Nagasaki was the Japanese city targeted by the second atomic bomb used in warfare in 1945.
The bombing occurred on August 9, three days after Hiroshima was attacked. The weapon, code-named Fat Man, was carried by the B-29 Bockscar. The intended target was Kokura, but cloud cover and smoke made visual identification difficult, so the crew proceeded to the secondary target, Nagasaki.
The bomb detonated over the Urakami Valley, an industrial area in the northern part of the city. Nagasaki’s terrain, including hills surrounding the valley, affected the spread of the blast compared with the flatter urban landscape of Hiroshima. The attack caused enormous destruction and loss of life, although the exact death toll remains difficult to establish because of wartime disruption and later radiation effects.
Nagasaki was Japan’s second city attacked with a nuclear weapon. The bombing, together with the Hiroshima attack and the Soviet declaration of war, formed part of the crisis that preceded Japan’s decision to accept the Allied surrender terms.