Hiroshima was the first city targeted by an atomic bomb used in warfare during Japan’s 1945 surrender crisis.
On 6 August 1945, the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the uranium weapon Little Boy over Hiroshima. The bomb detonated at about 8:15 a.m. local time and devastated a large part of the city. Hiroshima had been selected as a target because it was a significant urban and military center and had not previously suffered the same level of conventional bombing as many other Japanese cities.
Nagasaki became the second atomic-bomb target three days later, on 9 August. Kokura was the primary target for that mission, but poor visibility caused the crew to divert to Nagasaki. Tokyo, Japan’s capital, was not the city hit by either atomic bomb, although it had already suffered severe conventional bombing.
Japan announced its surrender on 15 August and signed the formal Instrument of Surrender on 2 September. Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain the only cities to have experienced wartime nuclear attacks.