Released from B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay on August 6, 1945 at 8:15 a.m. (Japanese time), the world entered the unprecedented atomic age with the deployment of the most powerful weapon known to man.

Footage of the “Little Boy” attack from a bird’s-eye view.

Hiroshima

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Born from the Einstein-inspired Manhattan Project, the first nuclear weapon used in war fell for 44.4 seconds before unleashing approximately 12,500 tons of TNT over the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

A model of the “Little Boy.”

screen shot 2015-08-06 at 12.41.59 pmUS Department of Energy

Code-named “Little Boy,” the bomb killed 140,000 people and destroyed 90 percent of the city.

A huge expanse of ruins left the explosion of the atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945 in Hiroshima. 140,000 people died because of the disastrous explosion.

hiroshima-japanAP

Three days later, the US dropped another bomb on the Japanese city of Nagasaki, killing about 40,000 people instantly; thousands more would die of radiation poisoning.

Eight days later, Japan informally surrendered to the Allied forces, effectively ending World War II.

atomic bombings japan

Charles Levy/Amanda Macias/Business Insider

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