Plane Modifications

To carry the bombs they had to modify the bombers completely.  The B-29 bomber was the only bomber that could carry the bombs.  They had to replace the bomb bay doors with newer, faster opening ones.  They also had to fit the bombers with brand new, stronger, more powerful engines.  They expanded the bomb bay and took all of the .50 caliber machine guns out except for the tail guns because of the weight.  They also strengthened the fuselage.

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Training

To drop the bombs, the crew had to be specially trained.  The pilot had to get training in the new modifications like the bomb doors.  The weaponeer  had to be trained to arm and disarm the bomb.  The bombardier had to learn how to use the new instruments to drop the bomb.  

Dropping The Bombs

The two bombs were called Little Boy and Fat Man.  (Far left and far Right) Little boy was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 by the Enola Gay.  Fat Man was dropped by Bocks Car on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945.    Most people do not know that there was actually a fourth bomb that was never dropped.

They had multiple targets that were ideal for the bombs.  Those targets all had two things in common: they were relatively untouched by the war and they were industrial cities.  The bombs were designed to explode (or implode) above the ground for maximum damage.  They did this because most of the shock wave would be absorbed by the earth.   

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Harry S. Truman

Harry Truman was the Vice President of Franklin D. Roosevelt until Roosevelt died.  Truman was then sworn in and told about the Manhattan project.  He was the man that decided to drop the bombs on Japan.  

He was born in 1884 and died in 1972.