Viewing page 191 of 307

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

NAGASAKI: ATOMIC BOMB DAMAGE VIEWED ON THE GROUND

The year was 1945, the war in Europe had ended, but the Japanese fought on. The first atomic bomb called Little Boy, a gun type uranium bomb 10 feet long, 28 inches in diameter, and weighing 8,900 pounds exploded over Hiroshima on August 6 at 1800 feet above the city. The force was equivalent to 13 kilotons of TNT and a circular area 2 miles wide wiped out most of the city. The 37 earthquake proof buildings still standing were cracked beyond repair.

Three days later on August 9, a much larger plutonium bomb 5 feet in diameter, 10 feet 8 inches long and weighing 10,800 pounds destroyed the Urakami industrial valley in Nagasaki. Because the valley was surrounded by mountains, the area of destruction was much smaller. Nagasaki was in the form of a "Y" with the base leg on the west side of the harbor to the south where the shipbuilding yards were. The upper left leg was the industrial valley with the new implosion type bomb named Fat Man imploding about halfway between Mitsubishi Steel at the north end of the harbor and Mitsubishi Arms to the north. Fat Man imploded at an altitude of 1750 feet with a force of 23 kilotons. The upper right leg was the city and residential area. The shopping area on the harbor burned, but the homes were protected by a 1400 foot mountain which blocked the rays and the shock wave and although a few homes nearest to the harbor were blown down, the rest of the homes and their occupants survived.

Two of my Army Air Force buddies, Sgts Richard Gallupe and John Johnson took the four photographs on the ground in this booklet. The photos have Richard^[[']]s writing on the backs. In mid January, about 7½ months earlier, Sgt Gallupe was with me in a Canadian Noorduyn Norseman flying over Hiroshima at low altitude, around 800 to 1,000 feet. Richard took 16mm movies while I was taking the still aerial photographs. We and another close buddy, Robert Gardner reunited in 1998 and we have spent a few days together every year since.

[[signature]] William E. Jones [[/signature]]

^[[146A]]

Transcription Notes:
two small word corrections. Should be good to Mark for Completion