One bomb. One flash. The world was never the same.

Hiroshima: The Day That Changed War Forever

The first atomic bomb kills 80,000 people in an instant

On August 6, 1945, the US dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing 80,000 instantly and ushering in the nuclear age.

At 8:15 AM on August 6, 1945, the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay released a bomb called Little Boy over Hiroshima, Japan. Forty-three seconds later, at an altitude of 1,900 feet, it detonated. The explosion released the equivalent of 15,000 tons of TNT.

At ground zero, temperatures reached 7,000°F — hotter than the surface of the sun. A circle of total destruction extended more than a mile in every direction. Buildings evaporated. People near the hypocenter were vaporized so completely that their shadows were permanently burned into stone and concrete.

An estimated 70,000 to 80,000 people died instantly. Another 70,000 would die from injuries and radiation sickness by year's end. The city of 350,000 — an important military and industrial center — was 90% destroyed.

President Truman, who had made the decision to use the bomb, called it "the greatest thing in history." Japanese leaders, initially confused about what had happened (a single bomb destroying an entire city seemed impossible), delayed surrender. Three days later, a second bomb destroyed Nagasaki. Japan surrendered on August 15.

💡 A ginkgo tree 1.1 km from the bomb's hypocenter survived the blast and is still alive today — it is now called 'Survivor Trees.'