Atomic Bomb Poll.

[cmcpokey]

Why is exactly? from your tone (besides the last line) you seem to set it up as a simple way. Just because it is quicker?

i have been involved in numerous should we shouldn't we have debates in several military history classes. i have heard no good argument for not using the bomb. the only valid argument in my mind is that we shouldn't have used the second one in Nagasaki.

the bombings up to that point had had a very pronounced effect on limiting the production capability of japan, but hadnt succeeded in convincing tojo and hirohito that they should surrender. the entire war saw the japanese completely detached from reality. yamamoto was really the only one that could see the empire crumbling, but he served his emperor honorably to the very end. they still beleived that they could win somehow, and couldnt see that they were defeated. the US was providing pressure on a lot of different fronts, and the bombs were just one small aspect of it. by showing what we were capable of, and them not knowing we had expended our supply of bombs, it provided a lot of leverage.

in today's world i would never advocate using nukes. for any reason whatsoever. i think it would be a better world if everyone dismantled every nuke on the planet. but when you think of how minimal the percentage of casualties for the war inflicted by the bombs actually was, and how much of an impact it had. war is not pretty, people die. but i think that by using the bombs it saved significant numbers of lives in the long run.

[LeonOfTheDead]

the only point I would raise at this point is that maybe, at the light the the second bomb could have been not used, the same effect could have been provided with a bomb with half the power or even a fourth, or two bombs still with less power.
Just a guess, but saying a bomb, a single one, can destroy a city, or even just half, isn't much different.

[Birdman002]

Thank you everyone once again this helps me out alot

I do belive this is the first post where i havent gotten critizied ( spelt wrong ) for a post or anything haha.

Thanks keep the polls going and the comments

[RacingManiac]

the only point I would raise at this point is that maybe, at the light the the second bomb could have been not used, the same effect could have been provided with a bomb with half the power or even a fourth, or two bombs still with less power.
Just a guess, but saying a bomb, a single one, can destroy a city, or even just half, isn't much different.

Being a new technology and all, I don't think their control of yield is that accurate, or do they have any sort of modeling capability of precisely know what the yield was.

[Kooper]

Apparently the fuel bombs combined or whatever it was called did much more damage than the nukes did.

I don't know much on the subject, but supposedly it sucked all the oxygen from the ground and burned incredibly hot. That meant if the flames didn't get you, the slow suffocation did if you happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

[Birdman002]

Are there different types of Fuel Air Bombs
like with Nukes there are different Kiloton Bombs

[Kooper]

I tried to get some more info on the web about the subject, but not surprisingly it's only the atomic bombs that come up so far. Think I might have something on it at home somewhere, will have a look and let you know.

Aha, think I made a mistake by calling it fuel bombs, seems the proper name is "firebombs". Wikipedia pages:
Air raids on Japan

Some more on the firebomb, or incendiary device:
Incendiary device

[Kooper]

if my memory serves me correctly (which is rare) werent the firebombings of Tokyo more devastating as far as civilian casualties goes than the atomic bombings?

I should really start reading previous posts before posting myself

[RacingManiac]

that was also what they used in Dresden. Though in Tokyo it was worse because of the wooden building of the period Japanese housing...

[Matra et Alpine]

So far we've not mentioned the RUssian success against the Japanese army.
They were being over-run and the possibility that Russia could become involved in a defeat and surrender on mainland Japan wouldn't be something America wanted.

Ending it soon rather than engaging in discussion on a possible conditional surrender as offered by Japan which woudl allow Russia to advance and possibly consider invasion from the North woudl have clear advantages.

[RacingManiac]

So far we've not mentioned the RUssian success against the Japanese army.
They were being over-run and the possibility that Russia could become involved in a defeat and surrender on mainland Japan wouldn't be something America wanted.

Ending it soon rather than engaging in discussion on a possible conditional surrender as offered by Japan which woudl allow Russia to advance and possibly consider invasion from the North woudl have clear advantages.

.... And I am pretty sure if US didn't invade, Russia will......

So there....

[Kitdy]

Being a new technology and all, I don't think their control of yield is that accurate, or do they have any sort of modeling capability of precisely know what the yield was.

Incorrect to my knowledge - they had very precise equations modelling the yield and had completed one test previous to that so they had a good idea what was gonna happen when used in war.

I think one problem arose for Ivy Mike - the first thermonuclear (fusion) device and it's explosion was larger than what they counted for.

[teatako]

White Light/Black Rain. That´s all I´m saying on the matter.

[switters78]

I vote no. An eye for an eye and the whole world would be blind...Anyone who thinks they're in the position to judge who lives and dies is playing god, and should be ready to have the same judgement exacted upon them. If killing is so awful, and the Japanese did it to us, doing it to them means we are the same. We don't get to enjoy moral immunity just because we want to...

[RacingManiac]

Incorrect to my knowledge - they had very precise equations modelling the yield and had completed one test previous to that so they had a good idea what was gonna happen when used in war.

I think one problem arose for Ivy Mike - the first thermonuclear (fusion) device and it's explosion was larger than what they counted for.

Consider the fact that to a large degree the advancement of computer modeling post war spawn from the need to be able to precisely model nuclear reaction(and how to initiate one), I think their capability at the time would be quite limited. Also the explosive and electronics that were available to them at the time for initiating the reaction were not to modern day standard(obviously), as a result I think the quantitiy used for the bomb was erred on the conservative side(as in more than perhaps otherwise needed).