Atomic explosion in Japan 1945. Life after a nuclear explosion

One bomb killed about 100,000 people

An American military bomber B-19 dropped the atomic bomb "Kid" on the center of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The explosion occurred at 8.15 am at an altitude of 600 meters above the ground. A single explosion claimed the lives of about 100 thousand people.

Burning light radiation

The first thing that the inhabitants of Hiroshima felt when they were hit by a bomb was a monstrous light emission: a blinding flash of light and a wave of suffocating heat. The heat was so strong that those who were closer to the epicenter of the explosion instantly turned into ashes. The radiation destroyed people, leaving only dark silhouettes of human bodies on the walls, burned a dark pattern on clothes into the skin, birds instantly burned in the air, and paper ignited at a distance of 2 km from the epicenter of a nuclear strike.

Destructive shock wave

Following the light wave, from which those who did not have time to hide in shelter died, the shock wave from the explosion hit the residents of Hiroshima. Her power knocked people off their feet, throwing them across the street. Windows in buildings were shattered within a radius of 19 km from the explosion, the glass turned into deadly crumbs. From the bombing in the city, almost all the buildings collapsed, except for the most durable ones. Everyone who was less than 800 m from the epicenter died from the blast within a few minutes.

Firestorm

Light radiation and shock wave caused numerous fires in the city. A few minutes after the explosion, a fiery tornado swept over Hiroshima, which captured 11 square kilometers of the city and moved to the epicenter of the explosion at a speed of 50-60 km per hour, sweeping away everything in its path.

Radiation sickness

Those who managed to escape from light radiation, shock waves and fires, were waiting for a new unknown test - radiation sickness. And a week after the nuclear strike, the number of deaths among the inhabitants of Hiroshima began to grow again: the peak of an unexplored disease fell on 3-4 weeks after the explosion, the "epidemic" began to recede after 7-8 weeks.

But for many decades, victims of the Hiroshima bombing continued to die of cancer, and women exposed to radiation from the explosion had children with genetic abnormalities.

radioactive contamination

Residents of Hiroshima continued to become victims of radiation long after the explosions. The population of the city was not evacuated from areas contaminated with radiation, since in those years there was no concept of radioactive contamination. People continued to live and rebuild the destroyed houses at the site of the nuclear explosion. And the high mortality among the townspeople in those years was not initially associated with exposure to radiation.

Hibakusha

In addition to the severe initial shock of the bombing, many Hiroshima residents experienced the long-term psychological effects of the Hibakusha nuclear explosion, the Japanese word for atomic bomb survivors and their descendants. In recent years, about 200 thousand people have remained in the Land of the Rising Sun. The Japanese government financially supports victims of nuclear weapons. But among ordinary Japanese, hibakusha are considered outcasts. They are not hired, it is not customary to create families with them, considering that the consequences of radiation sickness can be inherited or even contagious.

Friends, before presenting a photo selection dedicated to the tragic events for Japan in early August 45th, a small digression into history.

***

In fact, from a military point of view, there was no need for these bombings. The entry into the war of the USSR, and an agreement on this was reached a few months earlier, would therefore lead to the complete surrender of Japan. The purpose of this inhuman act was to test the atomic bomb in real conditions by the Americans and to demonstrate military power for the USSR.

As early as 1965, historian Gar Alperowitz stated that atomic strikes on Japan had little military significance. The English researcher Ward Wilson, in his recently published book Five Myths About Nuclear Weapons, also concludes that it was not American bombs that influenced the Japanese resolve to fight.

The use of atomic bombs did not really frighten the Japanese. They didn't even fully understand what it was. Yes, it became clear that a powerful weapon was used. But then no one knew about radiation. In addition, the Americans dropped bombs not on the armed forces, but on peaceful cities. Military factories and naval bases were damaged, but mostly civilians died, and the combat effectiveness of the Japanese army did not suffer much.

Most recently, the authoritative American magazine "Foreign Policy" published a piece of Ward Wilson's book "5 Myths about Nuclear Weapons", where he, quite boldly for American historiography, casts doubt on the well-known American myth that Japan capitulated in 1945 because it 2 nuclear bombs were dropped, which finally broke the confidence of the Japanese government that the war could continue further.

The author essentially refers to the well-known Soviet interpretation of these events and reasonably points out that it was by no means nuclear weapons, but the entry of the USSR into the war, as well as the growing consequences of the defeat of the Kwantung group, that destroyed the hopes of the Japanese to continue the war based on vast territories seized in China and Manchuria .

