The decision to drop a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki just three days after Hiroshima remains a deeply controversial and critical event in world history. While Nagasaki wasn’t the primary target, understanding why it became the unfortunate city to face such devastation requires examining the strategic context of World War II and the specific circumstances of August 9, 1945.
The Target Committee and Initial Choices: Kokura and Nagasaki
President Truman’s Target Committee was tasked with selecting Japanese cities for atomic bombing. Surprisingly, Nagasaki was not among the initial top contenders. Kokura, a city of 130,000 people on Kyushu Island, was prioritized as the second target after Hiroshima. Kokura housed one of Japan’s largest ordnance factories, producing vital military supplies, including chemical weapons. Despite its military significance, Kokura had been notably spared from conventional US bombing campaigns, making it a strategically valuable, and previously undamaged, target.
Nagasaki, located approximately 100 miles from Kokura, was designated as the third option. A larger port city with around 263,000 residents, Nagasaki also hosted significant military installations, notably two Mitsubishi military factories, and served as a crucial port. Similar to Kokura and Hiroshima, Nagasaki had experienced relatively light damage from conventional bombing raids up to that point.
From Little Boy to Fat Man: Preparing the Second Atomic Bomb
Following the devastating bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th with the “Little Boy” bomb, preparations for deploying the second atomic bomb, “Fat Man,” intensified on Tinian Island. “Fat Man” was a plutonium implosion-type weapon, significantly more complex in design than the uranium-based “Little Boy.” Scientists and ordnance experts at Los Alamos had invested years in developing plutonium-based atomic weapons, and “Fat Man” represented the culmination of this effort.
The decision to deploy “Fat Man” so soon after Hiroshima was driven by two primary factors. Firstly, the unpredictable Japanese weather in August raised concerns that a typhoon or other major weather event could delay deployment for weeks. Secondly, military strategists believed that two rapid atomic bombings would have a greater psychological impact on Japanese leadership, convincing them of America’s vast atomic arsenal and resolve to use it until Japan surrendered unconditionally. Reports of impending bad weather further solidified the decision to proceed with the second bombing mission on August 9th.
The Mission to Kokura and the Shift to Nagasaki
On the morning of August 9, 1945, the B-29 bomber Bock’s Car took off from Tinian at 3:47 a.m. carrying the armed “Fat Man” bomb. Major Charles W. Sweeney commanded the mission, while Captain Fredrick C. Bock, the usual pilot of Bock’s Car, piloted “The Great Artiste,” an accompanying B-29 equipped with sensitive instruments to measure the atomic explosion. The Enola Gay, the bomber that bombed Hiroshima, participated as a weather reconnaissance aircraft.
Upon reaching Kokura, the mission encountered dense cloud cover and smoke from previous conventional bombing raids, severely limiting visibility. Despite circling the city, the crew of Bock’s Car could not visually identify the Kokura arsenal, their primary target. Increasing Japanese anti-aircraft fire and the appearance of enemy fighters added to the mission’s urgency. Concluding that a visual sighting was impossible, Major Sweeney made the decision to proceed to the secondary target: Nagasaki. In Kokura, civilians who had sought shelter during the air raid sirens emerged, unaware of how close they had come to atomic annihilation.
The Devastation of Nagasaki and its Aftermath
Nagasaki, too, was shrouded in cloud cover. Running critically low on fuel, Major Sweeney was on the verge of aborting the mission and diverting to Okinawa. However, in the nick of time, a break in the clouds appeared, and Bombardier Captain Kermit K. Beahan visually confirmed the target. “Fat Man” was released, detonating at 11:02 a.m. local time over Nagasaki at an altitude of 1,650 feet.
The explosion, yielding 21 kilotons (40% more powerful than “Little Boy”), occurred almost directly above the Mitsubishi factories, the intended military targets. This targeting minimized damage to the southern residential and business districts of Nagasaki. Furthermore, prior evacuations of civilians, particularly children, and the city’s hilly terrain, which partially contained the blast, mitigated the overall destructive impact to some extent.
Despite these factors, the devastation was immense. The earlier all-clear siren had lured many out of shelters, increasing casualties. Within a mile of ground zero, everything was obliterated. Fires erupted in 14,000 homes. People near the blast center were instantly vaporized, while those further away suffered horrific burns and radiation sickness. Initial estimates suggest around 40,000 immediate deaths, with an additional 30,000 fatalities by early 1946. Within five years, the Nagasaki bombing is estimated to have caused over 100,000 deaths.
In conclusion, the US bombed Nagasaki because weather conditions prevented bombing the primary target, Kokura. The decision to proceed with Nagasaki as a secondary target was rooted in the strategic imperative to compel Japan’s swift surrender by demonstrating overwhelming destructive power and a relentless capacity to deploy atomic weapons. The devastating consequences of the Nagasaki bombing underscore the profound human cost of nuclear warfare and remain a stark reminder of the complexities and tragedies of World War II.
