0
Why did you choose to drop the Atomic bombs on hiroshima and Nagasaki and not another place in Japan?
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Part of the Manhattan Project, which built the bombs, was a Targeting Committee. This Committee met within a couple of days of the surrender of Germany at Los Alamos, to suggest appropriate targets for the bombs.
By that time, in May 1945, strategic bombing of Japan had been going on for months, using conventional high-explosive bombs at first, and later incendiary bombs. The switch to incendiaries was due to conditions unique to the Pacific. Very strong winds aloft resulted in dispersal of bomb loads and completely ineffective bombing results, when operations were carried out as they had been over Europe. Japanese cities were largely wood and paper, and the reasoning was that large incendiary raids would set fire to these cities and overwhelm the fire departments. This proved correct and many square miles of the sixty or so largest Japanese cities were already burned to ashes.
The Targeting Committee at Los Alamos wanted pristine targets, unbombed so far, so that the blast effect of the atomic bombs could be accurately assessed. The cities had to be large enough so that the blast would not completely blow down the entire town - there had to be an end of the blast zone for accurate measurement. Specifically the criteria was that the target city should be at least three miles in diameter. Tokyo would have been an obvious target, but considerations of its importance as a cultural center, and the fact that over sixteen square miles of the city had been destroyed in the March fire raids overruled Tokyo as a target. On May 11 the Targeting Committee recommended Kyoto, Hiroshima, Yokohama and Kokura as targets. Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, was removed from the list, again because of cultural considerations.
Hiroshima of course became the first target.
The second mission three days later had Kokura as its primary target, but it was obscured by clouds. The crew had orders to drop the bomb visually if possible, so they proceeded to the secondary target, Nagasaki.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
How did John Hersey choose the characters in Hiroshima Were they a deliberate choice?
The site "Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" might lead you to some answers.
Why did the US choose the cities of hiroshima and nagasaki to A-bomb?
Military importance and shipbuilding ports.
Who started the war with Hiroshima?
The war to which you referred was World War II. The dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended World War II.
Why did the allies choose Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
They were both targets of a military nature, and had sustained relatively little damage before the bombing. Nagasaki was a secondary target- the city chosen as the second atomic target was weathered in that day, and the aircraft diverted to Nagasaki.
Why did th us choose Nagasaki as the second target for the atomic bomb?
Because weather was bad in Kokura city.
Why did they choose those city nagasaki?
The city of Kokura was in bad weather and Nagasaki was next.
Why did the US choose to use the atomic bomb?
We did not specifically choose either Nagasaki nor Hiroshima for the atomic bombing. We chose a target list of 6 cities, with the primary criteria being they had not already been significantly bombed conventionally. This criteria was used both to help the Japanese quickly see the destructiveness of this new bomb and to help the US military evaluate bomb effects after the Japanese surrender. On the original list Kyoto was included, but Stimson demanded it be removed due to its cultural significance so Nagasaki was selected to replace Kyoto.Actual target selections for the attacks were made a couple days before by the field commanders from this list, a primary and a secondary target for each attack. IIRC the primary and secondary target cities for each attack were:August 6, 1945 - primary Hiroshima - secondary KokuraAugust 9, 1945 - primary Kokura - secondary NagasakiThe bomb was actually dropped on Nagasaki instead of Kokura on the 9th due to a combination of bad weather and some mechanical problems preventing access to fuel in one tank of the bomber on that mission (Bocks Car). So in a way you could say that the weather choose Nagasaki to atomic bomb as much as the US did.Had it been necessary to continue the atomic bombing, the Manhattan Project factories were scheduled and ready to produce a total of 23 bombs for delivery on Japanese cities (not just the 2 used) before the end of 1945.
Why did the us choose nagasaki as a target?
There was a port where ships were built.
Why did they choose nagasaki for dropping the atomic bomb?
At the end of World War II, few questioned Truman's decision to drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Most Americans accepted the obvious reasoning: the atomic bombings brought the war to a more timely end. They did not have a problem with over one hundred thousand of the enemy being killed. After all, the Japanese attacked America, and not the other way around. In later years, however, many have begun to question the conventional wisdom of "Truman was saving lives," putting forth theories of their own. However, when one examines the issue with great attention to the results of the atomic bombings and compares these results with possible alternatives to using said bombs, the line between truth and fiction begins to clear. Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan was for the purpose of saving lives and ending the war quickly in order to prevent a disastrous land invasion.
Why did the US choose to drop an atomic bomb on Nagasaki in Japan during World War 2?
They would have preferred not to. Before the atomic bomb was used, several warnings were sent to Japan, insisting on unconditional surrender, and threatening use of a "terrible new weapon". Ultimately, it had to be used on Hiroshima. The US felt sure that the horrifying devastation of the bomb would cause Japan to immediately sue for peace. Instead, they dug in their heels (the actual Japanese doctrine was "Surrender is unthinkable"). So, Nagasaki was bombed. At that point something like half of the Japanese generals still wanted to push on, but Emperor Hirohito put a stop to it, telling the Japanese people in a radio message: "We must endure the unendurable". Japan surrendered.
Why did the us drop atom bombs on japan?
The United States did not drop the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki out of hate, but instead to protect the lives of millions ofpeople both Japanese and American. Although it seems evil, the United States did not just choose random cities. The US chose two cities that had large military bases, but small civilian occupancies And the two top cities in that categories were Nagasaki and Hiroshima.Answer:Although the bombs were dropped for the announced purpose of ending the war in the Pacific with Japan, they were intended to let Russia (already seen by the US as the major problem after WWII concluded) know the US had developed and was willing to use atomic weapons on civilian centres. The reason for dropping two bombs was to indicate that the US had an arsenal of bombs not just one "one hit wonnder".
Why did they choose those two cities to drop the atomic bombs on?
Lists of Japanese cities eligible to bet A-bomb targets were made up by Leslie Groves for the Secretary of War Stimson. Groves wanted cities that had not been heavily damaged by U.S. B29 raids so that the level of damage created by the A-bomb could be accurately studied. Stimson wanted to spare cities that had great cultural value (that dropped Kyoto off the list). Hiroshima & Nagasaki fit the above categories and had some token military facilities to help validate them being used as targets.
