Nagasaki Bombed: Second Nuclear Strike Ends the War
Kokura was the primary target on August 9, 1945, but thick cloud cover over the city forced Major Charles Sweeney to divert his B-29 Bockscar to the secondary target: Nagasaki. The plutonium bomb "Fat Man" detonated at 11:02 a.m., 1,650 feet above the Urakami Valley, home to the largest Catholic community in Japan. The Urakami Cathedral, the largest cathedral in East Asia, was destroyed with its congregation. The valley's hilly terrain contained the blast more than Hiroshima's flat topography had, but between 40,000 and 80,000 people were killed. Mitsubishi's torpedo and steel works were obliterated. Japan's Supreme War Council, meeting in Tokyo, remained deadlocked until Emperor Hirohito intervened to accept surrender on August 15.
August 9, 1945
81 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on August 9
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