Oak Ridge X-10: 1945- The Bombs Drop, World War II Ends

US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

The X-10 Graphite Reactor is located on the secure grounds of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In-person visitation is only authorized via guided tours.

Text at the top of this panel reads,“August 6: The United States drops a uranium-fueled atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The uranium came from the Y-12 plant in Oak Ridge.”

Below the text is a photograph of seven men standing in a line in front of the nose of a bomber with the words “Enola Gay” on it. A couple of the men wear Army uniforms; others wear tee shirts and several wear shorts. To the right is an aerial photograph showing a long column of thick white smoke rising, ending in a round cloud at the top. Below the photographs text reads,“August 9: The United States drops a plutonium-fueled atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, ending World War II. The plutonium came from the Hanford Engineer Works in Washington.”

To the left is an aerial photograph showing a thick column of smoke rising above a cloud layer with a wide, mushroom-shaped cloud at the top. Below that more text reads,“August 14: Japanese Emperor Hirohito announces surrender. August 15: U.S. President Truman announces the end of World War II.”

At left is a photograph of a grinning man and woman seated side-by-side and holding a newspaper with the headline “Japan Give Up. Accepts Allied Terms.” To the right is a photograph of a crowd of people, waving their hands in the air with big smiles and holding papers that read “War Ends.” At lower left is a portrait of President Truman in a dark suit, wearing wire-rimmed glasses. Text at lower right reads,“60 million people died as a result of World War II, fewer than half of them as military casualties. More than 418,000 Americans died in combat.”