We didn’t need to drop the bomb — and even our WW II military icons knew it

[JohnnyRingo]

20. Indeed, there is some evidence that it was a test on human targets.

It's well known that prejudice against the Japanese people in those days was to the point that many considered them a sub-human race. The theory that Hiroshima and Nagasaki was a test of the effects of nuclear weapons on humans was somewhat confirmed to me when I learned that the two bombs dropped were different in nature.

The Little Boy bomb dropped on Hiroshima was a Uranium fueled explosion, while Fat Man dropped on Nagasaki was a Plutonium bomb. That and the fact that several photographic B-29s flew along to document the explosions seems to confirm that it was as much a test on which type would cause more destruction to "soft" targets as it was a military strategy.

We don't know what would have happened if the Emperor accepted the terms of unconditional surrender after the uranium bomb however. The Fat Man plutonium bomb was dropped only after he rejected many of the items listed in the surrender document. It probably would have pleased the War Dept if Hirohito had surrendered after the first bombing, but the scientists were probably glad he didn't

I believe that while ending the war was likely a primary goal for the generals, testing the two types of nuclear bombs against what was considered expendable human targets at the time held a secondary scientific function to the missions.