The beginning of the end

Today in 1945, the US dropped the first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, which was one of the chief supply depots for the Japanese army.  The bomb, known as Little Boy - a reference to former President Roosevelt, was more than 2,000 times more powerful than the largest bomb used to that date.  The bomb contained the equivalent of 12,000 - 15,000 tons of TNT and devastated an area of five square miles.  More than 60% of the buildings in the city were destroyed.  Official Japanese figures at the time put the death toll at 118,661 civilians, but later estimates suggest the final toll was about 140,000 - of Hiroshima's 350,000 population - including military personnel and those who died later from radiation.  Many have also suffered long-term sickness and disability.  Three days later, the US launched a second, bigger atomic bomb against the city of Nagasaki.  The device known as Fat Man, after Winston Churchill, weighed nearly 9,000lb.  The two atomic bombs, with the Soviet declaration of war against Japan on 8 August 1945, finally left the Japanese no choice.  Japan surrendered to the Allies on 14 August 1945.