Tokyo : The day of 6th August 1945 is recorded in the pages of history in black ink. On the same day the US dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, in which millions of people died. 130,000 Japanese men, women and children were killed in this attack. The name of the bomb was ‘Little Boy’ which was dropped by the crew of the B-29 bomber (Enola Gay). It was the first atomic bomb used in war after successful US tests. Three days later, the US dropped another bomb named ‘Fat Man’ on another Japanese city, Nagasaki. In this 40,000 people died and Japan was forced to surrender.
A few days ago, a logbook sold at an auction for 450,000 pounds (Rs 3.84 crore) recorded the horrific experience of dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima at the end of World War II. This log book was written during the mission by Captain Robert A. Lewis who was the co-pilot of that plane. In the book, the captain told what happened in Hiroshima that day. He described the bombing scene as “the worst blast ever”.
‘I will not forget even if I live for 100 years’
The captain wrote, ‘How many have we killed? To be honest, I don’t have words to describe it. Oh God! What have we done? Even if I lived for 100 years, I would never be able to get those few minutes out of my mind. This book was written with both pen and pencil. A few days ago, Heritage Auction sold it for around Rs 4 crore. Captain Lewis recorded his real-time experience in this book. This logbook is the only record of that mission that still exists.
no one had any idea of the devastation
Although the plane’s crew knew that they were going to drop the atomic bomb, no one had any idea of the devastation it would cause. The team that Captain Lewis was part of was commanded by Chief Pilot Paul Tibbets. America developed the world’s first atomic bomb under the Manhattan Project. When they were ready, the US decided to use them on Japan because the leaders of the Asian country refused to kneel.
Japan expected to surrender before landing
The Enola Gay crew dropped a bomb on Hiroshima on August 6 from an altitude of 1,750 feet. It destroyed 70 percent of the city’s buildings, and the explosion killed 70,000 people immediately. Due to this effect, millions of people died later. He wrote, ‘I believe the Japanese will surrender before we land because they certainly do not want us to drop more such nuclear-powered bombs.’
Second nuclear attack after three days
Even after this, the Japanese authorities did not surrender, after which the US dropped the second atomic bomb on the second city of Nagasaki on 9 August. This bomb was dropped from a B-29 bomber (Bockscar), which was the second and last nuclear attack in history. Japan finally surrendered on 15 August. Captain Lewis died of a heart attack in 1983 at the age of 65 at his home in Virginia.