10 Most Important Events In History Caught On Film
8. The Bombing Of Hiroshima - 6 August 1945
When: 6 August 1945
Where: Hiroshima, Japan
What: The dropping of an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima was one of the largest undertakings of the second World War. Because it was so critical that the device function properly, it was planned to be recorded long before the bomb was loaded onto the B-29 named the Enola Gay. When she made her bombing run, the Enola Gay was accompanied by two additional B-29s.
The first was The Great Artiste, which carried instrumentation to measure the effects of the bomb. The second was unnamed at the time, but later took the name Necessary Evil. That aircraft served as the photography aircraft, which was charged with documenting the detonation.
The bomb was released at 08:15 am, Hiroshima time, and it took just under 45 seconds to reach its detonation altitude of 800 feet. By the time it exploded, the aircraft were already 11.5 miles away, but the men aboard felt the shockwave all the same.
The event was captured on film and in photographs. It was the first time an atomic weapon was used against a populated target, and it resulted in the deaths of around 80,000 Japanese people. Radiation poisoning claimed the lives of many more, long after the detonation occurred. The US would use another device just a few days later on the port city of Nagasaki. That bombing led to the cessation of combat activities, and the surrender of Japan, which ended the war.