Dropping the Atomic Bomb - Mushroom Cloud Climbing into the Sky

On August 6, 1945, the US B29 bomber Enola Gay and two observation planes entered the skies over Hiroshima. At 8:15 a.m. the Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb from an altitude of 9,600 meters. The bomb exploded 600 meters in the air. The air temperature at the point of explosion exceeded a million degrees Celsius. Temperatures on the ground at the hypocenter rose to 3,000-4,000°C The abrupt change in atmospheric conditions created a giant mushroom cloud. The mushroom cloud climbed to 10,000 meters. It was reportedly seen from cities, towns and villages around the prefecture and even in neighboring Shimane Prefecture. The mushroom cloud itself was seen to be brilliant orange, pink and other beautiful colors, but under that cloud, a city lay in ruins and tragic scenes of death were unfolding.

	9 B29s and parachutes just before the A-bomb drop Approx. 25km from the hypocenter, Itaki-mura, Kamo-gun (now Higashi-hiroshima City) Yasue Okikawa (then 28) saw US B29 bombers flying in from the north heading southwest. After the planes passed by, she saw parachutes floating down, and another B29 flying in from the opposite side. Then a flash, followed by a roar. Next, a mushroom cloud rose into the sky.
	10 Mushroom cloud Approx. 2.7km from the hypocenter, Kasumi-cho (now Kasumi 1-chome) Toshio Fukada (then 17) was exposed to the bomb while working at the Army Ordnance Supply Depot as a mobilized student from Sotoku Junior High School. He saw an intense flash of light and was hit by the blast wind. He rushed to the second floor of the armory and watched an orange cloud of smoke rising in the sky over Hijiyama Hill. This enormous bomb smoke was unlike any he had seen before. He took this photo with a camera he had hidden in his pants pocket. This is the first of four shots he took looking toward the northwest.

11 The rising mushroom cloud Approx. 4km from the hypocenter, Kogo-cho When Chiyono Tsujioka (then 40), mother of Takako (then 18) looked toward Hiroshima from the second story of her home, this is what she saw. The buildings were gone, and some sort of orange cloud or smoke was roiling upward and spreading out. The roof of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries machine factory on the opposite bank of the river in Kan-on-machi was blown away by the blast.

12 Silver mushroom cloud Approx. 30km from the hypocenter, Kake-cho, Yamagata-gun Susumu Horikoshi (then 6) saw the flash and heard a loud roar as if lighting had struck nearby. Soon, from the other side of the mountain, a mushroom cloud rose into the sky. As the cloud gradually swelled, it glinted a brilliant silver under the sun.

13 Radio equipment for automatically transmitting measurements of the explosion

14 Disassembling and investigating the radio equipment for automatically transmitting measurements of the explosion Around August 10, 1945 Radio Factory, Electric Department, Kure Naval Factory Immediately before the dropping of the atomic bomb, observation planes dropped four parachutes carrying communication devices for transmitting measurements. Three devices were later collected, and Shigeru Ono, Keiichi Sugie and others who were working at the Kure Naval Factory disassembled and investigated one of them.

Hiroshima Testimony -The City Obliterated, the Aftermath Nostalgic Scenes of Hiroshima Dropping the Atomic Bomb - Mushroom Cloud Climbing into the Sky August 6, 1945 - Hiroshima Testimony Hiroshima as Seen by Relief Workers Things Left for Families (1) Things Left for Families (2) Conclusion Individuals and Groups Contributors to This Exhibition Return to TOP