The title of the publication of an excerpt from Ward Wilson's book in Foreign Policy speaks for itself:

"It was not the bomb that won the victory over Japan, but Stalin"
(original, translation).

1. Japanese woman with her son against the backdrop of the destruction of Hiroshima. December 1945

2. A resident of Hiroshima, I. Terawama, who survived the atomic bombing. June 1945

3. American bomber B-29 "Enola Gay" (Boeing B-29 Superfortness "Enola Gay") lands after returning from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

4. Destroyed as a result of the atomic bombing of the building on the waterfront of Hiroshima. 1945

5. View of the Geibi area in Hiroshima after the atomic bombing. 1945

6. Building in Hiroshima, damaged by the atomic bombing. 1945

7. One of the few surviving buildings in Hiroshima after the atomic explosion on August 6, 1945 is the Exhibition Center of the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry. 1945

8. Allied war correspondent on the street of the destroyed city of Hiroshima near the Exhibition Center of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry about a month after the atomic bombing. September 1945

9. View of the bridge over the Ota River in the ruined city of Hiroshima. 1945

10. View of the ruins of Hiroshima the day after the atomic bombing. 08/07/1945

11. Japanese military doctors are helping victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 08/06/1945

12. View of the cloud of the atomic explosion in Hiroshima from a distance of about 20 km from the naval arsenal in Kure. 08/06/1945

13. B-29 bombers (Boeing B-29 Superfortness) "Enola Gay" (Enola Gay, in the foreground on the right) and "Great Artist" (Great artist) of the 509th mixed air group at the airfield in Tinian (Marian Islands) for several days before the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 2-6.08.1945

14. Victims of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima in a hospital in a former bank building. September 1945

15. Japanese, injured in the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, lies on the floor in a hospital in a former bank building. September 1945

16. Radiation and thermal burns on the legs of a victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 1945

17. Radiation and thermal burns on the hands of a victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 1945

18. Radiation and thermal burns on the body of a victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 1945

19. American engineer Commander Francis Birch (Albert Francis Birch, 1903-1992) marks the atomic bomb "Kid" (Little Boy) with the inscription "L11". To his right is Norman Ramsey (Norman Foster Ramsey, Jr., 1915-2011).

20. Atomic bomb "Kid" (Little Boy) lies on the trailer shortly before the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Main characteristics: length - 3 m, diameter - 0.71 m, weight - 4.4 tons. Explosion power - 13-18 kilotons in TNT equivalent. August 1945

21. American bomber B-29 "Enola Gay" (Boeing B-29 Superfortness "Enola Gay") at the airfield in Tinian in the Mariana Islands on the day of return from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. 08/06/1945

22. The American bomber B-29 "Enola Gay" (Boeing B-29 Superfortness "Enola Gay") stands at the airfield in Tinian in the Mariana Islands, from which the plane took off with an atomic bomb to bomb the Japanese city of Hiroshima. 1945

23. Panorama of the destroyed Japanese city of Hiroshima after the atomic bombing. The photo shows the destruction of the city of Hiroshima, about 500 meters from the center of the explosion. 1945

24. Panorama of the destruction of the Motomachi district of Hiroshima, destroyed by the explosion of the atomic bomb. Taken from the roof of the Hiroshima Prefectural Commerce Association building, 260 meters (285 yards) from the epicenter of the explosion. To the left of the center of the panorama is the building of the Hiroshima Chamber of Industry, now known as the "Nuclear Dome". The epicenter of the explosion was 160 meters further and slightly to the left of the building, closer to the Motoyasu bridge at an altitude of 600 meters. The Aioi bridge with tram tracks (on the right in the photo) was the aiming point for the scorer of the Enola Gay aircraft, which dropped an atomic bomb on the city. October 1945

25. One of the few surviving buildings in Hiroshima after the atomic explosion on August 6, 1945 is the Exhibition Center of the Hiroshima Chamber of Commerce and Industry. As a result of the atomic bombing, he was badly damaged, but survived, despite the fact that he was only 160 meters from the epicenter. The building partially collapsed from the shock wave and burned out from the fire; all the people who were in the building at the time of the explosion were killed. After the war, the "Genbaku Dome" ("Atomic Explosion Dome", "Atomic Dome") was fortified to prevent further destruction and became the most famous exhibit related to the atomic explosion. August 1945

26. A street in the Japanese city of Hiroshima after the American atomic bombing. August 1945

27. The explosion of the atomic bomb "Baby", dropped by an American bomber on Hiroshima. 08/06/1945

28. Paul Tibbets (1915-2007) waves from the cockpit of a B-29 bomber before flying to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. Paul Tibbets named his aircraft Enola Gay on August 5, 1945, after his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets. 08/06/1945

29. A Japanese soldier walks through the desert in Hiroshima. September 1945

30. US Air Force data - a map of Hiroshima before the bombing, on which a circle can be observed at an interval of 304 m from the epicenter, which instantly disappeared from the face of the earth.

