‘Fat Man’ was the name given to the atomic bomb which was exploded 500m above the city of Nagasaki, Japan in August 1945. The bombing of Nagasaki caused widespread death and destruction. The bomb containing a core of plutonium was only the second of two nuclear bombs ever used.
The bombing of Nagasaki took place three days after the city of Hiroshima was destroyed by a nuclear bomb. The two bombs were used by the United States against Japan towards the end of World War II. By the time the bombs were used the war in Europe was over. Germany had surrendered on May 8th 1945. However the Japanese had refused the call to surrender by the Allies and China.
The first atomic bomb called ‘Little Boy’, was dropped over the centre Hiroshima on August 6th 1945. It led to the deaths of an estimated 70,000 people and destroyed 13 square kilometres of the city. Three days later the city of Nagasaki was the target of the second nuclear bomb. Called ‘Fat Man’, it caused widespread destruction and led to an estimated 40,000 people being killed outright. During the following months and years many more people died of radiation sickness.
A nuclear bomb, with the codename ‘Fat Man’, caused widespread death and destruction in the city of Nagasaki in the year 1945 On This Day.
Nagasaki bomb 9 August 1945 by The Official CTBTO Photostream on 2008-12-21 16:31:09