Nagasaki Bombing

By manny.alarcon

  • Night before bombing

    Night before bombing
    21:00 (Nagasaki time)
    Fat Man is loaded on B-29 Bockscar
    22:00
    Pre-flight briefing for planes. Bockscar, The Great Artiste, and Big Stink
    Rendezvous point changed from Iwo Jima to Yakushima due to bad weather
    Flight altitude was raised to 17,000feet from 9,000 feet.

  • Fat Man dropped

    Fat Man dropped
    11:02 AM (Nagasaki time)
    Fat Man dropped over Nagasaki. Fat Man explodes 1,650 feet over the city Three shock waves are felt by Bockscar and The Great Artiste

  • Sparing city of Kokura

    Sparing city of Kokura
    09:44(Nagasaki time)
    Bockscar arrives at the city of Kokura, the city is covered in haze. The aim point cannot be seen and planes stop searching for the aim point.
    10:32
    The decision is made to head towards the second target. Nagasaki 95 miles south.

  • Arriving to Nagasaki

    Arriving to Nagasaki
    10:56
    Bockscar and The Great Artiste arrive at Nagasaki
    10:58
    Bockscar has enough fuel for one pass. The city is cloudy but has one gap to allow the drop to occur several miles from the aim point.

  • Low on fuel

    11:06 (Nagasaki time)
    Bockscar and The Great Artiste are low on fuel and head towards Okinawa.
    11:30
    The Supreme War Council get the news of the Nagasaki bombing
    12:00
    Bockscar heads into Okinawa. Number 2 engine fails as it enters runway.

  • Headed back to Tinian Island

    Headed back to Tinian Island
    13:20 (Tinian Island time)
    Big Stink arrive at Nagasaki to take photos of the bombing.
    17:30
    Bockscar, The Great Artiste, and Big Stink take off from Okinawa and head back to Tinian Island.
    22:30
    Planes arrive at the Northern field of Tinian Island.

  • Early Morning Preparations

    Early Morning Preparations
    01:15 (Nagasaki time)
    The Bockscar crew performs pre-flight checks.
    01:58
    Two weather planes Enola Gay & Laggin' Dragon take of selected cities to monitor weather conditions.
    02:47
    The pilot for Bockscar Major Charles Sweeney takes off from Tinian Island towards target Kokura Arsenal.

  • Casualties

    Casualties
    Estimated 236,000 people were in Nagasaki on the day of the bombing.
    Over 9,000 Japanese soldiers and 400 prisoners of war were stationed in Nagasaki
    An estimated 40,000-75,000 people died immediately following the explosion. Another 60,000 people suffered severe injuries.

  • Aftermath

    Aftermath
    August 9, 1945
    J Robert Oppenheimer cables General Leslie Groves about the schedule for more atomic bombs.
    August 10, 1945
    Hirohito (emperor of Japan) makes his "sacred decision" to accept the Potsdam declaration of surrender The United States broadcasts information of Japan surrendering.

  • Japan Surrenders

    Japan Surrenders
    August 11, 1945
    US Secretary of State James Byrnes rejects Japan's surrender.
    August 13, 1945
    President Truman order firebombing, and order raids over 1,000 B-29s. Thousands of Japanese are killed
    August 14, 1945
    The cabinet approves Japan's surrender and accepts the Potsdam declaration.
    September 2, 1945
    Japanese officials sign a formal surrender on USS Missouri.