The Fatboy Test

Truman had no idea. He was briefed on it as part of becoming president during war, which is a pretty tough gig,. But Truman understood the relevance of the project and he supported it. On August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay, a B 29 bomber piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbetts released a 9,700 pound uranium gun bomb called Little Boy. They knew they were confident it would work, but they had never actually tested this bomb. And it was released at approximately 8 15 a.m. 31,000 feet above Hiroshima, Japan. 43 seconds later, it detonated. The initial explosion killed 70,000 people more or less instantly.