US Drops 10-Foot Uranium ‘Little Boy’ To End War Quickly, Murderously

KEY POINTS

•After Germany’s May 7, 1945 surrender, Japan refused to quit, prompting Allied concern as casualties skyrocketed between April and July.
•President Truman took office in April, learned about the Manhattan Project, and authorized the use of the atomic bomb to avoid an estimated million US deaths.
•On August 6, 1945, the uranium bomb 'Little Boy' was dropped from the B-29 Enola Gay on Hiroshima, killing an estimated 80,000 people instantly and devastating the city.

In August 1945, President Harry Truman—who just learned about the Manhattan Project in April—decided the best way to end WWII was to drop a 9,788-pound uranium bomb named 'Little Boy' on Hiroshima. The 10-foot-long death brat wiped out 5 square miles, vaporized bystanders leaving creepy 'nuclear shadows,' and flattened 62,000 buildings, killing around 80,000 instantly. Despite generals fearing a million US deaths from conventional invasion, military leaders argued that vaporizing a city was the kinder option. The bomb was ferried by the B-29 'Enola Gay,' piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets—named after his mom—who briefed the crew without mentioning the world's first city-sized atomic explosion. Meanwhile, Japan readied 2.5 million troops and thousands of kamikaze planes, proving stubbornness runs deep when you lose everything.