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Little Boy was the first atomic bomb used in wartime, dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, followed by Nagasaki three days later. Developed through the Manhattan Project, it was a uranium bomb and caused an estimated 66,000 immediate deaths, with many more dying from injuries and radiation exposure. The bombings remain controversial, with some believing they were unnecessary and others believing they were justified. The use of nuclear weapons sparked a global discussion and changed the face of warfare.
Little Boy was an atomic weapon that was detonated over the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August XNUMX, 1945, marking the first time a nuclear weapon was used in wartime. The bombing of Hiroshima was followed three days later by the bombing of Nagasaki, which resulted in the Japanese surrender, ending the conflict of World War II. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have become extremely controversial in retrospect, as some people believe they were unnecessary, while others believe the bombings were justified.
Like Fat Man, the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Little Boy was developed through the offices of the Manhattan Project, a top secret project in World War II that was dedicated to finding the secret to the atomic bomb before the Germans did. Little Boy was a uranium bomb, the first of its kind, and Little Boy’s detonation was the second man-made nuclear explosion in history.
The bomb was dropped by the Enola Gay, a B-29 Superfortress named after the pilot’s mother. At 1,980 feet (580 meters), the bomb detonated, using a pistol-type detonation system that basically fired a uranium rod up a spike to trigger a nuclear reaction. Within seconds, a cloud of superheated gas formed over the city, followed by an intense pressure wave.
Little Boy was actually a slightly weaker bomb than Fat Man, with an estimated force of about 15 kilotons of TNT, but it was much more devastating, thanks to Hiroshima being on a relatively flat plain, allowing the explosion to disperse widely. An estimated 66,000 people died as an immediate result of the explosion; many of them were so thoroughly incinerated that the only signs of their presence were eerie shadows on buildings and streets.
Over the following weeks and months, several more bomb victims died from injuries sustained in the blast and subsequent fires. Bomb survivors also experienced a variety of health problems from their exposure to radiation from the bomb, with an estimated 60,000 people dying from the bomb in the following decades.
The wartime use of nuclear weapons was unprecedented before Little Boy exploded over Hiroshima that August morning and almost immediately sparked a global discussion. As follow-up studies of the bomb’s long-term effects continued, many critics became much more outspoken, including critics drawn from the ranks of the scientists who built the bomb. Some people believed that such weapons were so devastating that they should never be used again in times of war, while others believed that nuclear weapons had a rightful place in military arsenals.
Whether or not it is agreed that the atomic bomb should have been dropped on Hiroshima has certainly radically changed the face of warfare. Nuclear weapons research continues today, and most modern nuclear bombs are far more powerful than Little Boy and Fat Man.
