The Tri-Cities history is linked to the atomic bomb, after B Reactor at the Hanford nuclear reservation, shown circa 1944-45, began operating as the world’s first production-scale reactor. It produced plutonium used in the bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

Key Points and Summary – Eighty years ago this week, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, forcing the end of World War II. -On August 6, 1945, the B-29 Enola Gay dropped the “Little Boy” uranium bomb on Hiroshima,

Following are some facts about the bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima and a second attack on Nagasaki three days later -- the only times nuclear weapons have been used in war. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, 1945, ending its role in World War Two.