Hiroshima was struck by the first atomic bomb used in warfare on August 6, 1945.
A U.S. B-29 bomber named Enola Gay dropped the uranium bomb called Little Boy over Hiroshima. The bomb detonated at approximately 8:15 a.m. local time, producing immense destruction across the city. Hiroshima was a major military and communications center, and the attack killed large numbers of civilians and military personnel.
The bombing was part of the final phase of the Pacific War. The United States had developed the weapon through the Manhattan Project and used it in an effort to force Japan’s surrender without an invasion of the Japanese home islands.
The Hiroshima bombing did not immediately produce a public Japanese surrender. The Soviet Union declared war on Japan shortly afterward, and a second atomic bomb struck Nagasaki on August 9. Emperor Hirohito’s surrender broadcast followed on August 15, while the formal surrender ceremony took place on September 2.