| Aerial photos of Nagasaki before and after the atomic attack. The top photo was taken August 7, 1945 and the bottom on August 12, 1945. The rings are 1000-foot radii from the hypocenter. Locations marked in the bottom photo correspond to USAAF photo analysis: 4: Mitsubishi Steel and Arms Works – Many closely packed machines escaped serious damage from collapsing roof trusses, but were exposed to the weather. Other machines were torn from their foundations by collapsing steel members. 6: Mitsubshi Stadium – United States Army Air Force bombardier Kermit Beahan, in B-29 Bock‘s Car, saw the stadium through the cloud cover; using it as the aiming point, he released “Little Boy“ which exploded at 1102 Hours. 8: Urakami Prison – All of the 134 people present in the building were killed instantly. There were eighteen staff members, 35 civilians, and 81 convicts and prisoners awaiting trial, including 32 Chinese and thirteen Koreans. 11: Nagasaki Municipal Commercial School – Most of the soldiers stationed here were killed 750 feet (230 meters) from the hypocenter when their streetcar was hit by the blast wave and flung their bodies into a stone wall above a drainage ditch. 12: Matsuyama-machi District, the central district of the blast. 15: St. Mary‘s Cathedral (Urakami Cathedral) – was the largest Catholic Church in Asia at that time. It was completely destroyed. 16: Shiroyama Elementary School – A three-story, modern reinforced concrete building constructed in 1922 that was heavily damaged by the bombing. The blast killed 29 teachers and 110 students who were in the school at the time, in addition to some 1,400 pupils who were at their homes. 17: Nagasaki Medical College – This higher education facility was completely destroyed by fire, the shock wave, and flying debris. 18: Chinzei Gakuin School – Located in Takenokubo-machi District, the building‘s roof collapsed, crushing the fourth floor. 20: Nagasaki Medical College Hospital – Survivors came here for aid, but the surviving doctors and nurses soon had radiation poisoning as well. 22: Mitsubishi Young Men‘s Technical School – Boys as young as ten would study here at night and work in the Mitsubishi Shipyards during the day. The bomb erased the structure completely. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1250.jpg |
| Image Size | 4.46 MB |
| Image Dimensions | 3785 x 5836 |
| Photographer | Unknown |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 07, 1945 |
| Location | Ground Zero Hypocenter |
| City | Nagasaki |
| State or Province | Nagasaki Prefecture |
| Country | Japan |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2007, ©2024 MFA Productions LLC Image in the Public Domain |
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