Do you think that the reason behind dropping the atomic bomb on Japan was only to test the effects of humans?

Answer 1

No - of course not. I dare say that there were scientists who would have been interested in the after-effects, however the predominant reason for the use of the bomb was certainly military.

Controversy reigns about the use of the Hiroshima bomb. Some have argued that the naval blockade would have starved Japan into submission; others have argued that without the bomb, the millions of casualties expected with the invasion of the home islands would have become a reality. The source for that estimate has never been found.

What is certain is that Japan was preparing the bloodiest reception ever for the Allies if they had invaded Honshu, the southernmost island in Japan. Truman would never have been able to hold office if he had a working weapon and chose not to use it. Also, the Alliance between the Western powers and the Soviets was growing tenuous after the fall of Germany; Truman, an unknown quantity to the Soviets, had to show he was unafraid to use a weapon of mass destruction, especially one that only the United States possessed at that time.

What is not certain is the extent that the Japanese could have responded to the Allied unconditional surrender calls of August 6 and 7, 1945. The damage by conventional bombing to the transportation and communication network prevented the Japanese government from fully understanding what had happened in Hiroshima.

So the government did nothing, and on August 9, 1945, the B-29 "Bock's Car" dropped the “Fat Man” Plutonium bomb on Nagasaki, the tertiary target. This time the bomb was dropped slightly off target, which minimized the effects, the blast stopped by hills near Nagasaki. 70,000 people were killed, but again the aftereffects caused by radiation continued to kill for decades.

On August 15, 1945, the Emperor announced the surrender. The Second World War was over.

Answer 2

No.

Some historians felt the bomb was use to end the war with Japan before the Russians could launch an invasion from the north. A Russian invasion could have possibly divided Japan the same way Korea was divided into a North and South Korea.

Some people were already planning WW III with Russia by the fall of 1944.

By the end of the war Russia had already taken and occupied the Kuril Islands at the very Northeast tip of Japan. Russia still holds these islands to this day.

There wasn't one single reason for dropping the bomb. Some of those reasons are lost to history.

There are two books titled What If (vol. 1&2) They are counterfactual essays on major historical events. I recommend them. Sometimes the best way to understand history is to imagine the world be like if historical events turned out differently.

Answer 3

No. The use of the Atomic bombs on Japan was a military, and political decision. If you're trying to test it's effect on people, you don't drop it into enemy territory where you can't guage the results reliably. If they had simply been testing it, they would have dropped it on some island they bypassed and then would have quickly taken the island.

Both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were scheduled for bombing by convention munitions already, they simply used the A-bombs instead to demonstrate to the Japanese the potential cost of continuing the war.

Considering the caualties that the Japanese would have suffered under another year of strategic bombing, plus the Allied invasion, the A-bombs really did save lives in the long run.

Answer 4

No, not the only reason.

Why did they drop the bomb?

- to see what it would do for sure
- to try to end the war immediately, bypassing the Japanese why fought to the death over every single island
- because they didn't know exactly how devastating it would be. By that I mean: They didn't realize the impact. Up to the 1950's soldiers and civilians could witness nuke tests as a very good show; no-one had a good idea of long term effects.
- Because that was the whole gole of the Manhattan Project. The project wasn't started because the US had too much money and didn't know what to do with it. It was started to build a bomb. If you build a bomb you're going to use it!
- Don't underestimate this one: Because they could. They had the bomb. Japan didn't. Yet. You use everything at your disposal to end the war.

Answer 5

The reason for dropping two a-bombs on japan was to bring a fast end to the war without having to risk more American lives. Keep in mind the japs were given warning about it. They had the chance to surrender before the bombs were dropped. Yes it is only logical to study the effects of the blast on humans and other things in the aftermath, considering this was the first time the bomb had been used in a time of war. The research was needed.

Answer 6

some people will always be conspiracy theorists and believe this. the bomb was tested and the scientists were not idiots....they had a decent idea of the loss of life and destruction it would cause. the fact remains that japan was not going to surrender. possibly after 6 months more of bombings and an all-out invasion, yes. however, there was a planned X-Day, which was the invasion of mainland japan plan. Also, the US gave a lot of aid and concessions to the soviets because they didnt know that the bomb would be ready and they thought they would have to invade. Why would they do that if they thought japan would surrender easily and they wouldn't have to drop the bomb or invade them? this theory has been played out many times and makes zero sense. anti-american people live off of this stuff though. they get together like a cult and relay bizarre stories about this, area 51, the "faked" moon landing, etc etc. they truly live a sad and pathetic life

Answer 7

No. The primary reason was simple--and compelling. All efforts to induce the Japanese Empire to surrender had failed. The US was faced with an invasion that would have killed an estimated 250,000 Americans and one million Japanese. The atomic bomb was used in an effort to avoid that. A calculated risk that worked.

There were other, lesser reasons--chiefly to end the war before the Soviet Union could enter and start grabbing territory .

But the notion that this was carried out as a "test" is nonsense.

Answer 8

Of course not!! Truman made the decision in order to end a war the Japanese had vowed to fight until the last one was left. His dropping of the bomb was to end the war, and in doing so, it is estimated he saved 6 million lives including those of many American soldiers.

Chow!!

Answer 9

No, I dont. They dropped the bombs to end the war as quickly as possible. The Japanese needed to be stopped at all costs, they were pure evil back then.

Do some research into what they did to Allied POWs and the Chinese. Inhuman.

Answer 10

nope- that had been done solidly throughout the testing process... watch the old test reels..

The point was japan needed to be given a reason to surrender rather then fight to the last person- unfortunetly this was the only way it could happen, given the tools available at the time...