Nagasaki: The Bomb that ended the Second World War (9 August 1945)

This is my final post following our visit to Japan earlier this year. Unlike many articles on Walking the battlefields, this is not about a battlefield in a conventional sense. Instead, it concerns one of the greatest human tragedies in history - an event that, arguably, brought the Second World War to an end, and in doing so, may have prevented an even greater loss of life than the estimated 40,000 to 70,000 people killed when a plutonium bomb exploded over Nagasaki's Urakami district at 11.02 a.m. on 9 August 1945.

My wife and I weren't sure what to expect as we stepped off the tram at Matsayama-Machi, the nearest stop to the three sites we were determined to visit - the Peace Park, the Atomic Bomb Hypocenter Park and the Nagasaki Bomb Atomic Museum. What we discovered was a place that was both remarkably accessible and profoundly moving - a landscape dedicated not to victory or defeat, but to remembrance, reflection and hope. That is, aside from the museum which presented an incomplete picture.

The Nagasaki Peace Memorial 

Nagasaki - Orientation Map

The Peace Park is reached by a pair of escalators to the right of which are the entrances to two air raid shelters which were in use at the time of the bombing. Given the proximity to 'ground zero' none of those seeking shelter would have survived the blast. 

At the top of the escalators visitors are immediately drawn towards the imposing ten metre high Peace Statue standing at the far end of the park beyond a tranquil pond and fountain. Unveiled in 1955, the statue has become a focal point of the memorial, while over the decades the surrounding landscape has been enhanced by numerous monuments and sculptures donated by nations as symbols of peace and reconciliation.

In the centre of the park, the outlines of building foundations in the grass provide a stark reminder of the devastation that engulfed this area in August 1945. These simple traces of everyday life are among the park's most moving features, illustrating how an ordinary residential district was transformed in an instant by the detonation of the world's second - and to date, last - atomic bomb used in anger.

The Entrance to the Peace Park

The Nagasaki Stadium - said to be on the site of the original aiming point

The epicentre of the blast was a few hundred metres from the Peace Park, at the foot of the escarpment. To reach it visitors descend a series of escalators before making their way towards the unmistakable Atomic Bomb Museum. Nearby stands the so-called Hypocenter monument marking the point directly beneath where the Fat Man plutonium bomb detonated approximately 500 metres (1,650 feet) above the city on the morning of 9 August 1945.

Nagasaki was not the first choice of target. That distinction belongs to Kokura, but heavy cloud and smoke had obscured the aiming point. After three unsuccessful bombing runs, the US Army Air Forces B-29 Bockscar, diverted to it's secondary target. Together with the Soviet Union's massive offensive into Japanese held Manchuria, launched the previous day, this second Atomic Bomb was the catalyst for Emperor Hirohito's announcement that Japan would accept the Allied terms of surrender, bringing the Second World War to a close.

The Hypocenter Monument, Nagasaki

Ground Zero, Nagasaki

Adjacent to the Hypocenter monument, a section of excavated ground reveal an ancient canal and the level of land as it existed at the time of the atomic bombing. The accompanying information panels make deeply uncomfortable reading. They describe the desperate actions of civilians who threw themselves into the canal in a futile attempt to ease the agony of severe burns. Other transparent panels built into the embankment allow visitors to see the depth of rubble and debris that accumulated in the aftermath of the explosion, providing a stark reminder of the scale of the devastation - which, incidentally, would have been even greater if it weren't for the fact that parts of the city were shielded by hills. 

Atomic Bomb Museum, Nagasaki

The nearby Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum was opened in April 1996, a slightly belated part of the 50th anniversary of the Nagasaki atomic bombing. The building is striking - the domed glass roof gives a vista of the sky above, orientated towards the position where the bomb exploded. The museum's primary focus is on the victims of the bombing and there are numerous artefacts and displays which seek to describe the horrors that ensued on that fatal day back in August 1945. Amongst the exhibits is a blasted clock frozen at the time of the explosion - 11:02 am (pictured above). 

A second theme is concerned with peace and reconciliation. The graphic content of the museum serves to underline the imperative that mankind should work tirelessly to avoid such weapons being used in the future. 

For all its strengths though, the museum presents only part of the historical picture. While it powerfully documents the effects of the bombing, it offers relatively little context for the decision to use the atomic bomb. The narrative gives the impression that the attack was an unjustified escalation, without fully exploring the strategic considerations facing the Allies in the summer of 1945, Japan's determination to continue the war despite devastating conventional bombing, or the anticipated casualties of a conventional invasion of the home islands. Nor does it examine in any depth Japan's own responsibility for the chain of events that culminated in the use of nuclear weapons. I suspect that most visitors would leave with a good understanding of the bombing's human consequences, but a less complete appreciation of the wider historical debate that continues to surround President Truman's decision to drop the bomb.

