 people within a matter of seconds. As if this was not enough, a second nuclear bomb code named "Fat Man" was delivered to the city of Nagasaki just three days later. This bomb was dropped by the crew of the Bockscar, also a B-29 Super fortress, of the same 509th Group.
This image was selected as a picture of the week o...
Alpha Track Calutron at the Y-12 Plant at Oak Ridg...
English: Famous color photograph of the "Trinity" ..."Little Boy" and "Fat Man" combined for a devastating 200,000 casualties approximately in Japan and forced the Japanese to surrender bringing an end to World War II (Kross 40).
It seemed at first that the United States was rather reluctant to enter the war that Germany was waging across Europe and the surrounding areas. With help from Japan, Hitler's armies were brutally expanding there territory and committing mass murder of those they felt were not the ideal race. The Jewish people of Germany as well as homosexuals and many different groups of people were targeted for genocide. Unwilling to get involved in the beginning, Franklin D. Roosevelt and the United States were pondering what they should do about the Germans. However, this was no longer a tough decision once the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. With this act of aggression shown toward the United States...