How and where to drop an Atomic Bomb circa 1945

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DECLASSIFIED
E.O. 11652, Secs 3(E) and 5(D) or (E)
NND 730039
By ERC NARS, Date 6-4-74



25 July 1945


TO: General Carl Spaatz
Commanding General
United States Army Strategic Air Forces

1. The 509 Composite Group, 20th Air Force will
deliver its first special bomb as soon as weather will
permit visual bombing after about 3 August 1945 on one of the
targets: Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata and Nagasaki. To
carry military and civilian scientific personnel from the
War Department to observe and record the effects of the
explosion of the bomb, additional aircraft will accompany
the airplane carrying the bomb. The observing planes will
stay several miles distant from the point of impact of the
bomb.

2. Additional bombs will be delivered on the above
targets as soon as made ready by the project staff. Further
instructions will be issued concerning targets other than
those listed above.

3. Discussion of any and all information concerning
the use of the weapon against Japan is reserved to the
Secretary of War and the President of the United States.
No communiques on the subject or releases of information
will be issued by Commanders in the field without specific
prior authority. Any news stories will be sent to the War
Department for specific clearance.

4. The foregoing directive is issued to you by direc-
tion and with the approval of the Secretary of War and of
the Chief of Staff, USA. It is desired that you personally
deliver one copy of this directive to General MacArthur and
one copy to Admiral Nimitz for their information.

(Sgd) THOS. T. HANDY

THOS. T. HANDY
General, G.S.C.
Acting Chief of Staff

copy for General Groves


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This is the official Order issued to General Spaatz to drop the Atomic Bomb on Japan. It is clear that the actions of Alvarez et al related in the posting earlier yesterday about the bombing of Nagasaki was contrary to the Order. It is worth recording that Spaatz wanted to carry on and drop an atomic weapon on Tokyo.

"This original of this document is believed to be in the public domain. Its transcription and formatting as an e-text, however, is copyright 1995-1998 by Gene Dannen (gene@dannen.com)."

This is the most preposterous copyright notice ever. Documents such as this belong to mankind even if only as a record of their folly. Another document posted by the same asshole is of a meeting of the atomic bomb target committee. The concept of men sitting down deciding how and where to kill ten of thousands of civilian Japanese is chilling - just as theIsraeli cabinet sat down recently deciding how to kill Lebanese civilians and how to destroy their economy.