Hiroshima was targeted by the first atomic bomb used in the events leading to Japan's surrender.
The United States dropped the uranium gun-type bomb Little Boy on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The B-29 bomber Enola Gay carried out the mission, and the bomb detonated at approximately 8:15 a.m. local time.
Hiroshima had been selected partly because it was an important military and communications center and had not previously been heavily damaged by conventional bombing. The explosion and resulting fires devastated much of the city, killing tens of thousands of people immediately and many more from injuries and radiation-related effects.
The Hiroshima bombing was followed by the Soviet declaration of war on Japan and the bombing of Nagasaki three days later. Japan's leaders then debated surrender, and Hirohito ultimately supported accepting the Potsdam Declaration. The two bombings remain central to discussions about the causes and consequences of Japan's surrender.