A question: (not mine, but please, answer still)

"I seem to remember that the US made three bombs and used one in a test; I was wondering if the Japanese were made aware of that test before we dropped the others."

The Trinity test?

I was wondering if the Japanese were made aware of that test before we dropped the others.

Like, "look what we've got!"

I am under the impression that very few knew about the devastating effects, least of all the Japanese.

Edit: unless Truman bragged about it at the Potsdam Conference. Which is actually what I've seen from two different (and independent of eachother) sources now.

I don't think so, as the US used two different types of weapons on the two cities. They tested, if I'm not mistaken, a plutonium weapon, which they wanted to make sure worked. I believe the other plutonium weapon was dropped on Nagasaki. A uranium weapon was dropped on Hiroshima, which was previously untested.

I'm not positive that it was kept secret, but I read an argument for dropping the atomic bomb that said that the US had only constructed three atomic weapons and were not sure enough, after only one test, to broadcast it.

I don't quite believe this wholeheartedly, but that's what I've read.

I don't think that the Japaneese had known about the bombs. Even the pilot who droped the bomb on Heroshima, didn't knew what it is.

Uncle Joe already knew about America's new weapon before Truman broke the news at Potsdam

" I was wondering if the Japanese were made aware of that test before we dropped the others."

I doubt it, they (US) did not want the Japanese to know about it. (So that they could not prepare in case the bombs were indeed dropped.) The thing that was different about bombing Japanese cities was the (practically) nonexistant air-defence against bombing raids, which was totally different when compared to the bombing of Germany.