Was Hiroshima the first choice by the U.S. for the dropping of the atomic bomb?

Question

I thought I saw something about another Japanese city being the orginal choice for the first bombing but the weather was not right. Then it was on to Hiroshima. I haven't been able to find anything about it. Is it true?

I'm asking out of pure curiosity. I am not writing a paper, and I am not trying to prove some theory. I thought I saw or read something on the subject and I was wondering if someone could shed some light on it.

And no I am not thinking of Nagasaki, I know there was a second bombing (which was Nagasaki) but I am referring to the first one.

I know there were other targets. What I am asking is whether or not on the morning of the bombing, when the plane left for the mission - was Hiroshima the first target that MORNING?

Answer 1

I'm pretty sure you're thinking of the bombing of Nagasaki. On August 9th, 1945, the primary target was Kokura, but once the plane was over the city, the cloud cover did not allow the proper visibility. So, the secondary target was Nagasaki - which was devastated by an atomic bomb.

I can't imagine what it was like for the people of Kokura to find out that they were originally targeted, and it was simply cloud coverage that kept them from dying and having a demolished city. But that's not to take away from the devastation that occurred to everyone in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Good question, keep asking them.

Answer 2

The Target Committee at Los Alamos on May 10–11, 1945, recommended Kyoto, Hiroshima, Yokohama, and the arsenal at Kokura as possible targets. The committee rejected the use of the weapon against a strictly military objective because of the chance of missing a small target not surrounded by a larger urban area. The psychological effects on Japan were of great importance to the committee members. They also agreed that the initial use of the weapon should be sufficiently spectacular for its importance to be internationally recognized. The committee felt Kyoto, as an intellectual center of Japan, had a population "better able to appreciate the significance of the weapon." Hiroshima was chosen because of its large size, its being "an important army depot" and the potential that the bomb would cause greater destruction because the city was surrounded by hills which would have a "focusing effect".

Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson struck Kyoto from the list because of its cultural significance, over the objections of General Leslie Groves, head of the Manhattan Project. According to Professor Edwin O. Reischauer, Stimson "had known and admired Kyoto ever since his honeymoon there several decades earlier." On July 25 General Carl Spaatz was ordered to bomb one of the targets: Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata, or Nagasaki as soon after August 3 as weather permitted and the remaining cities as additional weapons became available.

Hiroshima was the primary target of the first nuclear bombing mission on August 6, with Kokura and Nagasaki being alternative targets. August 6 was chosen because there had previously been cloud over the target.

Reading between the lines: The unfortunate cities with the clearest weather on that date were chosen. A bright sunny day with clear skies became a million times brighter when those bombs hit.

Answer 3

I'm not positive if there was another target planned. I do know that both Hiroshima and Nagasaki were picked long in advance and were intentionally spared from conventional bombings like the kind that ravaged Tokyo, because we wanted a pristine target for the bomb so we could measure and study the impact of our new weapon on a virgin target.

Answer 4

Hiroshima was on the primary target list. Nagasaki was a secondary target that basically got bombed because of the weather over the primary chosen. Sorry, I don't remember which city had been chosen as the primary.

Answer 5

Does it change the historical fact that a large bomb was dropped even if that city was "second choice"?? No. I know they targeted two cities for bombing and the people there are still seeing the effects of radiation. If you're a history buff than keep searching. But if you are looking for a theory that is impossible to prove for a paper or something, then maybe you need to find something else to say about this definitive & tragic occurence in history.

Answer 6

Nagasaki was certainly not the first choice for it's bomb. But Hiroshima, I think was.

Answer 7

The alternative targets for Hiroshima and Nagasaki were Kokura and Niigata.

Answer 8

yes hiroshima was the first choice, for the atomic bomb
But .Kokura , was the first choice for the second bomb
but It was over cast. so Nagaski. become the second
city to be destroyed by the atomic bomb. that is why
they have and expression in Japan. called Kokura's luck
someone is lucky without knowing it.

Answer 9

Avoiding here the question of whether the bombs SHOULD have been dropped.

Hiroshima was surely the first choice. It had not yet been extensively bombed, and it was headquarters for the Southern Army Command, which would have opposed the eventual home-island landings.

Answer 10

I personlly saw Hiroshima during 1968.. it is 1st or 2nd choice, that is immaterial. This should not happen anywhere else. Even now babies are born with defects. Skin diseases are common.
original target was on TOKYO.
6thaug1945 is a black day.