Updated August 6, 2014, 5:33 am
On
Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima,
Japan, that instantly killed an estimated 66,000 people in the first use
of a nuclear weapon in warfare.
First Atomic Bomb Dropped on Japan; Missile Is Equal to 20,000 Tons of TNT; Truman Warns Foe of a 'Rain of Ruin'
NEW AGE USHERED
Day of Atomic Energy Hailed by President, Revealing Weapon
HIROSHIMA IS TARGET
'Impenetrable' Cloud of Dust Hides City After Single Bomb Strikes
By SIDNEY SHALETT
Special to THE NEW YORK TIMES
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Washington, Aug. 6 --
The White House and War Department announced today that an atomic bomb,
possessing more power than 20,000 tons of TNT, a destructive force
equal to the load of 2,000 B-29's and more than 2,000 times the blast
power of what previously was the world's most devastating bomb, had been
dropped on Japan.
The announcement, first given to the world in utmost solemnity by
President Truman, made it plain that one of the scientific landmarks of
the century had been passed, and that the "age of atomic energy," which
can be a tremendous force for the advancement of civilization as well as
for destruction, was at hand.
At 10:45 o'clock this morning, a statement by the President was issued
at the White House that sixteen hours earlier- about the time that
citizens on the Eastern seaboard were sitting down to their Sunday
suppers- an American plane had dropped the single atomic bomb on the
Japanese city of Hiroshima, an important army center.
Japanese Solemnly Warned
What happened at Hiroshima is not yet known. The War Department said it
"as yet was unable to make an accurate report" because "an impenetrable
cloud of dust and smoke" masked the target area from reconnaissance
planes. The Secretary of War will release the story "as soon as accurate
details of the results of the bombing become available."
But in a statement vividly describing the results of the first test of
the atomic bomb in New Mexico, the War-Department told how an immense
steel tower had been "vaporized" by the tremendous explosion, how a
40,000-foot cloud rushed into the sky, and two observers were knocked
down at a point 10,000 yards away. And President Truman solemnly warned:
"It was to spare the Japanese people from utter destruction that the
ultimatum of July 26, was issued at Potsdam. Their leaders promptly
rejected that ultimatum. If they do not now accept our terms, they may
expect a rain of ruin from the air the like of which has never been seen
on this earth."
Most Closely Guarded Secret
The President referred to the joint statement issued by the heads of the
American, British and Chinese Governments in which terms of surrender
were outlined to the Japanese and warning given that rejection would
mean complete destruction of Japan's power to make war.
[The atomic bomb weighs about 400 pounds and is capable of utterly
destroying a town, a representative of the British Ministry of Aircraft
Production said in London, the United Press reported.]
What is this terrible new weapon, which the War Department also calls
the "Cosmic Bomb"? It is the harnessing of the energy of the atom, which
is the basic power of the universe. As President Truman said, "The
force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those
who brought war to the Far East."
"Atomic fission" - in other words, the scientists' long-held dream of
splitting the atom- is the secret of the atomic bomb. Uranium, a rare,
heavy metallic element, which is radioactive and akin to radium, is the
source essential to its production. Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson,
in a statement closely following that of the President, promised that
"steps have been taken, to assure us of adequate supplies of this
mineral."
The imagination-sweeping experiment in harnessing the power of the atom
has been the most closely guarded secret of the war. America to date has
spent nearly $2,000,000,000 in advancing its research. Since 1939,
American, British and Canadian scientists have worked on it. The
experiments have been conducted in the United States, both for reasons
of achieving concentrated efficiency and for security; the consequences
of having the material fall into the hands of the enemy, in case Great
Britain should have been successfully invaded, were too awful for the
Allies to risk.
All along, it has been a race with the enemy. Ironically enough, Germany
started the experiments, but we finished them. Germany made the mistake
of expelling, because she was a "non-Aryan," a woman scientist who held
one of the keys to the mystery, and she made her knowledge available to
those who brought it to the United States. Germany never quite mastered
the riddle, and the United States, Secretary Stimson declared, is
"convinced that Japan will not be in a position to use an atomic bomb in
this war."
A Sobering Awareness of Power
Not the slightest spirit of braggadocio is discernible either in the
wording of the official announcements or in the mien of the officials
who gave out the news. There was an element of elation in the
realization that we had perfected this devastating weapon for employment
against an enemy who started the war and has told us she would rather
be destroyed than surrender, but it was grim elation. There was sobering
awareness of the tremendous responsibility involved.