The Bristol Channel Squids (1943-1949)

 In a previous post I wrote about the 'Hedgehog' anti-submarine weapon which was conceived and developed by the Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development (DMWD) - known as the 'Wheezers and Dodgers'. The project (No. 20 in the DMWD log) was undertaken on Birnbeck Pier which, from 1941-45, was requisitioned by the Admiralty and designated as HMS Birnbeck. This highly successful weapon was something of a game changer and readers might find it helpful to read about it here, before tackling this latest post, which covers the development of a similiar weapon, known as 'the Squid'. 

Squid anti-submarine mortar - Canadian War Museum

Designed by the Department of Miscellaneous Weapons Development in conjunction with HMS Vernon the Squid (see picture above) was a development from the 'Hedgehog' system. It was a three barrelled depth-charge firing device which linked into the host ship's sonar system. Once a target U-boat was determined to be in an optimal location the Squid would launch three 390lb explosives in a triangular pattern - bracketing an enemy submarine. Immediately after firing, the launcher could be rotated onto its side for fast reloading through an integrated rail system. 

In the image below, HMS Barrosa is sailing through the turbulence caused by a Squid firing from moments before. The big advantages of the Squid vs the Hedgehog were the size of the explosion, the link with sonar and the sophistication of the timers. Incredibly, the Squid remained in service until the early 1980s.

Imperial War Museum - Image (A 33111)

Partially uncovered Squid projectile on the Birnbeck 'Cassey' - Peter Lander Collection

We know from the diary of M.J. Smith, an engineer working for Admiralty contractors Crowe and Green in Weston-super-Mare that Squids were being tested on Birnbeck Pier in 1943. For example in a diary entry for 21 Nov 1943, Smith writes that he was engaged with building a hoist on the pier for Squids. 

Interestingly, in 1992, a strange looking 'bomb' was reported as having been found on the foreshore to the south of Birnbeck Pier. It was spotted by local man, Stephen Lander, as he guided a group of volunteers, Councillors and journalists across 'the Cassey', a naturally formed gravel spit that allows access to Birnbeck Island at low tide.  The discovery caused quite a stir at the time, and the piece of ordnance that was found has since been identified as an early Squid projectile - discharged from the pier and for some reason, never recovered - see picture above. It is now in the safe custody of the Birnbeck Regeneration Trust.

As I've documented elsewhere, after the DMWD ceased operations on Birnbeck Pier, then the weapons development team from HMS Vernon retained the testing site at nearby St Thomas's Head until 1949 - just a few miles up the coastline. Indeed the site remained active until it was decommissioned in 1992 by the Ministry of Defence. 

Squid Testing, St Thomas's Head, Nov 1948 (Jean Sugar Collection)

Many of the experiments undertaken by the DMWD and other Royal Naval departments involved dropping ordnance and other objects from aircraft and for this reason in 1941, HMS Vernon were given a corner of RAF Locking as a base for operations. Aircraft would sometimes need modifications to carry particular objects and, of course, material needed to be stored and loaded. I will cover this in more detail in a future post.

In the year 2000 when RAF Locking was taken out of service, a unique and precious object was retrieved from a skip by a local resident. It is an official HMS Vernon (Sea Trials Department) photograph album documenting naval activities on Birnbeck Pier, Brean Down and St Thomas's Head. Each photo is accompanied by a unique number and explanatory text. The photos reproduced here, are shown with the kind permission of Jean Sugar. It was Jean's mother who had the foresight to retrieve the album from the skip.

The Clear Area - Nov 1949 (Jean Sugar Collection) 

Squid bombs - recovery 1949 (Jean Sugar Collection)

Within the album two Squid tests at St Thomas's Head were documented in some detail. The first picture dated 17 November 1948 is one of a series showing the delivery and setting up of a Squid firing. The two immediately above are from a series taken a year later. In this latter sequence there are images of the projectiles being unpacked and loaded. But, of particular interest, there are images of the test projectiles being recovered from Middle Hope Bay at low tide. 

As I mentioned earlier, the first tests were conducted from the pier and projectiles would be recovered by hand with the aid of a temporary rail track and trolley. Later at St Thomas's Head, as can be see in the bottom picture, recovery at low tide was undetaken with the aid of a landing craft. As an aside, in his diary, M.J. Smith mentions that a total of twelve vessels were requisitioned by the Royal Navy at HMS Birnbeck.

For the story of the Hedgehog - which is essentially Part 1 of this post, click here.

With thanks to Peter Lander of the Birnbeck Pier Regeneration Trust for his help in researching this topic, and for introducing me to others who were able to assist.

North Somerset Council's Birnbeck Pier Restoration Project has been made possible thanks to over £44m in external funding secured from the UK Government, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, National Heritage Memorial Fund and Historic England.

 

The research that I’m carrying out for the project, which is covering Birnbeck Pier's Second World War history, has been made possible thanks to funding from the council’s social value agreement with its contractor, Mackley.