SonicBomb: Codename “Little Boy”, the first atomic weapon used in war was dropped on Hiroshima from the Enola Gay piloted by Lt. Col. Paul Tibbets. The design used a gun arrangement to explosively force a sub-critical mass of uranium-235 and three U-235 rings together into a super-critical mass, initiating a nuclear reaction. This weapon was not tested prior to the attack as it was a considered a conservative design. Once armed, the weapon was extremely unsafe, with a crash, fire or emersion in water causing a full yield explosion. For this reason “Deke” Parsons the weaponeer, placed the cordite in the gun in-flight with no gloves in subzero temperatures. Approximately 70,000 people were killed as a direct result of the blast, and a similar number were injured. A great number more would later die as a result of exposure to the prompt radiation and from fallout. The weapon was highly in-efficient from a design perspective – of 64kg of enrighed uranium used, only 760 grams (1.2%) actually fissioned before the bomb blew itself to pieces.
Comment count on this article reflects comments made on Breitbart.com and Facebook. Visit Breitbart's Facebook Page.