Egg Atomic Bomb

The "Fat Man" Atomic Bomb

Replica, the National Museum of United States Airforce

In 1945 the United States covert operation known as The Manhattan Project achieved its goal - to create the first atomic bomb. Since its inception in 1939, scientist had struggled to find a way to harness the power of fission. Through the combined efforts of many, a test bomb known as "Fat Boy" was finally created. On July 16, 1945 in a desert in New Mexico the worlds first nuclear test, codenamed Trinity, was conducted and ushered in the Atomic Age. The Trinity test success led to the creation of two more atomic bombs that would be used in World War II.

On August 6, 1945 the American B-29 bomber known as the Enola Gay released the first atomic bomb to be used in warfare. The bomb nicknamed "Little Boy" (uranium) detonated in Hiroshima, Japan. "Little Boy's" explosion resulted in 80 000 instantanous deaths.

Three days after, on August 9, 1945 a second bomb named "Fat Man" (plutonium) was released on the town of Nagasaki, Japan. It annihilated nearly half of the city. In one split-second, 74 000 died and 75 000 injured, and several hundred thousand others diseased and died due to fallout and other illness caused by radiation.

Photo from Historylink101.