Detonation of the bomb “Fat Man” in Nagasaki

The “Fat Man” was a plutonium implosion bomb, a device even more powerful than the bomb previously detonated above Hiroshima. The US Target Committee had chosen the city of Nagasaki due to the combination of vital military factories and residential areas. Nagasaki was thus of both military and psychological value. It was hoped that by dropping a second bomb shortly after the events at Hiroshima, the Japanese would assume that the US had a significant arsenal of further nuclear weapons at their disposal. A crucial obstacle for bombing raids on Japan were the weather conditions. Due to the fear that a bad weather front might appear shortly thereafter, the bombing raid on the 9th of August occurred somewhat spontaneously. The explosion of “Fat Man” itself killed an estimated 40,000 people, with many more dying from the radioactive aftermath. (Josef Mlejnek)