Federal Documents

The Bombing Order

On July 25, 1945, General Thomas T. Handy sent a top secret order to General Carl Spaatz in the Strategic Air Forces. The order commanded the 20th Air Force to drop the governments new "special bomb" sometime after August 3, 1945, and the weather is clear to fly. The order told the Air Force to pick one of four cities (Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata, and Nagasaki). The "special bomb" is now known as Little Boy and the city selected was Hiroshima. Soon enough, the "Explosion Heard 'Round the World" was heard. 


The order said nothing about a specific target in the city, military base,or even a public building. The order reads that only the President of the United States and the Secretary of War will know about US envovlement in the operation. From my opinion though, I don't think something that big will remain unknown for long.  

 
The link below is a typed copy of the bombing order so you can read it yourself at http://www.dannen.com/decision/handy.html.

Picture found at http://www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/images/OrderDropLarge.gif

Trinity Reports

Trinity, NM is the only place where an atomic bomb has exploded in the USA. The land was set up by the government for the testing of atomic bombs and on July 16, 1945 the first and only test was launched. The bomb's explosion and power was equivalent to 20 kilotons of TNT. Many local citizens viewed the test and submitted eyewitness reports to the government. You can read these reports at  http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/history/pre-cold-war/manhattan-project/trinity/index.htm! One of the accounts explain how a man could feel the heat from an explosion 20 miles away. Read the reports and enjoy!  

Picture found at http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/staff/scholle/graphics/Trinity.jpg and shows the Trinity Test Site.