Hiroshima was the primary target of the first atomic bomb mission. The
mission went smoothly in every respect. The weather was good, and the
crew and equipment functioned perfectly. In every detail, the attack
was carried out exactly as planned, and the bomb performed exactly as
expected.
The bomb exploded over Hiroshima at 8:15 on the morning of August 6,
1945. About an hour previously, the Japanese early warning radar net
had detected the approach of some American aircraft headed for the
southern part of Japan. The alert had been given and radio
broadcasting stopped in many cities, among them Hiroshima. The planes
approached the coast at a very high altitude. At nearly 8:00 A.M., the
radar operator in Hiroshima determined that the number of planes coming
in was very small--probably not more than three--and the air raid alert
was lifted. The normal radio broadcast warning was given to the people
that it might be advisable to go to shelter if B-29's were actually
sighted, but no raid was expected beyond some sort of reconnaissance.
At 8:15 A.M., the bomb exploded with a blinding flash in the sky, and a
great rush of air and a loud rumble of noise extended for many miles
around the city; the first blast was soon followed by the sounds of
falling buildings and of growing fires, and a great cloud of dust and
smoke began to cast a pall of darkness over the city.
At 8:16 A.M., the Tokyo control operator of the Japanese Broadcasting
Corporation noticed that the Hiroshima station had gone off the air.
He tried to use another telephone line to reestablish his program, but
it too had failed. About twenty minutes later the Tokyo railroad
telegraph center realized that the main line telegraph had stopped
working just north of Hiroshima. From some small railway stops within
ten miles of the city there came unofficial and confused reports of a
terrible explosion in Hiroshima. All these reports were transmitted to
the Headquarters of the Japanese General Staff.
Military headquarters repeatedly tried to call the Army Control Station
in Hiroshima. The complete silence from that city puzzled the men at
Headquarters; they knew that no large enemy raid could have occurred,
and they knew that no sizeable store of explosives was in Hiroshima at
that time. A young officer of the Japanese General Staff was
instructed to fly immediately to Hiroshima, to land, survey the damage,
and return to Tokyo with reliable information for the staff. It was
generally felt at Headquarters that nothing serious had taken place,
that it was all a terrible rumor starting from a few sparks of truth.
The staff officer went to the airport and took off for the southwest.
After flying for about three hours, while still nearly 100 miles from
Hiroshima, he and his pilot saw a great cloud of smoke from the bomb.
In the bright afternoon, the remains of Hiroshima were burning.
Their plane soon reached the city, around which they circled in
disbelief. A great scar on the land, still burning, and covered by a
heavy cloud of smoke, was all that was left of a great city. They
landed south of the city, and the staff officer immediately began to
organize relief measures, after reporting to Tokyo.
Tokyo's first knowledge of what had really caused the disaster came
from the White House public announcement in Washington sixteen hours
after Hiroshima had been hit by the atomic bomb.