31. Photo taken from one of the two American bombers of the 509th Composite Group, shortly after 8:15, August 5, 1945, shows smoke rising from the explosion over the city of Hiroshima. By the time of filming, there had already been a flash of light and heat from the 370m diameter fireball, and the blast had dissipated quickly, already causing major damage to buildings and people within a 3.2km radius.

32. View of the epicenter of Hiroshima in the fall of 1945 - complete destruction after the first atomic bomb was dropped. The photo shows the hypocenter (the center point of the explosion) - approximately above the Y-junction in the center left.

33. Destroyed Hiroshima in March 1946.

35. Ruined street in Hiroshima. Look at how the sidewalk has been raised and how a drainpipe sticks out of the bridge. Scientists say this was due to the vacuum created by the pressure from the atomic explosion.

36. This patient (pictured by the Japanese military on October 3, 1945) was about 1981.20 m from the epicenter when the radiation beams overtook him from the left. The cap protected part of the head from burns.

37. Crooked iron beams - all that remains of the theater building, located about 800 meters from the epicenter.

38. The Hiroshima Fire Department lost its only vehicle when the western station was destroyed by an atomic bomb. The station was located 1,200 meters from the epicenter.

39. The ruins of central Hiroshima in the fall of 1945.

40. "Shadow" of the valve handle on the painted wall of the gas tank after the tragic events in Hiroshima. Radiation heat instantly burned the paint where the radiation rays passed unhindered. 1920 m from the epicenter.

41. Top view of the destroyed industrial area of ​​​​Hiroshima in the fall of 1945.

42. View of Hiroshima and the mountains in the background in the fall of 1945. The picture was taken from the ruins of the Red Cross hospital, less than 1.60 km from the hypocenter.

43. Members of the US Army explore the area around the epicenter in Hiroshima in the fall of 1945.

44. Victims of the atomic bombing. 1945

45. The victim during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki feeds her child. 08/10/1945

46. ​​Bodies of tram passengers in Nagasaki, who died during the atomic bombing. 09/01/1945

47. The ruins of Nagasaki after the atomic bombing. September 1945

48. The ruins of Nagasaki after the atomic bombing. September 1945.

49. Japanese civilians are walking down the street of the destroyed Nagasaki. August 1945

50. Japanese doctor Nagai examines the ruins of Nagasaki. 09/11/1945

51. View of the cloud of the atomic explosion in Nagasaki from a distance of 15 km from Koyaji-Jima. 08/09/1945

52. Japanese woman and her son, survivors of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. The photo was taken the day after the bombing, southwest of the center of the explosion at a distance of 1 mile from it. In the hands of a woman and a son holding rice. 08/10/1945

53. Japanese military and civilians are on the street Nagasaki, destroyed by the atomic bombing. August 1945

54. Trailer with an atomic bomb "Fat Man" (Fat man) stands in front of the gates of the warehouse. The main characteristics of the atomic bomb "Fat Man": length - 3.3 m, maximum diameter - 1.5 m, weight - 4.633 tons. Explosion power - 21 kilotons of TNT. Plutonium-239 was used. August 1945

55. Inscriptions on the stabilizer of the atomic bomb "Fat Man" (Fat Man), made by American soldiers shortly before its use on the Japanese city of Nagasaki. August 1945

56. The Fat Man atomic bomb, dropped from an American B-29 bomber, exploded at an altitude of 300 meters above the Nagasaki Valley. The "atomic mushroom" of the explosion - a column of smoke, hot particles, dust and debris - rose to a height of 20 kilometers. The photograph shows the wing of the aircraft from which the photograph is taken. 08/09/1945

57. Drawing on the nose of the B-29 "Bockscar" bomber (Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Bockscar"), applied after the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It depicts a "route" from Salt Lake City to Nagasaki. In Utah, whose capital is Salt Lake City, Wendover was the training base for the 509th Mixed Group, which included 393 Squadron, to which the aircraft was transferred before the flight to the Pacific Ocean. The serial number of the machine is 44-27297. 1945

65. The ruins of a Catholic church in the Japanese city of Nagasaki, destroyed by the explosion of an American atomic bomb. Urakami Catholic Cathedral was built in 1925 and until August 9, 1945 was the largest Catholic cathedral in Southeast Asia. August 1945

66. The Fat Man atomic bomb, dropped from an American B-29 bomber, exploded at an altitude of 300 meters above the Nagasaki Valley. The "atomic mushroom" of the explosion - a column of smoke, hot particles, dust and debris - rose to a height of 20 kilometers. 08/09/1945

67. Nagasaki a month and a half after the atomic bombing on August 9, 1945. In the foreground is a ruined temple. 09/24/1945

(average: 4,71 out of 5)

The atomic bombings by the Americans of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, from which a total of 214 thousand people died, were the only cases in history of the use of nuclear weapons.

