On August 9, 1945, the American B-29 bomber, Bock's Car left Tinian carrying Fat Man, a plutonium implosion-type bomb. The primary target was the Kokura Arsenal, but upon reaching the target, they found that it was covered by a heavy ground haze and smoke, pilot Charles Sweeney turned to the secondary target of the Mitsubishi Torpedo Plant at Nagasaki.
Of the 286,00 people living in Nagasaki at the time of the blast, 74,000 were killed and another 75,000 sustained severe injuries.
Mushroom Cloud
The mushroom cloud rising over Nagasaki, Japan.
Nagasaki - Before and After
Aerial photographs show ground zero before and after the atomic bombing.
Mitsubishi Weapons Factory
Ruins of the Mitsubishi Weapons Factory.
Urakami Cathedral
One of Nagasaki's prominent landmarks.
Mitsubishi Steel and Armament Works
This plant was located about 2,500 feet (760 meters) downriver from ground zero.
Ruins
The Chinzei school from the east bank of the Urakami River.
Atomic Bomb Damage
TRubble and dead trees are still the dominant features of the Nagasaki landscape
Shinto Arch
A sacred Torii Gate stands erect over the completely destroyed area of a Shinto shrine in Nagasaki on October 1945.
Cathedral Statues
Statues in front of the south entrance to the Urakami Cathedral.
Urakami Cathedral
The completely destroyed Roman Catholic Church of Urakami.
Urakami Cathedral
The Urakami Cathedral, stands on a hill amid the rubble of a residential district east of ground zero.
Urakami Cathedral
The top of the Urakami Cathedral, lies in the rubble.
Mitsubishi Factory
Ruins of the Mitsubishi shipbuilding factory.
Mitsubishi Steel and Armament Works
This plant was located about 2,500 feet (760 meters) downriver from ground zero.
Mitsubishi Steel and Armament Works
This complex extending for nearly a half mile along the east bank of the Urakami River.
Atomic Bomb Damage
The terrain and smaller size of Nagasaki reduced the destruction of life and property.
Mitsubishi Steel and Armament Works
All that is left of the Mitsubishi weapons factory.
Mitsubishi Steel and Armament Works
The remains of Mitsubishi steel plant.