W
hen faced with a full-scale invasion of Japan or the dropping of atomic bombs, newly-appointed President Harry S Truman immediately realized the full weight of his office. After the first successful explosion of the new atomic weapon in July 1945, President Truman decided to use its destructive force on Japan, hoping to bring the war to a speedy conclusion and save American lives. The United States dropped two atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, resulting in Japan’s unconditional surrender and the official end of World War II. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki brought the world into the nuclear age and displayed the devastating consequences of nuclear weaponry.
Timeline
People or Groups: Role
Pilot of plane which dropped atomic bomb on Nagasaki
Other: First successful atomic bomb explosion
Alamogordo, New Mexico
Other: Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima
Aug 6, 1945
Other: Japan Surrenders
Sep 2, 1945
Other: First successful atomic bomb explosion
Jul 16, 1945
Other: Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki
Aug 9, 1945
Damages: Nagasaki
Around 80,000 people dead or missing
Damages: Hiroshima
Around 130,000 people dead
Location
Hiroshima, Japan
People or Groups: Role
Pilot of Enola Gay plane, dropped bomb on Hiroshima
From
Aug 6, 1945
To
Aug 9, 1945
Location
Nagasaki, Japan
Other Facts
Name
Major Charles W. Sweeney
Name
Colonel Paul Tibbets
