Is it ridiculous to claim that the atomic bomb that leveled Hiroshima was aimed at a specific small target like a warehouse?

No, it is not ridiculous. To expect the bomb to actually hit that exact target, from 30,000 feet, is.

The Hiroshima bomb was designed to detonate 2,000 feet above the city and not to target any particular building. Even if it had targeted a particular building it would have taken out everything within a one mile radius of it which isn’t precision bombing.

With the Norden bombsight, in the B-17, it was said they could put a bomb in a pickle barrel from 20,000 feet. A great exaggeration! But with carpet bombing, close enough.

Surely it was more than a mile
@flutherother…? I’ll check.

Well you were right. Now let’s see if I got this link copied…

“The perimeter of severe blast damage approximately followed the 5 psi (34 kPa) contour at 1.8 kilometres (1.1 mi).”
(Dang that’s tedious work on a phone. )

@Dutchess_lll We’ve “progressed” to the hydrogen bomb which is much more powerful with a blast radius of 20 miles.

What great progress.

One of the horrifying parts was Japan was about to surrender and we knew it. We did it just to show off. Twice.

Who claimed that and where?

@Dutchess_lll I’ve never heard that. Can you name some references?

Oh lawd. I’m on my phone.
I first heard it on the movie Fat Man, Little Boy. I heard it again tonight on one of the Netflix “Explained” episodes.
I’ll do my best to get some online info about it using my phone.

Try this

It was widely known that the Japanese would fight to the last man, woman, and child to protect their homeland. They were given the chance to surrender unconditionally before the first bomb fell. They didn’t. So the US dropped the second bomb. The Japanese realized that they couldn’t fight a ongoing war if American soldiers didn’t even step foot on their shores, so they gave in.
I have read many books, seen many documentaries and news reports about WWII and consider myself an expert on the subject.

I concede then.

Hiroshima was selected as a target because it hadn’t been heavily bombed at that point, giving the opportunity to study the effect of the bomb.

I read that too @filmgfan. Plus its construction made it highly flammable.
Sick.