Let's see what those places look like then and now.

In August 1945, American pilots dropped atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. From the atomic explosion and its consequences in Hiroshima, out of a population of 350,000, 140,000 people died, in Nagasaki - 74,000. The vast majority of the victims of the atomic bombing were civilians.

International analysts believe that the United States is unlikely to apologize to Japan for the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

2. Mushroom from the explosion of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. (Photo by Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum):

3. Hiroshima in October 1945 and the same place on July 28, 2015. (Photo by Shigeo Hayash | Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Issei Kato | Reuters):

4. Hiroshima on August 20, 1945 and the same place on July 28, 2015. (Photo by Masami Oki | Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Issei Kato | Reuters):

5. Hiroshima in October-November 1945 and the same place on July 29, 2015. By the way, this place is located 860 meters from the center of the nuclear bomb explosion. (Photo by US Army | Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Issei Kato | Reuters):

6. Hiroshima in October 1945 and the same place on July 28, 2015. (Photo by Shigeo Hayash | Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Issei Kato | Reuters):

7. Hiroshima in 1945 and the same place on July 29, 2015. (Photo by US Army | Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Issei Kato | Reuters):

8. Nagasaki August 9, 1945 and July 31, 2015. (Photo by Torahiko Ogawa | Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, Issei Kato | Reuters):

9. Nagasaki in 1945 and the same place on July 31, 2015. (Photo by Shigeo Hayashi | Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, Issei Kato | Retuers):

11. Nagasaki Cathedral in 1945 and July 31, 2015. (Photo by Hisashi Ishida | Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum, Issei Kato | Reuters):

12. Commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, August 6, 2015. (Photo by Toru Hanai | Reuters):

13. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. This is a park located on the territory of the former Nakajima district, completely destroyed as a result of the atomic bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945. On the territory of 12.2 hectares there is the Peace Memorial Museum, many monuments, a ritual bell and a cenotaph. (Photo by Kazuhiro Nogi):

14. Commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, August 6, 2015. (Photo by Kimimiasa Mayama):

16. Peace Memorial Park in Nagasaki, built in memory of the atomic bombing of the city on August 9, 1945. (Photo by Toru Hanai | Reuters):

“The United States used atomic weapons against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, not to force Japan to surrender, but to prevent the geopolitical advantage of the Soviet Union after the end of the war in Asia.

The rising mushrooms from the atomic bombings of Japanese cities have long become the main symbols of the power and destructiveness of modern weapons, the personification of the beginning of the nuclear age. There is no doubt that nuclear bombs, first tested on people in August 1945, and a few years later received by the USSR and the USA, thermonuclear bombs remain the most powerful and destructive weapons to this day, while simultaneously serving as a means of military deterrence. However, the true effects of nuclear strikes on the health of residents of Japanese cities and their offspring are very different from the stereotypes living in society. On the anniversary of the bombings, a group of scientists from the University of Aix-Marseille in France came to this conclusion in an article published in the journal GENETICS .

In their work, they showed that for all the destructive power of these two strikes, which led to documented and numerous civilian casualties and destruction in cities, the health of many Japanese who were in the bombing zone was almost not affected, as was believed for many years.

It is known that two uranium bombs were dropped by the United States and exploded at an altitude of 600 meters above Hiroshima and 500 meters above Nagasaki. As a result of these explosions, a huge amount of heat was released and a strong shock wave was created, accompanied by powerful gamma radiation.

People who were within a radius of 1.5 km from the epicenter of the explosion died instantly, many of those who were further away died in the following days due to burns and the dose of radiation received. However, the prevailing idea of ​​the incidence of cancer and genetic deformities in the children of those who survived the bombing turns out to be too exaggerated when scrupulously assessing the real consequences, the scientists say.

“Most people, including many scientists, are under the impression that the survivors were subject to debilitating effects and increased incidence of cancer, that their children were at high risk of genetic diseases,” said Bertrand Jordan, author of the study. —

There is a huge difference between what people think and what scientists have actually discovered.”

