Japan set to mark 75 years since Hiroshima, Nagasaki atomic bombing

FILE PHOTO: A bird sits on a piece of the metal skeleton of the Atomic Bomb Dome peace memorial in Hiroshima, western Japan, August 6, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

TOKYO (Reuters) - Thursday marks 75 years since the United States unleashed the world's first atomic bomb attack on the city of Hiroshima, followed three days later by the second and last on Nagasaki, vapourising lives, buildings and Japan's capacity for war.

At 8:15 a.m. on Aug. 6 (2315 GMT, Aug. 5) 1945, U.S. B-29 warplane Enola Gay dropped a bomb nicknamed "Little Boy" and obliterated the southwestern city of Hiroshima, killing 140,000 of an estimated population of 350,000, with thousands more dying later of injuries and radiation-related illness.