B-29 Drops the Atomic Bomb on Japan

On August 6, 1945, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress named Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, dropped the first atomic bomb used in warfare on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The uranium weapon, code-named Little Boy, detonated over the city and caused catastrophic death and destruction, killing tens of thousands instantly and many more from injuries and radiation in the days and months that followed.

Three days later, on August 9, a second B-29 named Bockscar dropped a plutonium bomb, Fat Man, on the city of Nagasaki, with similarly devastating results. The two bombings demonstrated the terrifying destructive power of nuclear weapons delivered by long-range strategic bombers.

In the wake of the second bombing, and with the Soviet Union having entered the war against Japan, the Japanese government agreed to surrender, bringing the Second World War to an end. The atomic missions marked both the culmination of the strategic bombing campaign and the dawn of the nuclear age, transforming the role of air power in global affairs.