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The street in this photograph is approximately half a mile from the location where the bomb was detonated, indicating the extent of the devastation to the city's buildings and roads US National Archives August 1945: The twisted wreckage of a theatre, located 800 metres from the epicentre of the atomic bomb explosion Getty A burnt-out fire engine is seen in the rubble GettyĪn estimated 80,000 people died immediately, but injuries and radiation took the final death toll to around 140,000 from Hiroshima's population of 350,000. Colonel Paul Tibbets, the pilot, is smoking a pipe in the centre of the group US Air Force/Reuters 6 August 1945: Colonel Paul W Tibbets, Enola Gay's pilot, waves before take-off US National Archives The atomic bomb, nicknamed Little Boy, is seen before being loaded into Enola Gay's bomb bay US National Archives An atomic cloud mushrooms over Hiroshima, in this photo taken from the Enola Gay flying over Matsuyama, Shikoku National Archives Aerial views of the city of Hiroshima before and after the atomic bomb was dropped National Archives An aerial view of Hiroshima showing the devastation caused by a single atomic bomb Getty 6 August 1945: An aerial view of the damage at Hiroshima shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped Keystone/Getty Images 6 August 1945: The remains of the barracks at the Japanese Army Divisional Grounds, about 1.3km from where the atomic bomb landed at Hiroshima Keystone/Getty Images 6 August 1945: A building stands in ruins after the atomic bomb blast at Hiroshima Keystone/Getty Images A man wheels a bicycle through Hiroshima after the dropping of the atomic bomb. The ground crew of the B-29 Enola Gay pose for a photo with the aircraft at their base in Tinian, Mariana Islands.
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More than 60% of the city's buildings were completely destroyed. The bomb was detonated 2,000ft above Hiroshima, releasing energy equivalent to around 15,000 tonnes of TNT, flattening five square miles (13 square kilometres) of the city in seconds. The two governments hope Obama's tour of Hiroshima will highlight a new level of reconciliation and closer ties between the former enemies.Īt 8:15am on 6 August 1945, a 4,400kg nuclear bomb nicknamed Little Boy was dropped on Hiroshima by an American B-29 Superfortress bomber, the Enola Gay, flown by Colonel Paul Tibbets. Barack Obama has become the first sitting US president to visit Hiroshima, site of the world's first atomic bombing.