Secretary Stimson said that this new weapon "should prove a tremendous
aid in the shortening of the war against Japan," and there were other
responsible officials who privately thought that this was an extreme
understatement, and that Japan might find herself unable to stay in the
war under the coming rain of atom bombs.
It was obvious that officials at the highest levels made the important
decision to release news of the atomic bomb because of the psychological
effect it may have in forcing Japan to surrender. However, there are
some officials who feel privately it might have been well to keep this
completely secret. Their opinion can be summed up in the comment by one
spokesman: "Why bother with psychological warfare against an enemy that
laready is beaten and hasnt't sense enough to quit and save herself from
utter doom?"
The first news came from President Truman's office. Newsmen were
summoned and the historic statement from the Chief Executive,who still
is on the high seas, was given to them.
"That bomb," Mr. Truman said, "had more power than 20,000 tons of TNT.
It had more than 2,000 times the blast power of the British 'Grand
Slam,' which is the largest bomb (22,000 pounds) ever yet used in the
history of warfare."
Explosive Charge Is Small
No details were given on the plane that carried the bomb. Nor was it
stated whether the bomb was large or small. The President, however, said
the explosive charge was "exceedingly small." It is known that
tremendous force is packed into tiny quantities of the element that
constitutes these bombs. Scientists, looking to the peacetime uses of
atomic power, envisage submarines, ocean liners and planes traveling
around the world on a few pounds of the element. Yet, for various
reasons, the bomb used against Japan could have been extremely large.
Hiroshima, first city on earth to be the target of the "Cosmic Bomb," is
a city of 318,000, which is- or was- a major quartermaster depot and
port of embarkation for the Japanese. In addition to large military
supply depots, it manufactured ordinance, mainly large guns and tanks,
and machine tools, and aircraft-ordinance parts.
President Truman grimly told the Japanese that "the end is not yet."
"In their present form these bombs are now in production," he said, "and even more powerful forms are in development."
He sketched the story of how the late President Roosevelt and Prime
Minister Churchill agreed that it was wise to concentrate research in
America, and how great secret cities sprang up in this country, where,
at one time, 125,000 men and women labored to harness the atom. Even
today more than 65,000 workers are employed.
"What has been done," he said, "is the greatest achievement of organized science in history.
"We are now prepared to obliterate more rapidly and completely every
productive and enterprise the Japanese have above ground in any city. We
shall destroy Japan's power to make war."
The President emphasized that the atomic discoveries were so important,
both for the war and for the peace, that he would recommend to Congress
that it consider promptly establishing "an appropriate commission to
control the production and use of atomic power within the United
States."
"I shall give further consideration and make further recommendations to
the Congress as to how atomic power can become a powerful and forceful
influence toward the maintenance of world peace," he said.
Secretary Stimson called the atomic bomb "the culmination of years of
herculean effort on the part of science and industry, working in
cooperation with the military authorities." He promised that
"improvements will be forthcoming shortly which will increase by several
fold the present effectiveness."
"But more important for the long-range implications of this new weapn,"
he said, "is the possiblity that another scale of magnitude will be
developed after considerable research and development. The scientists
are confident that over a period of many years atomic bombs may well be
developed which will be very much more powerful than the atomic bombs
now at hand."
Investigation Started in 1939
It was late in 1939 that President Roosevelt appointed a commission to
investigate use of atomic energy for military purposes. Until then only
small-scale researach with Navy funds had taken place. The program went
into high gear.
By the end of 1941 the project was put under direction of a group of
eminent American scientists in the Office of Scientific Research and
Development, under Dr. Vanever Bush, who reported directly to Mr.
Roosevelt. The President also appointed a General Policy Group,
consisting of former Vice President Henry A. Wallace, Secretary Stimson,
Gen. George C. Marshall, Dr. James B. Conant, president of Harvard, and
Dr. Bush. In June 1942, this group recommended vast expansion of the
work transfer of the major part of the program to the War Department.
Maj. Gen. Leslie R. Groves, a native of Albany, N. Y., and a 48-year-old
graduate of the 1918 class at West Point, was appointed by Mr. Stimson
to take complete executive chargeof the program. General Groves, an
engineer, holding the permanent Army rank of lieutenant colonel,
received the highest praise from the War Department for the way he
"fitted together the multifarious pieces of the vast, country-wide
jigsaw," and, at the same time, organized the virtually air-tight
security system that kept the project a secret.
