The A-bomb at 80

THEY were the blasts that shook the world - this week marks 80 years since atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. The devastating attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, were the first - and so far only - time nuclear weapons have been used in conflict. They led to Japan's unconditional surrender and the end of World war Two, but opened up a new, horrifying chapter in warfare. Here JAMES MOORE reveals 15 facts about the bombings...

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Atomic bombs were developed during World War Two by the US in response to fears expressed by the likes of scientist Albert Einstein that Germany, allied to Japan, would develop its own nuclear weapons.

Boffin J. Robert Oppenheimer led their creation in the Manhattan Project. When Germany surrendered in May 1945, the Japanese refused to follow suit and fought on. It was estimated that invading Japan would cost 250,000 Allied lives. So US President Harry S Truman ordered the atomic attacks.

Flight crews, led by pilot Paul Tibbets, trained in top secret and didn't know they'd be dropping revolutionary bombs until just before their missions.