The scientists' article does not contain new data, however, it summarizes the results of more than 60 years of medical research that assessed the health of Japanese survivors of the bombing and their children, and includes reasoning about the nature of existing misconceptions.

Studies have shown that exposure to radiation does increase the risk of developing cancer, but life expectancy is reduced by only a few months compared to control groups. At the same time, no statistically significant cases of harm to health in children who survived a stroke were noted.

It was established that about 200 thousand people became victims of the direct strike, who died mainly from the action of the shock wave, fires and radiation.

Approximately half of those who survived were followed up by doctors for the rest of their lives. These observations began in 1947 and are still carried out by a special organization - the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) in Hiroshima, funded by the Japanese and American governments.

In total, 100 thousand Japanese survivors of the bombing, 77 thousand of their children and 20 thousand people who were not exposed to radiation managed to take part in the studies. The amount of data obtained, however cynical it may sound, "was uniquely useful for assessing radiation threats, since the bombs were a single, well-studied source of radiation, and the dose received by each person could be reliably estimated by knowing his distance from the place of explosion" , the scientists write in a release accompanying the article.

These data later turned out to be invaluable for establishing acceptable doses for workers in the nuclear industry and the public.

An analysis of scientific studies showed that the incidence of cancer in the victims was higher than in those who were outside the city at the time of the explosion. The relative risk for an individual was found to increase with proximity to the epicenter, age (younger adults were more susceptible), and gender (women were more affected).

Whatever the case, most of the survivors did not develop cancer.

Among the 44,635 survivors examined, the increase in cancer incidence in 1958-1998 was 10% (an additional 848 cases), the scientists calculated. At the same time, most of the survivors received moderate doses of radiation. In contrast, those who were closer to the explosion and received a dose of more than 1 Gy (about a thousand times higher than the current allowable doses) had a 44% increased risk of cancer. In such severe cases, considering all causes of death, the high dose at impact reduced life expectancy by an average of 1.3 years.

Meanwhile, scientists cautiously warn that if exposure to radiation has not yet led to scientifically documented consequences in the children of survivors, such traces may appear in the future, perhaps with more detailed sequencing of their genome.

Scientists believe that the discrepancy between existing ideas about the medical consequences of the bombings and real data is due to several factors, including the historical context. “People are more likely to be afraid of a new danger than a familiar one,” Jordan said. - For example, people tend to underestimate the dangers of coal, including those who mine it and those who are exposed to air pollution. Radiation is much easier to fix than many chemical pollution. With a simple Geiger counter, you can pick up tiny levels of radiation that aren't dangerous at all." Scientists believe that their study should not be used as an excuse to downplay the dangers of nuclear weapons and nuclear energy.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, carried out on August 6 and 9, 1945, are the only two examples of the combat use of nuclear weapons.

The US military dropped on Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 2 atomic bombs, killing over 200,000 people.

In this article, we will look at the causes and consequences of this terrible tragedy of the 20th century.

Japan at the end of World War II

In their opinion, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the only way to quickly end the military conflict.

However, this is hardly true, since, shortly before the Potsdam Conference, he claimed that, according to the data, the Japanese want to establish a peaceful dialogue with the countries of the anti-fascist coalition.

Therefore, why attack a country that intends to negotiate?

However, apparently, the Americans really wanted to demonstrate their military potential and show the whole world the weapons of mass destruction that they have.

Symptoms of an unknown disease resembled diarrhea. The people who survived all their lives suffered from various diseases, and were also incapable of reproducing full-fledged children.

Photo of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Here are some photos of Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the bombing, as well as people affected by this attack:

View of the cloud of the atomic explosion in Nagasaki from a distance of 15 km from Koyaji-Jima, August 9, 1945
Akira Yamaguchi showing off his scars
Bombing survivor Ikimi Kikkawa shows off his keloid scars

According to experts, 5 years after the tragedy, the total number of deaths from the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki amounted to about 200 thousand people.

In 2013, after the revision of the data, this figure more than doubled, and was already 450,000 people.

The results of the atomic attack on Japan

Immediately after the bombing of Nagasaki, the Japanese Emperor Hirohito announced an immediate surrender. In his letter, Hirohito mentioned that the enemy had a "terrible weapon" that could completely destroy the Japanese people.

More than half a century has passed since the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but the consequences of that terrible tragedy are still being felt today. The radioactive background, which people did not yet know about, claimed many lives and caused various pathologies in newborns.

The role of atomic bombings in the surrender of Japan and the ethical justification of the bombings themselves still cause heated debate among specialists.

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