"Little Boy" was the codename for the atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, during World War II. It was the first nuclear weapon ever used in warfare and was developed by the United States as part of the Manhattan Project.
Key Facts about "Little Boy":
Type: It was a uranium-235 gun-type fission bomb.
Design: The bomb used a simple design in which a conventional explosive was used to fire one sub-critical mass of uranium-235 into another, achieving a supercritical mass and initiating a nuclear chain reaction.
Yield: The explosion had an estimated yield of about 15 kilotons of TNT.
Impact: The bomb caused massive destruction, killing an estimated 70,000 to 80,000 people instantly, with tens of thousands more dying later from radiation exposure and injuries.
Historical Significance: "Little Boy" was the first of two nuclear bombs used in warfare, with the second, "Fat Man," dropped on Nagasaki three days later. These bombings played a significant role in leading to the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II.
