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Quick Facts About Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Picture Provided by Hiroshima Women's University (scroll down for url)
Name: Hiroshima
Where is it?: capital of Hiroshima prefecture, SW Honshu, Japan, on Hiroshima Bay. The prefecture's population as of 1990 was 2,861,699 citizens.
Pronunciation: [hir"OshE'mu, hErO'shimä]
Founded: Approximately 1594 A.D.
Population of Hiroshima (city): As of 1990 the population of Hiroshima was estimated at 1,085,705 citizens
Industrial Significance: Manufactures trucks, ships, automobiles, steel, rubber, furniture, and canned foods. The city is also a market for agricultural and marine products (such as rice, oranges, and fish from Ujina and the Ota River Delta). And is one of Japan's most important cities.
What happened there: Hiroshima was the target for the first atomic bomb ever used on a populated environment.
When was the bomb dropped?: August 6th, 1945 8:15 AM (US Eastern Time)
Collateral Damage: It is believed that 90% of the city was completely decimated and that nearly 130,000 people were killed, injured, or missing.
Hiroshima Bomb
information: "The
atomic bomb that exploded 580 meters above Hiroshima was powered by the
splitting of 855 grams of uranium. The energy released was equivalent to
15,000 tons of TNT.
The splitting of uranium nuclei generated both
initial radiation (gamma rays and neutrons) and residual radiation. The
neutron radiation lasted a brief instant. The initial gamma rays remained at
a dangerous levels for approximately 20 seconds. Residual radiation
consisted of gamma and beta rays emitted over an extended period.
The bomb created a high-temperature,
high-pressure, fireball which grew to a diameter of approximately 410 meters
one second after detonation. The fireball emitted intense thermal rays for
up to three seconds and continued to glow for approximately ten seconds. The
shock wave at the leading edge of the blast traveled 11 kilometers in 30
seconds." (Peace
Memorial Museum)
Name of bomb: "Little Boy"
Bomb yield: 15 kilotons
Photo from PEGASUS (url available below)
Name: Nagasaki
Where is it?: Capital of Nagasaki prefecture, W Kyushu, Japan, on Nagasaki Bay. The prefecture's population as of 1990 was 1,563,015 citizens.
Pronunciation: [näg"äsä'kE]
Founded: Approximately 1571A.D. (as a trading port for the Portuguese)
Population of Nagasaki (city): As of 1990 the population of Hiroshima was estimated at 444,599 citizens
Industrial Significance: The chief industry is shipbuilding; steelworks, collieries, fisheries, and electrical machinery plants are also important to the economy. Nagasaki is also mainly agricultural and known widely throughout Japan for its raw-silk production. Nagasaki's port was known to Portuguese and Spanish traders before it was opened to the Dutch in 1567 and was the first port in Japan to receive Western trade. After the Portuguese and Spanish merchants were forced to leave Japan in 1637, the Dutch traders were restricted (1641–1858) to De-shima, an island in the harbor of Nagasaki. Nagasaki was gradually reopened to general foreign trade during the 1850s.
Other facts: Nagasaki had the largest Roman Catholic Church in Japan until 1945 for obvious reasons and was home to Glover Mansion, scene of Madama Butterfly.
What happened there: Nagasaki was the target for the second atomic bomb ever used on a populated environment.
When was the bomb dropped?: August 9th, 1945 11:15 AM (US Eastern Time)
Collateral Damage: It is believed that over a third of Nagasaki (the city) was completely destroyed, including the Hospital of the Nagasaki University of Medicine, and the Roman Catholic Church (Urakami Cathedral). It is also believed that approximately 75,000 Japanese citizens were either vaporized or injured.
Name of Bomb: "Fat Man"
Bomb yield: 20 kilotons
Credits
i
infoplease.com