Were there other targets in nuclear bombing aside from hiroshima and nagasaki?

Question

thanks!

Answer 1

Four cities were possibilites and listed in official bombing order: Niigata and Kokura were the two not hit.

http://www.dannen.com/decision/handy.htm...

Answer 2

Yes, there were other "options" they were choosing from.

I was watching Top Gear and the presenters were in Japan visiting Kyoto, and apparently it had been on the shortlist to bomb but one of the higher up officials had visited it, and thought it was too beautiful and took it off the shortlist.

Answer 3

no.

all other nuclear bombs that exploded were for testing, in random, isolated areas

Answer 4

1.  There were other targets identified.  Kokura was a secondary target in case Hiroshima was unavailable.  Nagasaki was actually a secondary target but Kokura was covered by clouds so Bockscar was diverted to Nagasaki and the 2nd atomic bomb dropped there.

2.  After those 2 bombs were dropped we had no more--we were out.  We expected to have a 3rd bomb ready by mid-August, 3 more ready by late September.  The plan was to save those for the invasion of Japan.

Answer 5

No but there was a lot of testing going on at Los Alamos.  I believe there were other testing area also.

Answer 6

Those only two populated areas to have been attacked by Atomic or Nuclear weapons, however- there was a list in order of Japanese cities to be bombed; Nagasaki was the 2ndary target, the primary target that day had overcast, and therefore the US would not have been able to have good pictures of the results.

Other areas like Bikini Atol, the Nevada desert, and other unpopulated areas have been used for tests, both above and below ground.

And at least for a while, if not still; the US, China and Russia have ICBMs targeted at major cities and installations, ready for launch in a few minutes.  So we're all still targeted- we just haven't been attacked yet.

Answer 7

there were more but the US had some criteria on where.

The targets for the bombs named "Little Boy" and "Fat Man" had been selected months earlier. A committee formed by General Groves selected four cities based on the following criteria:

Targets had to possess sentimental value in the mind of the Japanese people.

Targets had to have some military significance.

Targets had to be largely intact, to demonstrate the awesome destructive power of an atomic bomb.

The target had to be large in size, suitable for attack by a weapon of an atomic bomb's magnitude.

Hiroshima was selected because it was the largest target available with the largest population. In addition, it served as a port of embarkation for the Japanese Army and was an industrial center, complete with large factories and many smaller production facilities. Hiroshima was also the headquarters of the Japanese 2nd Army, which stood poised to meet an Allied invasion.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

On August 6, at 9:09 am, the Enola g*y came within site of Hiroshima. Parsons, who kept a log of the flight, had armed the bomb almost two hours before. At 9:15, the bomb was released. The force of the explosion rocked the plane, even though it had maintained an altitude of more than 30,000 feet. The following day, Parsons wrote a letter to his father describing the scene: "The base of the cloud looked like boiling dark colored dust and it covered the city proper," continuing, "Right under our bomb was the southern headquarters of the j*p army. Although the cloud was impenetrable, throughout the day, I have no doubt that the j*p army headquarters in Hiroshima no longer exists." ¹

Groves had predicted it would take two bombs to force the Japanese to surrender. The first would stun the enemy, and the second would demonstrate the United States’ ability to produce more than one atomic bomb. His prediction proved accurate. The second atomic mission was scheduled for August 11th, but this date was moved up two days on the basis of weather predictions. Bockscar, commanded by Major Charles Sweeney, took off at 3:47 am on August 9 for Kokura, a military arsenal and the center of Japanese steel production. According to the bombardier’s log, Kokura "was obscured by heavy ground haze and smoke." Bockscar made three runs over the city, but failed to positively identify the target. Sweeny and Bomb Commander, Frederick Ashworth, changed course for the secondary target, Nagasaki. The weather at Nagasaki was acceptable, but far from favorable. Fat Man was dropped at 11:58, more than eight hours after the aircraft had taken off from Tinian. Fat Man destroyed less of Nagasaki than Little Boy had of Hiroshima. However, the bomb wrecked Nagasaki’s heavy industrial complexes, including two massive Mitsubishi factories.

The Japanese Surrender

The Emperor, shocked by the devastating effects of the atomic bombings, called for his government to sue for peace through the Swiss embassy. In a note to Secretary of State James Byrnes, dated August 10, 1945, the Japanese Minister to Switzerland wrote, "The Japanese Government are ready to accept the terms enumerated in the joint declaration which was issued at Potsdam on July 26th, 1945. . . with the understanding that the said declaration does not comprise any demand which prejudices the prerogatives of His Majesty as a Sovereign Ruler." ² Byrnes promptly responded the next day, outlining the proposed role of the Emperor in the days to come: "From the moment of surrender the authority of the Emperor and the Japanese Government to rule the state shall be subject to the Supreme Commander of the Allied powers," concluding, "The ultimate form of government of Japan shall, in accordance with the Potsdam Declaration, be established by the freely expressed will of the Japanese people." ³ Fighting ended on August 14, 1945.