Talk:Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki/FAQ

Organization

Q1: Why are Canada and Britain listed in the infobox? Wasn't the Manhattan Project an all-American effort?

A1: No, the Manhattan Project was a multinational effort, controlled by the United States, Britain and Canada. British personnel participated in the bombings as observers. British permission was required to conduct the attacks, per the Quebec Agreement.

Q2: Why doesn't the article cover post-war debate over the atomic bombings?

A2: To keep the article to a manageable size, it is restricted to the bombing itself. Post-war debate is covered in the article on Debate over the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; the subsequent development and proliferation of nuclear weapons in Nuclear warfare; popular culture depictions in Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in popular culture; Japan's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons can be found in Japan and weapons of mass destruction.

Q3: Why doesn't the bombing of Hiroshima and that of Nagasaki have separate articles?

A3:Much of the article is devoted to background and preparations for the raids, which is common to both.

Q4: Why is William S. Parsons listed ahead of Paul Tibbets? Wasn't Tibbets in charge?

A4: Parsons outranked Tibbets, being a US Navy captain, and as the weaponeer was in command of the mission. Tibbets commanded the 509th Composite Group, and flew the plane.

Q5: Why does the article say a Little Boy and a Fat Man was dropped? Weren't these the names of the particular bombs?

A5: No, these were the names of the types of bombs used. Multiple ones were produced of both types. Production continued into the post-war period. See their respective articles for details.

Q6: Why are the casualty figures so vague?

A6: The best efforts were made by the US and Japanese authorities to provide figures, both in 1945 and subsequently. Assessments were complicated by uncertainty about the numbers of people in the cities at the time, particularly Koreans. There was also the problem of counting people who subsequently became ill or died from their injuries. The figures represent the best estimates available.

Historical

Q7: Who ordered the bombings?

A7: This is a question with a complicated answer, depending on what "ordered" means. In a strict sense, the _strike order_ was issued by General Thomas T. Handy to General Carl Spaatz on July 25, 1945. The order is reproduced in the article. This was issued as a formal order at Spaatz's request. The strike order was formally authorized by the Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, and General George C. Marshall, Jr.. Accounts indicate that President Harry Truman was aware that an atomic bomb would be dropped sometime after August 3, but he gave no formal order, and undertook no explicit decision about the use of the bomb, except non-intervention in existing plans. The actual strike operations in Operation Centerboard was undertaken under the authority of Curtis LeMay, although many of the specifics (like the date of the second bombing) were made by Thomas Farrell, and the specific mission orders, like Operations Order No. 35 (Hiroshima) and No. 39 (Kokura/Nagasaki) were signed by Operations Officer Major James I. Hopkins, Jr. In general, most historiography has moved away from the that Truman "ordered" the atomic bombs to be used, and instead emphasize that there were a number of people involved in the planning and use of the bombs.

Q8: Why was Nagasaki bombed so soon after Hiroshima?

A8: The original strike plan was to have one bomb (the Little Boy) ready to use around August 3, 1945, and a second bomb (the Fat Man) ready around August 10. Weather conditions over Japan were not favorable for visible bombing, however, and this pushed the first bombing back to August 6. A forecast suggested that poor weather would continue on August 10, and so the preparations for the second bombing were accelerated. The decision for the latter was made by Thomas Farrell and other forces on Tinian, and were made exclusively on an operational basis. The strike order from Handy to Spaatz (see above) specified that the first atomic bomb would not be dropped before August 3rd, and that "additional bombs will be delivered on the above targets as soon as made ready by the project staff," leaving it open to the discretion of the 509th Composite Group.

Q9: Was Hiroshima warned of the impending bombing?

A9: Warning leaflets were dropped on many Japanese cities as part of a psychological warfare campaign by the United States, including Hiroshima. These did not warn of specific attacks by atomic bombings, or specific attacks against any of the atomic bombing targets. Leaflets with information about the atomic bombing of Hiroshima were prepared and dropped on many cities after the attack on Hiroshima, but they were not coordinated with the atomic bombing campaign, and no specific warnings were given to the other cities that were slated as possible atomic bombing targets (Kokura, Nagasaki, and Niigata). Because of these scheduling snafus, Nagasaki did not receive its atomic bomb leaflets until the day after it had been atomic bombed. See the Leaflets section for details. The Potsdam Declaration contained a warning of "prompt and utter destruction" should Japan not surrender, however the knowledge that this was a reference to the atomic bomb was not revealed until after the Hiroshima attack. In short, the Japanese were not warned of the atomic bombing attack: the secrecy and surprise of the operation was considered paramount to the enhancement of the psychological impact of the attack and very deliberate. The possibility of warning Japan, or demonstrating the atomic bombs in a non-violent way, had been considered and dismissed by the Interim Committee by the spring of 1945.

Other issues

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