Photos: The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Japan this week marks the 75th anniversary of the atomic bomb attacks

Last updated:
2 MIN READ
1/16
Japan this week marks the 75th anniversary of the atomic bomb attacks which killed over 200,000 people and left many more deeply traumatised and even stigmatised. | Smoke rises more than 60,000 feet into the air over Nagasaki from an atomic bomb.
via REUTERS
2/16
The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in western Japan on August 6, 1945 by the US bomber Enola Gay. | Colonel Paul Tibbets, pilot of the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, waves from his cockpit before takeoff from Tinian August 6, 1945.
via REUTERS
3/16
The Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay lands at the Tinian airbase in the Mariana Islands after the atomic bombing mission on Hiroshima, Japan August 6, 1945.
Reuters
4/16
The first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in western Japan on August 6, 1945 by the US bomber Enola Gay. The bomb, weighing 13-16 kilotons, was nicknamed 'Little Boy' but its impact was anything but small. | An atomic bomb of the 'Little Boy' type in an undated photograph
via REUTERS
5/16
It detonated about 600 metres from the ground, with a force equivalent to 15,000 tonnes of TNT, and killed 140,000 people. | Smoke billows 20,000 feet (6,100 metres) after an atomic bomb codenamed "Little Boy" exploded after being dropped by a U.S. Army Air Force B-29 bomber named Enola Gay over Hiroshima, Japan August 6, 1945.
via REUTERS
6/16
Tens of thousands died instantly, while others succumbed to injuries or illness in the weeks, months and years that followed. | Devastation caused by the atomic bomb is seen in Hiroshima, Japan.
Reuters
7/16
Three days later, the US dropped a second bomb dubbed 'Fat Man' on the city of Nagasaki, killing another 74,000 people. | An atomic bomb of the 'Fat Man' type in an undated photograph.
Reuters
8/16
A mushroom cloud rises after an atomic bomb codenamed 'Fat Man' exploded after being dropped by a U.S. Army Air Force B-29 bomber over Nagasaki, Japan August 9, 1945. The attacks remain the only time atomic bombs have been used in wartime.
Reuters
9/16
Tens of thousands died instantly, while others succumbed to injuries or illness in the weeks, months and years that followed. | A man being treated for wounds caused by the atomic bomb is seen in Nagasaki, Japan.
Reuters
10/16
People walk past the devastation caused by the atomic bomb in Nagasaki, Japan.
via REUTERS
11/16
The aftermath of the atomic bomb which was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan - August 9, 1945
Reuters
12/16
People walk along a road cleared of debris caused by the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, Japan in an undated photograph.
Reuters
13/16
A Japanese soldier walks through the atomic bomb-levelled city of Hiroshima, Japan in September 1945.
Reuters
14/16
Devastation caused by the atomic bomb is seen in Nagasaki, Japan March 17, 1948.
Reuters
15/16
U.S. troops arrive the month after an atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.
Reuters
16/16
A visitor at the Hiroshima Peace Museum in Hiroshima, Japan - August 5, 2004 looks up at a large sign showing the exact time when the atomic bomb hit the Japanese city at 8:15 a.m. on August 6, 1945
Reuters

Sign up for the Daily Briefing

Get the latest news and updates straight to your inbox

Up Next