The Bomb Turns Sixty

On July 16, 1945, the cruiser Indianapolis sailed from Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco, carrying one 15-foot crate. Inside were the components for the first atomic bomb destined to be dropped on a city. It was being shipped to Tinian Island in the western Pacific, and its final destination a few weeks later would be Hiroshima. It left San Francisco just four hours after the first successful atomic bomb test in history, in the New Mexico desert.

From my essay appearing today in the San Francisco Chronicle: here.
The Chronicle's Insight section is devoted to remembering the start of the atomic age, sixty years ago. For the full roster of articles, go here.