Atomic Bomb by Corporal Punishment
When Hitler was invading Poland and Czechoslovakia in 1938 and 1939, many scientists were forced to leave Europe. These scientists were afraid Hitler would kill their families because they were Jewish. Some of these scientists would help create the bomb of exploding atoms. All of this took place toward the start of World War II. America had not taken a part in the war yet. But in 1941, the bombing of Pearl Harbor took place, and America declared war on Japan.
The lead scientists of the first atomic bomb were Enrico Fermi and Leo Szilard. The atomic bomb was paid for by General Leslie Groves. He was named military head of the Manhattan Project, and based the project at the Metallurgical Laboratory at the University of Chicago. This was an undercover name for the lab. The lead scientists of the second atom bomb were Ernest Lawrence, Edwin McMillan and many others. This project was overseen by General Groves.
The first atom bomb, “Little Boy,” was flown in the B-29 Superfortress named Enola Gay. This aircraft was stationed at Tinian Airbase in the Marina Islands in the Pacific. The crew of the aircraft were told, “The bomb you are going to drop is something new in the history of warfare.” That is all they were told. Of the crew of 12, only one knew the exact nature of the bomb. His name was weapons specialist Captain William Parsons.
Before they dropped the bomb, the Americans told the Japanese to surrender, or face destruction. The Japanese took no notice. After that, the Americans decided to drop the bomb on August 6 at 8:15 a.m. The population before the bombing was 230,000 to 260,000. Fifty percent of that number died in the first 6 days after the bomb was dropped. Ninety-nine percent of the population left, died from the radiation after the initial 6-day period. People’s shadows were burned into the ground; bodies were dispersed; buildings, houses, and trees disappeared. The effects of the second bomb were even worse. It’s explosion was 2 times bigger than the first.
The bomb was created to have a similar effect as that of a ship that was carrying 12,000 tons of TNT when it blew up several years prior to that time. It shattered windows 61 miles away. The bomb’s effect actually turned out to be worse. It destroyed everything for ¾ mile, and shattered windows 160 miles away. The first atomic bomb, “Little Boy’s,’ effect was not as bad as the 2nd one called “Fat Man,” whose devastation was twice as much.
After the bombings of “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” took place, the Japanese finally surrendered. Japan’s leaders were devastated, as was most of the world. For months after the bombings, radiation killed as many as had died in the initial explosions. Without the bombs, though, the war might have gone on a lot longer. Now the U.S. has an atomic bomb that is thousands of times more destructive. Hopefully, they will never be forced to use it!
