By Connor Keoughan

 Nagasaki is the capital/largest city of the Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan.  As of January 1, 2009, the city has an estimated population of 446,007 and a population density of 1,100 persons per km². The total area is km².

 Being one of the largest seaports in southern Japan, Nagasaki was very important during WWII.  The city was highly industrialized and produced ordnance, ships, military equipment, and other war materials. The 4 largest factories employed about 90% of the population.  Although not the target of the second atomic bomb before August 9, 1945, Nagasaki had been bombed at least 5 times before.  On the day of the bombing, an estimated 263,000 people were in Nagasaki, including 240,000 Japanese residents, 10,000 Korean residents, 2,500 conscripted Korean workers, 9,000 Japanese soldiers, 600 conscripted Chinese workers, and 400 prisoners of war in a camp to the north of Nagasaki.

 The first atomic bombs were designed with help from the UK and Canada’s Tube Alloy and Chalk River Labs under direction of Major General Leslie R. Groves, Jr., called the Manhattan Project. Research began in 1939 in fear of the Germans creating atomic bombs first. Although when Germany was defeated in May 1945 the focus turned to Japan.  Two types of bombs were designed at the Los Alamos National Lab under physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. “Little Boy” dropped on Hiroshima, and “Fat Man” dropped on Nagasaki.

 On the morning of August 9, 1945, Bockscar, equipped with 'Fat Man' and flown by Sweeney'screw, flew towards Kokura as the primary target and Nagasaki as the secondary target.  The mission plan for the second attack was basically identical to that of the Hiroshima mission. Two B-29s fly in an hour ahead as weather scouts and two more B-29s on Bockscar 's flight for instrumentation and photographic support for the mission.  After a delay at a rendezvous with the mission's observation plane, Bockscar arrived at Kokura half hour late, allowing the city to be covered with drifting smoke from a raid the day before.  It was decided to move on to the second target, Nagasaki. The bomb was dropped at 11:01 and exploded 43 seconds later killing to people.

 The bombing resulted in deaths by the end of May, This was also the last city as of today to have nuclear weapons used on it.  Japan surrenders to avoid more civilian deaths and the destruction of Japan as a whole.

 ngs_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki#Nagasaki_d uring_World_War_II  g_of_nagasaki.htm