Little Boy

1. Little Boy Power point created by Robert L. Martinez Primary Content Source: A History of Us, War, Peace, and All that Jazz, Joy Hakim http://www.atomicarchive.com/Photos/Tinian/image3.shtml

2. The men of the 509th Composite Group have been carefully chosen from a group of ace pilots. All have volunteered for a special mission. No one tells them what the mission will be. http://www.af.mil/photos/index.asp?galleryID=5395

3. Whatever the mission is, they know they will be flying B-29s, the big bombers that are known as the superfortress. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nigelblake/2674464220/

4. Right away, there is something strange about the training. Instead of flying planes loaded with huge bombs, they train with a single moderate sized bomb. http://www.flickr.com/photos/21734563@N04/2103016206/

5. Meanwhile, in Washington, President Truman has come to a decision. He has called on two teams of experts: a team of scientists and a team of civilians and soldiers. They are to help him decide about the new super weapon. http://www.edu.lahti.fi/~vvaljakk/WW%20II?S=A

6. Both teams agree: the weapon should be used. They believe it will bring the war to an end in the Pacific. Without it, the war could continue for 10 or more years. http://www.pacificislandbooks.com/solomons.htm

7. Military chiefs, who don’t know about the secret weapon, are pushing Truman to let them invade Japan. If that happens, America can expect a million casualties. http://www.flickr.com/photos/planetadventure/2465423927/ http://www.interet-general.info/article.php3?id_article=154

8. Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr., is commander of the 509th. He has named his plane the Enola Gay, after his mother. http://www.danzfamily.com/archives/people

9. In early August, a single bomb 28 inches in diameter and 10 feet long is loaded onto the Enola Gay. The bomb weighs four metric tons, and is nicknamed Little Boy. http://lettres-histoire.ac-rouen.fr/histgeo/bombe_atomique.htm

10. A similar device was exploded in the New Mexican desert (Trinity test), but no one knows exactly what will happen when one is dropped from an airplane. http://rageboy.com/mbimages?N=D

12. Colonel Tibbets and the others now realize that this is dangerous stuff they are about to handle. If the Enola Gay crashes on takeoff, as some B-29s have done, the small island of Tinian could disappear. http://www.lastplace.com/UFOArt?N=D

13. The plan is to drop Little Boy on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Hiroshima has been selected because of its war-making industries and because it is the headquarters of the 2nd Japanese Army. http://www.jlhs.nhusd.k12.ca.us/Classes/social_science/spapas/ssja/Anderson,%20Lumb.web/introtoatomicbomb.html

14. On August 4, more than 700,000 leaflets are dropped on Hiroshima warning that the city will be attacked. The warning is not taken seriously. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamidwyer/981578180/

15. Captain William S. Parsons, of the U.S. Navy, is a surprise passenger on the Enola Gay. He has decided he will put the detonating parts of the bomb together after the plane is in the air. He feels it will be safer. http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/wparsons.htm

16. At 1:45 a.m. on August 6, 1945, three B-29s take off for Japan. They will scout the weather and target area. http://www.wingsoverkansas.com/history/article.asp?id=737

17. The Enola Gay will follow an hour later.. The night is perfect, with shining stars and a picture-book moon. http://www.wingsoverkansas.com/history/article.asp?id=737

18. For most people in Hiroshima the workday begins at 8 a.m. by 8:10, factories and shops are beginning to buzz. On August 6, the entire 2nd Japanese Army is on a field doing calisthenics. http://www.grafixnpix.com/wwii/impja1.htm

19. It is a bright, sunny morning and some children can be seen outdoors playing. As the clocks near 8:15 a.m., the radio station reports that B-29s have been spotted heading for Hiroshima. http://www.jetantique.net/cont/soon.htm

20. At 8:15 a.m. the Enola Gay’s bomb bay opens; Little Boy is on his way. http://www.444thbg.org/stoltzpage.htm

21. The size and fury of the explosion are greater than anything ever before created by humans. http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=52511

22. The airmen are still able to see the inferno clearly when they have put 270 miles between themselves and the target. It is a sight they will never forget. www.stenbergaa.com/stenberg/item1244c.html

23. http://www.astrosurf.org/luxorion/quantique-bombes-atomiques-pic.htmhttp://www.astrosurf.org/luxorion/quantique-bombes-atomiques-pic.htm

24. The atomic bomb has created a fireball whose center reaches 4000 degrees Celsius (iron melts at 1,550 degrees Celsius.) The fireball gives birth to a shock wave and then a high-speed wind. http://www.astrosurf.org/luxorion/quantique-bombes-atomiques-pic.htm

26. Buildings are smashed by wave and wind and burned by fire. Dust for destroyed buildings makes the city night-dark within minutes of the bombing. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ssleung/2973849802/

27. The wind tosses people about. Thermal rays burn their bodies. As the fireball fades, a vacuum at the blast’s center pulls up dust, air, and bomb debris, creating an enormous mushroom cloud that rises into the atmosphere. http://www.b-29s-over-korea.com/Paul-Tibbets-Tribute/Paul-Tibbets-Tribute2.html

28. Within minutes, the 2nd Japanese Army no longer exists. Seventy-eight thousand people are dead. One hundred thousand are injured. http://www.flickr.com/photos/chriggy/2850401088/

29. The atomic age has begun. http://www.flickr.com/photos/soberch/2830106167/

30. Nagasaki is bombed just days later. http://www.badeagle.com/journal/archives?D=A