Nagasaki was struck by the second atomic bomb used in war on August 9, 1945.
The United States dropped the plutonium implosion bomb Fat Man on Nagasaki three days after Little Boy was used against Hiroshima. The mission’s primary target was Kokura, but clouds and smoke prevented the aircrew from making the required visual identification, so the aircraft proceeded to its secondary target, Nagasaki.
The bomb detonated over the Urakami Valley at about 11:02 a.m. local time. Nagasaki contained major industrial facilities, including shipyards and weapons plants, but large parts of the city were also residential. The attack caused tens of thousands of deaths by the end of 1945.
Japan announced its surrender on August 15, six days after the Nagasaki bombing. Historians continue to debate the relative importance of the atomic bombings, the Soviet entry into the war, and other pressures on Japan’s decision.