A military policy committee also was appointed, consisting of Dr. Bush,
chairman; Dr. Conant, Lieut. Gen. Wilhelm D. Styer and Rear Admiral
William R. Purnell.
In December, 1942, the decision was made to proceed with construction of
large-scale plants. Two are situated at the Clinton Engineer Works in
Tennessee and a third at the Hanaford Engineer Works in the State of
Washington.
These plants were amazing phenomena in themselves. They grew into large,
self-sustaining cities, employing thousands upon thousands of workers.
Yet, so close was the secrecy that not only were the citizens of the
area kept in darkness about the nature of the project, but the workers
themselves had only the sketchiest ideas- if any- as to what they were
doing. This was accomplished Mr. Stimson said, by "compartmentalizing"
the work so "that no one has been given more information than was
absolutely necessary to his particular job."
The Tennessee reservation consists of 59,000 acres, eighteen miles west
of Knoxville, it is known as Oak Ridge and has become a modern small
city of 78,000, fifth largest in Tennessee.
In the State of Washington the Government has 430,000 acres in an
isolated area, fifteen miles northwest of Pasco. The settlement there,
which now has a population of 17,000, consisting of plant operators and
their immediate families, is known as Richmond.
A special laboratory also has been set up near Santa Fe, N. M., under
direction of Dr. J. Robert Oppenheimer of the University of California,
Dr. Oppenheimer also supervised the first test of the atomic bomb on
July 16, 1945. This took place in a remote section of the New Mexico
desert lands, with a group of eminent scientists gathered, frankly
fearful to witness the results of the invention, which might turn out to
be either the salvation or the Frankenstein's monster of the world.
Mr. Stimson also gave full credit to the many industrial corporations
and educational institutions which worked witht he War Department in
bringing this titanic undertaking to fruition.
In August, 1943, a combined policy committee was appointed, consisting
of Secretary Stimson, Drs. Bush and Conant for the United States; the
late Field Marshall Sir John Dill (now replaced by Field Marshal Sir
Henry Maitland Wilson) and Col. J. J. Llewellin (since replaced by Sir
Ronald Campbell), for the United Kingdom, and C. D. Howe for Canada.
"Atomic fission holds great promise for sweeping developements by which
our civilization may be enriched when peace comes, but the overriding
necessities of war have precluded the full exploration of peacetime
applications of this new knowledge," Mr. Stimson said. "However, it
appears inevitable that many useful contributions to the well-being of
mankind will ultimately flow from these discoveries when the world
situation makes it posssible for science and industry to concentrate on
these aspects."
Although warning that many economic factors willhave to be considered
"before we can say to wha t extent atomic energy will supplement coal;
oil and water as fundamental sources of power," Mr. Stimson acknowledged
that "we are at the threshold of a new industrial art which will take
many years and much expenditures of money to develop."
The Secretary of War disclosed that he had appointed an interim
committee to study post-war control and development of atomic energy.
Mr. Stimson is serving as chairman, and other members include James F.
Byrnes, Secretary of State; Ralph A. Bard, former Under-Secretary of the
Navy; William L. Clayton, Assistant Secreatry of State; Dr. Bush, Dr.
Conant, Dr. Carl T. Compton, chief of the Office of Field Service in
OSRD and president of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and George
L. Harrison, special consultant to the Secretary of War and president of
the New York Life Insurance Company. Mr. Harrison is alternate chairman
of the committee.
The committee also has the assistance of an advisory group of some of
the country's leading physicists including Dr. Oppenheimer, Dr. E. O.
Lawrence, Dr. A. H. Compton and Dr. Enrico Fermi.
The War Department gave this supplementary background on the development of the atomic bomb.
"The series of discoveries which led to developemnt of the atomic bomb
started at the turn of the century when radioactivity became known to
science. Prior to 1939 the scientific work in this field was world-wide,
but more particularly so in the United States, the United Kingdom,
Germany, France, Italy and Denmark. One of Denmark's great scientists,
Dr. Neils Bohr, a Nobel Prize winner, was whisked from the grasp of the
Nazis in his occupied homeland and later assisted in developing the
atomic bomb.
"It is known that Germany worked desperately to solve the problem of controlling atomic energy."
