Surrender as atomic bombs killed over 100,000 in Japan

In his final column on the Second World War, historian Malcolm Goode looks at the dropping of atomic bombs on two Japanese cities

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AFTER the success of the first atomic bomb test held on the 16th July at Alamogordo, New Mexico, the allied command took the decision to attempt to bring this war with Japan to a swift end - by dropping a full size atomic bomb on a Japanese mainland city.

On 6th August at approximately 9.30 am an American B-29 bomber named Enola Gay commanded by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets dropped the first atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima.

The centre of the city was completely destroyed with approximately 70,000 people killed and over 80,000 injured. Tens of thousands more would die from blast and burns injuries soon afterward.