Declassified photos show the US's final preparations for the only nuclear weapons attacks in history

On August 6th and 9th of 1945, the United States dropped atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, causing significant death and destruction in both places. To this day, the bombings remain history's only acts of nuclear warfare.

Nearly 71 years since US President Harry S. Truman's decision to unleash approximately 12,500 tons of TNT over Hiroshima, US President Barack Obama will become the first sitting president to visit the city.

The following declassified photos shed additional light on the procedures leading up to the nuclear attacks, giving a chilling glimpse into how and where the most destructive bombs ever used in warfare were prepped.

This post was originally written by Christian Storm.