On This Day in 1945: When ‘Fat Man’ Devastated Nagasaki

One of the darkest chapters of war history in human civilization is the atom bombing done by the USA on Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the World War 2. While the world was used to wars during that phase, what happened in Japan was completely unexpected and devastating. The US first dropped a bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” on August 6 and destroyed the southwestern city of Hiroshima. The bombing killed over 140,000 people out of the total estimated population of 3.5 lakh. The death toll continued to increase later due to injuries and radiation-related deaths.

Just 3 days later, the US attacked Japan with another atom bombing. This time over the southwestern city of Nagasaki. At 11:02 AM on August 9, US B029 bomber Bockscar dropped a 4.5-ton plutonium bomb nicknamed “Fat Man”. While the hills surrounding the city averted some destruction, an estimated 60,000 to 80,000 lives were still lost because of the bombing.

The continuous destruction forced Japan to surrender unconditionally and it laid down its arms in World War 2 on August 15, 1945, ending its aggression in Asia.

Nagasaki was a shipbuilding centre for the Japanese and the US forces had planned to bomb it on August 11, 1945. However, bad weather predictions for the day pushed the bombing day forward.

While it’s been many years since the deadly day, the scars left behind by the bombing destruction are still afresh in Japanese people’s minds. The days of the bombing are remembered every year as a mark for a tribute to people who lost their precious lives during the destruction.

The destruction caused by the bombing continued for years and even decades after the horror days, radiations left behind the bombing caused several diseases and deformities in people. Even newborn babies suffered the brunt of the destruction and were either born with a deformity or developed in later years.

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