What is 'Little Boy'?

'Little Boy' was the code name for the first atomic bomb used in warfare, which was dropped by the United States on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 [1]. It was a gun-type fission weapon that utilized enriched uranium-235 to trigger a nuclear chain reaction [2]. This design differed significantly from 'Fat Man', the plutonium-based implosion bomb dropped on Nagasaki three days later [4]. While the 'Gadget' was the first nuclear device ever tested (during the Trinity test on July 16, 1945), 'Little Boy' was the first to be deployed in combat. The explosion at Hiroshima resulted in approximately 15 kilotons of force, causing immediate casualties between 60,000 and 80,000 people and leading to long-term health effects such as cancer and genetic mutations due to radioactive fallout [3].

Sources

1. [1] History , class XII (Tamilnadu state board 2024 ed.) > Chapter 14: Outbreak of World War II and its Impact in Colonies > Atomic Bomb attack on Japan > p. 227
2. [2] https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2020/08/06/little-boy-the-first-atomic-bomb/
3. [4] Environment, Shankar IAS Acedemy .(ed 10th) > Chapter 5: Environmental Pollution > Atomic explosion (Nuclear fatlout): > p. 83
4. [3] Environment and Ecology, Majid Hussain (Access publishing 3rd ed.) > Chapter 8: Natural Hazards and Disaster Management > Armed Conflicts and War > p. 89