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jalen
The Bombing of Nagasaki
- Nagasaki was bombed on August 9th, 1945, three days after the attack on Hiroshima.
- Nagasaki was not America's primary target, but was chosen due to weather conditions on that day.
- The plutonium based atomic bomb, named "Fat Man", was carried by a B29 Superfortress bomber.
- An area of about 2.3 miles by 1.9 miles was destroyed, but other parts of the city were saved from the blast due to the natural hills, valleys and bodies of water.
- The mortality was greater in Hiroshima, because of the city's flat landscape.
- Nagasaki's Urakami Valley enclosed the city with mountain ridges, that helped shield areas from the blast.
- The real death toll of the atomic bombings will never be known, due to the overwhelming chaos and destruction.
- It is quite possible that the estimated mortality rate in Hiroshima (150,000) and Nagasaki (75,000) are conservative.
jack
Understanding the Decision to Drop the Bomb
The decision to drop the bomb by Truman had 3 main factors to it:
The decision to drop the bomb by Truman had 3 main factors to it:
- Ending the war as soon as possible: The Americans were looking for a way to quickly win the war with the lowest possible death tool on the American side which was using the bomb on Japan.
- Cost of Manhattan Project: The Americans had invested too much time and especially money ($2 billion) into this project that not using it would be completely useless.
- Pearl Harbour: When Japan attacked Pearl Harbour with bombs, the Americans came back and bombed Hiroshima. Truman quoted "When you are dealing with the beast, you have to deal with him like a beast"
cyrus
The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Burns
. They were two types of burns during the bombing, flame or fire burn and flash burn
. The burns presented redness of the affected skin areas
. 50 days prior to the healing of the skin, the exposed skin areas facing sharp limitation to exposed skin areas facing the center of the explosion.
. Any type of shielding protected the skin against flash burns, although burns through one, and very occasionally more, layers of clothing did occur in-patient.
. Flash burns tended to involve areas where the clothes were tightly drawn over the skin, such as at the elbows and shoulders.
. The Japanese report the incidence of burns in patients surviving more than a few hours after the explosion, and seeking medical attention, as high as 95%.
. The Japanese estimate that 75%, and most of the reports estimate that over 50%, of the deaths were due to burns.
. Burns in patients surviving more than a few hours after the explosion, and seeking medical attention, as high as 95%.
. It is believed that the majority of all the deaths occurred immediately. Of these, the Japanese estimate that 75%, and most of the reports estimate that over 50%, of the deaths were due to burns.
. Estimated that patients with burns at Hiroshima were all less than 7,500 feet from the center of the explosion at the time of the bombing. At Nagasaki, patients with burns were observed out to the remarkable distance of 13,800 feet.
The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Radiation Injuries
. Patients receiving intensive roentgen therapy, as well as those observed in experimental animals receiving large doses of X-rays.
. The Japanese and observed by American authorities were epilation (lose of hair), petechiae (bleeding into the skin), and other hemorrhagic manifestations, oropharyngeal lesions (inflammation of the mouth and throat), vomiting, diarrhea, and fever.
. In some cases, re-growth of hair had begun by the time patients were seen 50 days after the bombing.
. Bleeding began usually from the gums and in the more seriously affected was soon evident from every possible source
. Nausea and vomiting appearing within a few hours after the explosion was reported frequently by the Japanese.
. Diarrhea of varying degrees of severity was reported and observed. In the more severe cases, it was frequently bloody
. Eye injuries produced by the atomic bombings in both cities were the subject of special investigations.
. 75% of the patients showing them had other signs of radiation injury.
. They were two types of burns during the bombing, flame or fire burn and flash burn
. The burns presented redness of the affected skin areas
. 50 days prior to the healing of the skin, the exposed skin areas facing sharp limitation to exposed skin areas facing the center of the explosion.
. Any type of shielding protected the skin against flash burns, although burns through one, and very occasionally more, layers of clothing did occur in-patient.
. Flash burns tended to involve areas where the clothes were tightly drawn over the skin, such as at the elbows and shoulders.
. The Japanese report the incidence of burns in patients surviving more than a few hours after the explosion, and seeking medical attention, as high as 95%.
. The Japanese estimate that 75%, and most of the reports estimate that over 50%, of the deaths were due to burns.
. Burns in patients surviving more than a few hours after the explosion, and seeking medical attention, as high as 95%.
. It is believed that the majority of all the deaths occurred immediately. Of these, the Japanese estimate that 75%, and most of the reports estimate that over 50%, of the deaths were due to burns.
. Estimated that patients with burns at Hiroshima were all less than 7,500 feet from the center of the explosion at the time of the bombing. At Nagasaki, patients with burns were observed out to the remarkable distance of 13,800 feet.
The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: Radiation Injuries
. Patients receiving intensive roentgen therapy, as well as those observed in experimental animals receiving large doses of X-rays.
. The Japanese and observed by American authorities were epilation (lose of hair), petechiae (bleeding into the skin), and other hemorrhagic manifestations, oropharyngeal lesions (inflammation of the mouth and throat), vomiting, diarrhea, and fever.
. In some cases, re-growth of hair had begun by the time patients were seen 50 days after the bombing.
. Bleeding began usually from the gums and in the more seriously affected was soon evident from every possible source
. Nausea and vomiting appearing within a few hours after the explosion was reported frequently by the Japanese.
. Diarrhea of varying degrees of severity was reported and observed. In the more severe cases, it was frequently bloody
. Eye injuries produced by the atomic bombings in both cities were the subject of special investigations.
. 75% of the patients showing them had other signs of radiation injury.