Why couldn't we have dropped atomic bomb on Iwo To (Jima) instead of civilian cities?

just plain jim

It was still in development then.

Therefore your question is moot.

Peace

Jim

.

chrisatmudd

Iwo To was U.S. controlled at the time Nagasaki and Hiroshima were bombed. (Seems pretty simple that you wouldn't bomb your own troops :)

Battle of Iwo [Jima] - 2/19/1945 until 3/16/1945
Hiroshima Bombed - 8/6/1945
Nagasaki Bombed - 8/9/1945

Stone K

1) iwo jima did have a civilian population
2) at the time of the attack on Iwo the bombs were still in development
3) Iwo was needed as an air base for damaged American bombers, so irradiating the island would not be a wise tactical maneuver
4) most of Iwo's defenses were underground, although radiation would have affected the defenders the blast would have been ineffective, and that was the primary purpose of the bomb.

BTW Hiroshima and Nagasaki were targeted for their military and industrial infrastructure. Any city that has strategic value is a target in war. That just life.

Pretsler

One island would not have forced a surrender, as not did one bomb, there were 5k people on that island right? It took the second civilian bombing to show them.

The Landlord

The weapons weren't ready for deployment by the end of the Battle.
A good question would have been would the US have considered deploying the nuclear weapons tactically at the end of WW2 and if so, where?

moon_flower_unicorn_power

While station on the USS Midway I had an opportunity to visit the Hiroshima Peace Park. After seeing all the exhibits and films I don't see how anyone would ever want to launch another nuclear attack.

billnzan

The above responses cover most aspects of the answer. If you would like a little more understanding of what was going on at that time I highly recommend Bob Greene's book "Duty: A Father, His Son and the Man Who Won the War"

utahmike42

Bombs that big are called "city busters" for a reason. Destroying a country's infrastructure is more effective than killing soldiers on the battlefield.

this is madness!!!

uhhmmm... Iwo To (Jima) was an underground fortress, you know.

MikeyMac

B/c we turned Iwo Jima into our base, we used it for airfields and didnt want our own soldiers getting the radiation

Also, the psychological effect of attacking major cities was more effective in prompting a surrender rather than nuking small islands

brian e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXNbhh2R6uc

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