Trinity nuclear test

[Webb]

Trinity (nuclear test)

Trinity was the code name of the first detonation of a nuclear device, conducted by the United States Army on July 16, 1945 as a result of the Manhattan Project, in the Jornada del Muerto desert about 35 miles (56 km) southeast of Socorro, New Mexico, at the new White Sands Proving Ground, which incorporated the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range. (The site is now the White Sands Missile Range.) Trinity used an implosion-design plutonium device, informally nicknamed "The Gadget". Using the same conceptual design, the Fat Man device was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945. The Trinity detonation produced the explosive power of about 20 kilotons of TNT (84 TJ) ...

At 05:29:21 (plus or minus 2 seconds) local time (Mountain War Time), the device exploded with an energy equivalent to around 20 kilotons of TNT (84 TJ). It left a crater of radioactive glass in the desert 10 feet (3.0 m) deep and 1,100 feet (340 m) wide. At the time of detonation, the surrounding mountains were illuminated "brighter than daytime" for one to two seconds, and the heat was reported as "being as hot as an oven" at the base camp. The observed colors of the illumination ranged from purple to green and eventually to white. The roar of the shock wave took 40 seconds to reach the observers. The shock wave was felt over 100 miles (160 km) away, and the mushroom cloud reached 7.5 miles (12.1 km) in height. After the initial euphoria of witnessing the explosion had passed, test director Kenneth Bainbridge commented to Los Alamos director J. Robert Oppenheimer, "Now we are all sons of bitches." Oppenheimer later stated that, while watching the test, he was reminded of a line from the Bhagavad Gita, a Hindu scripture: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds ..."

With the ultimate weapon in its hands the United States joined in the Potsdam Declaration 10 days later, demanding Japan's surrender.

After another 10 days failed to produce a surrender the United Stated bombed Hiroshima.

Many people don't know that the United States planned to drop two nuclear bombs every month until Japan surrendered. We had enough built to last through December.

[OldAirmail]

Strange as it may seem, back in the '80s ABC or CBS had a program on Japans preparation for the invasion of it's home islands.

The only thing that I remember about it was a video of small school children being taught to use sharpened stakes to jab into US soldiers.

I hate to think what the death toll would have been, on both sides, had we not used the atomic bombs.

[Prii]

I've been to Hiroshima, walked all around, visited the Museum, Fortunately for us (USA), the Japanese surrendered, fortunately for the Japanese, we only built two, there were no more in production.

[Strategic Retreat]

I've been to Hiroshima, walked all around, visited the Museum, Fortunately for us (USA), the Japanese surrendered, fortunately for the Japanese, we only built two, there were no more in production.

Only built two? I've known for a while now, and Webb confirms it, other three Fat Boy models were in advanced production, almost ready to be fielded.

It's widely known as well nowadays of the absolutely insane self-harming position of the Japanese army at the time, ready to sacrifice everything, civilians lives first and foremost, only not to have to acknowledge the defeat staring them in the face. Knowing this... as bitter is to have to say it... maybe it was fortunate a way, no matter how horrible, to make them recede from that madness and the countless victims it would have generated was found.

That and... there's a lot of talking about the deaths the atom bombs made, and there's NOTHING to laugh about it, I am THE FIRST to say it... but the staggering almost half a million dead in the Tokyo firebombing happened just one month before, in July, NO ONE seems EVER to officially remember. All right, it was an ATOM BOMB the one dropped by a single plane on Hiroshima first and Nagasaki days later, while for that level of firebombing happened in Tokyo the previous month a whole slew of planes were called into action... but death is death. Full stop. And I find it EXTREMELY hypocritical, not to mention dishonorable, to celebrate those dead for nuclear fire and simply waver away those dead in napalm fire... that are AS MUCH numerous, if not more, than the firsts... as nothing. Then again, I am weird.