August 6th

On this day in 1945, at about 8:15 a.m., “Little Boy”, the first atomic bomb detonated in aggression, was dropped on Hiroshima.

The 393d Bombardment Squadron’s Enola Gay and two other planes escorting it flew over the city unmolested as the Japanese military had decided to intercept only large squadrons in an attempt to conserve precious fuel and airplanes.

The bomb drifted almost 800 feet off course and detonated about 600 meters above the Shima Surgical Clinic - today, a busy area in the heart of the city a few blocks east of the famous A-Bomb Dome UNESCO World Heritage Site and south of Hiroshima Municipal Stadium.

At the time of the bombing, Hiroshima had been left untouched by the bombing raids that had severely damaged 67 other Japanese cities, most notably Tokyo, where a majority of residences were damaged or destroyed. Hiroshima was not bombed earlier specifically in order to provide a pristine target on which to gauge the effects of the bomb. Also in the US’s favor, there were no POW camps in the city.
Having been in the midst of a general and gradual evacuation, the city was home to about 255,000 people and two military bases - Fifth Division headquarters and the 2nd General Army Headquarters - and was an assembly point and supply depot for the Japanese military. Nevertheless, of the approximately 70,000 who died on the day of the bombing, the 70,000 more who eventually died of the bomb’s effects, and the thousands more who suffered illness and injury, the overwhelming majority were civilians.

Although there is evidence to suggest that Tokyo was at least aware of the probable existence of the atomic bomb, the Japanese government admitted it was not sure what had struck until President Truman’s announcement and American radio reports confirmed　it nearly a day later.

While perhaps not understood, the history of that day is well known. Today, TPR brings you the radio reports that told the world what had happened.

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