Nagasaki was hit by the second atomic bomb on August 9, 1945, shortly before Japan’s surrender.
The U.S. B-29 bomber Bockscar dropped the plutonium bomb known as Fat Man over Nagasaki at 11:02 a.m. local time. The attack followed the bombing of Hiroshima three days earlier. Nagasaki was the second and final city to experience an atomic bombing during World War II.
Kokura had been the primary target for the August 9 mission, but cloud and smoke obscured the aiming point. The aircraft instead proceeded to its secondary target, Nagasaki. Weather and fuel limitations left little room for delay, and the bomb was released after a partial opening in the cloud cover.
The bombing occurred on the same day that the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan. Japan’s leaders debated surrender amid these rapidly changing military and political circumstances. Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s acceptance of the Allied terms on August 15, while the formal surrender was signed on September 2.