THE ATTACKS

THE ATTACKS
Hiroshima
Hiroshima was the primary target of the first atomic bomb
mission. The mission went smoothly in every respect. The
weather was good, and the crew and equipment functioned
perfectly. In every detail, the attack was carried out exactly
as planned, and the bomb performed exactly as expected.
The bomb exploded over Hiroshima at 8:15 on the morning
of August 6, 1945. About an hour previously, the Japanese
early warning radar net had detected the approach of
some American aircraft headed for the southern part of
Japan. The alert had been given and radio broadcasting
stopped in many cities, among them Hiroshima. The planes
approached the coast at a very high altitude. At nearly 8:00
A.M., the radar operator in Hiroshima determined that the
number of planes coming in was very small—probably not
more than three—and the air raid alert was lifted. The normal
radio broadcast warning was given to the people that
it might be advisable to go to shelter if B-29’s were actually
sighted, but no raid was expected beyond some sort of
reconnaissance. At 8:15 A.M., the bomb exploded with a
blinding flash in the sky, and a great rush of air and a loud
rumble of noise extended for many miles around the city;
the first blast was soon followed by the sounds of falling
buildings and of growing fires, and a great cloud of dust
and smoke began to cast a pall of darkness over the city.
At 8:16 A.M., the Tokyo control operator of the Japanese
Broadcasting Corporation noticed that the Hiroshima
station had gone off the air. He tried to use another telephone
line to reestablish his program, but it too had failed.
About twenty minutes later the Tokyo railroad telegraph
center realized that the main line telegraph had stopped
working just north of Hiroshima. From some small railway
stops within ten miles of the city there came unofficial and
confused reports of a terrible explosion in Hiroshima. All
these reports were transmitted to the Headquarters of the
Japanese General Staff.
Military headquarters repeatedly tried to call the Army
Control Station in Hiroshima. The complete silence from
that city puzzled the men at Headquarters; they knew that
no large enemy raid could have occurred, and they knew
that no sizeable store of explosives was in Hiroshima at
that time. A young officer of the Japanese General Staff
was instructed to fly immediately to Hiroshima, to land,
survey the damage, and return to Tokyo with reliable in

formation for the staff. It was generally felt at Headquarters
that nothing serious had taken place, that it was all a
terrible rumor starting from a few sparks of truth.
The staff officer went to the airport and took off for the
southwest. After flying for about three hours, while still
nearly 100 miles from Hiroshima, he and his pilot saw a
great cloud of smoke from the bomb. In the bright afternoon,
the remains of Hiroshima were burning.
Their plane soon reached the city, around which they
circled in disbelief. A great scar on the land, still burning,
and covered by a heavy cloud of smoke, was all that was
left of a great city. They landed south of the city, and the
staff officer immediately began to organize relief measures,
after reporting to Tokyo.
Tokyo’s first knowledge of what had really caused the
disaster came from the White House public announcement
in Washington sixteen hours after Hiroshima had been hit
by the atomic bomb.