The United States' role in World War II began with a surprise attack when on the morning of December 7, 1941, a contingent of hundreds of Japanese bomber planes attacked Pearl Harbor in the most successful surprise attack in history. In less than two hours, they had destroyed or seriously damaged 347 planes and 18 ships of war. American casualties, including civilians, totaled 3,581. After four years of grueling warfare, President Harry S Truman decided the only way to end the war was to use the most advanced weaponry available: the atomic bomb. The 'Little Boy' with a core of uranium 235, was dropped over Hiroshima on August 6,1945. The more sophisticated and more deadly 'Fat Man' was dropped over Nagasaki three days later. The bomb was ten feet long, five feet wide, 10,000 pounds, with plutonium at its core. Of the 286,00 people living in Nagasaki at the time of the blast, 74,000 were killed and another 75,000 sustained severe injuries. Shortly thereafter, the Japanese surrendered.
We use cookies to help you navigate our website and to keep track of our promotional efforts. Some cookies are necessary for the site to operate normally while others are optional. To find out what cookies we are using please visit Cookies Policy.