Nagasaki was the second Japanese city targeted by an atomic bomb before Japan’s surrender in World War II.
The United States dropped the uranium bomb Little Boy on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Three days later, on August 9, the plutonium bomb Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki. The attacks caused enormous destruction and loss of life, with many more people dying later from injuries and radiation-related effects.
Nagasaki was not the original primary target for the second mission. Kokura was listed as the primary target, but cloud and smoke obscured the city. The bomber proceeded to Nagasaki, where a break in the weather allowed the bomb to be released.
The bombings occurred during a rapidly changing crisis that also included the Soviet declaration of war on Japan. Japan announced acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration on August 15, although the formal surrender ceremony took place aboard USS Missouri on September 2.