Today in Military History: 8/9 Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki

UPI ARCHIVES AUGUST 09 1945
Atomic bomb destroys Japanese city of Nagasaki

GUAM, Aug. 9, 1945 (UP) - The second mighty new atomic bomb to rock Japan fell on the teeming war city of Nagasaki at noon today and first reports indicated that the attack was as successful as the explosion that devastated Hiroshima. The 11th largest city of Japan, Nagasaki, was struck by the same type of weapon which crushed buildings like matchboxes at Hiroshima and killed almost every living thing within its range. For the second time in four days Japan felt the stunning effect of the terrible weapon. Gen. Carl A. Spaatz, commander of the Strategic Air Forces, announced the second use of the atomic bomb in a brief special communiqué which said: "The second use of the atomic bomb occurred at noon of Aug. 9 at Nagasaki. Crew members reported good results. No further details will be available until the mission returns." How destructive is the atomic bomb had been grimly demonstrated at Hiroshima. In Nagasaki's jammed shipyards and war plants the most terrible explosive force ever loosed by man would find greater targets than those used for the first war test of the bomb. Nagasaki has a population of more than 250,000. It is located on Kyushu, Japan's southernmost home island. Tokyo said disastrous and utter ruin struck Hiroshima Monday when a lone Superfortress unleashed the first new bomb on the important imperial army base. It appeared probable that Nagasaki also has been turned into a desolated area of destruction. Sixty per cent of Hiroshima's built-up area was leveled Monday and as many as 200,000 of that city's 340,000 residents perished or were injured under the impact of history's greatest explosion. There was little doubt that the second atomic blast would prove every bit as effective as the first. The second bomb fell on Nagasaki, site of great ship-building yards, while Japan still sought to survey the seared and blistered corpses -- "too numerous to count" -- scattered amid the wreckage of what was once Hiroshima. Testifying to the magnitude of Hiroshima's disaster, the enemy reported that as late as Thursday morning-four days after the attack -- they still were unable to ascertain the full extent of the damage inflicted by the parachute-borne bomb. A special meeting of the Japanese Cabinet was called at the residence of Premier Baron Kantaro Suzuki to hear a preliminary report on the devastation, but there was no indication in Japanese propaganda that enemy military leaders are considering surrender. Still avoiding use of the word atomic, Tokyo said the "new-type" bomb had "completely destroyed" Hiroshima. "The impact of the bomb was so terrific that practically all living things, human and animal, were literally seared to death by the tremendous heat and pressure engendered by the blast," Tokyo said. "All of the dead and injured were burned beyond recognition." "The effect of the bomb was widespread. Those outdoors burned to death, while those indoors were killed by the indescribable pressure and heat. Medical relief agencies that rushed from the neighboring districts were unable to distinguish, much less identify, the dead from the injured. "With houses and buildings crushed, including the emergency medical facilities, the authorities are having their hands full in giving every available relief possible under the circumstances." The newspaper Asahi issued a "strong appeal" to the people of Japan to remain calm and to renew pledges to continue the fight. It said the new bomb was aimed at the "subjugation of our people's fighting spirit and complete destruction of our country." Japan anticipated "fresh psychological warfare" -- possibly a new unconditional surrender ultimatum from the Allies -- in the wake of America's first use of the universe's harnessed power for military purposes. "It is imperative to work out countermeasures to protect civilians from the enemy's deliberate attack upon them," Domei News Agency said, while "authorized quarters" in Tokyo charged that the United States had violated the Hague Convention by unleashing its new weapon. Calling America "the eternal enemy of humanity" and the bombing a "sadistic atrocity," Tokyo newspapers said the United States had overstepped Article 22 of the Hague Convention which "lays down the principle the belligerent nations are not entitled to unlimited choice in the means by which to destroy their opponents." United States reconnaissance photographs taken of Hiroshima after the cloud of smoke and dust drifted away indicated much of the city was destroyed. Five major industrial targets -- not otherwise identified -- were devastated. Unofficial American sources estimated Japanese dead and wounded might exceed 100,000. This estimate may be conservative in view of Japan's report that "practically all living things, human and animal, were literally seared to death." Hiroshima was known to be a quartermaster depot and barracks center of the Japanese army.

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