atomic bomb

(Newser) - The commander and pilot of the B-29 that dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945—the first military use of nuclear weapons—died today, the Associated Press reports. Paul Tibbets was 92, and requested no funeral or headstone for fear that they might attract anti-nuclear protesters. Tibbets always...

(Newser) - Newly declassified Army documents reveal the US mulled the use of a radioactive weapon to assassinate “important individuals” and contaminate “critical areas for long periods of time.” The heavily censored records date to 1948 and show the weapon was approved for development at the highest levels, reports...

(Newser) - Japan's defense minister has resigned in a storm of protest over remarks he made last weekend that the American bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were justified. Fumio Kyuma said he understood the US decision to drop the bombs, and that "it couldn't be helped." He also suggested that...