A Rain of Ruin from the Air | 日本原子弹轰炸事件

by Matthew Brown

In the early hours of August 6, 1945, an American bomber heading for Hiroshima, Japan took off. The pilot was Colonel Paul Tibbets, and his mission on that fateful day was a dark one that would change history. As he flew over the city, the people of Hiroshima were starting their day by biking to work and walking to school. When he passed over the target, Tibbets dropped a bomb nicknamed Little Boy from the plane at 8:15 AM local time, but it was far from small in power. This was the first ever atomic bomb to be discharged during war.

The bomb detonated with incredible force about 600 meters above the city. Everything and everyone in the direct vicinity was instantly destroyed. Birds burst into flames in midair. Like a super-powerful camera flash, the light from the bomb burned the images of people's shadows against walls. It burned the patterns of people's clothing onto their skin. Nearly 100,000 Japanese were killed that day, and tens of thousands of others died of cancer caused by the radiation over the following years.

The reason for the US decision to use this bomb was complicated, but it is commonly believed that it saved many American soldiers' lives because they didn't have to invade Japan. Three days later, a second atomic bomb, Fat Man, was dropped on the city of Nagasaki. Within days, the Emperor of Japan surrendered unconditionally to Allied forces and World War II was over.

　　在 1945 年 8 月 6 号的清晨，美国一架飞往日本广岛的轰炸机起飞。在这个决定命运的一天，飞行员保罗‧堤贝兹上校所进行的暗黑任务将改变历史。当他飞过广岛市上空，当地居民才刚展开一天的活动，有的正骑着脚踏车去上班、有的正走路去上学。当地时间早上 8 点 15 分，堤贝兹上校飞至目标上空，从机上投下一颗昵称为『小男孩』的原子弹，但这颗原子弹的威力一点也不小。这也是战争时期第一颗投掷的原子弹。

　　炸弹在广岛市上空 6 百公尺处爆炸，爆炸的威力十分惊人。位于目标处附近的所有人事物马上被摧毁。鸟儿在半空中就起火燃烧。原子弹爆炸所产生的火光就像是来自相机的超强闪光，使得墙壁上留下人们燃烧的影子，衣服上的花色也直接烙印在人们的皮肤上。近 10 万名日本人在那天身亡，而接下来几年中，辐射所造成的癌症也夺去好几万人的性命。

　　美国之所以决定使用原子弹的原因复杂，但多半认为这拯救了许多美国大兵，因为他们不需要入侵日本。3天后，第二颗昵称为『胖子』的原子弹投在长崎市。几天内，日本天皇无条件向盟军投降，第二次世界大战于是结束。