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Bockscar nose art. The "fat man" silhouettes represent four pumpkin bomb missions (black) and the atomic bomb drop on Nagasaki (a red symbol, fourth in the line of five symbols).
Bockscar nose art. The "fat man" silhouettes represent four pumpkin bomb missions (black) and the atomic bomb drop on Nagasaki (a red symbol, fourth in the line of five symbols).

Bockscar, sometimes called Bock's Car or Bocks Car, is the name of the United States Army Air Forces B-29 bomber that dropped the "Fat Man" nuclear weapon over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, the second atomic weapon used against Japan. The United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF) was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II. A bomber is a Military aircraft designed to attack ground and sea targets primarily by dropping Bombs on them "Fat Man" is the codename for the Atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, by the United States on August 9 A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. ( is the Capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. Events 48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at

The name painted on the aircraft after the mission (shown here) is a pun on "boxcar" after the name of its aircraft commander, Captain Frederick C. Bock. A boxcar (the American term the British call this kind of car a " goods van " while in Australia they are usually referred to as " Frederick C Bock ( 1918 - August 25, 2000) was a World War II pilot who took part in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945 with [1]

Contents

Atomic bomb mission

Bockscar was flown on that day by the crew of another B-29, The Great Artiste, and was commanded by Major Charles W. Sweeney, commander of the 509th Composite Group's[2] only bomber squadron, the 393d. The Great Artiste was a US Army Air Forces B-29 Bomber (B-29-40-MO 44-27353 victor number 89 assigned to the 393rd Bomb Squadron Major General Charles W Sweeney (27 December 1919 - 16 July 2004 was an officer in the U The 509th Composite Group was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War and as the 509th Operations Group, is The 393d Bomb Squadron ( 393 BS) is part of the 509th Bomb Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri. The Great Artiste, which was the assigned aircraft of the crew with whom Sweeney most often flew, was slotted in preliminary planning to drop the second bomb, but it had been fitted with observation instruments for the Hiroshima mission. [3]

Bockscar had been flown by Sweeney and crew C-15 in three test drop rehearsals of inert "Fat Man" assemblies in the eight days leading up to the second mission, including the final rehearsal the day before. "Fat Man" is the codename for the Atomic bomb that was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan, by the United States on August 9 [4] Rather than move the instrumentation from The Great Artiste to Bockscar, a complex and time-consuming process, the crews of The Great Artiste and Bockscar switched planes. The result was that the bomb was dropped by Bockscar, flown by the crew C-15 of The Great Artiste. [3]

There was confusion over the name of the plane because an initial eyewitness account by reporter William L. Laurence of the New York Times said that the second bomb had been dropped from The Great Artiste. William Leonard Laurence ( March 7, 1888 &ndash March 19, 1977) was a Lithuanian born American Journalist [5] Laurence, who accompanied the mission as part of Bock's crew, had interviewed Sweeney and his crew in depth and was aware that they referred to their airplane as The Great Artiste. Except for Enola Gay, none of the 393rd's B-29s had yet had names painted on the noses, and unaware of the switch in aircraft, Laurence assumed victor 77 was The Great Artiste. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout [6]

Kokura was the primary target, but when Bockscar arrived at its rendezvous point off the coast of Japan the third aircraft of its flight (the photo ship Big Stink) was not present. is an ancient Castle town and the center of Kitakyūshū, Japan, guarding via its suburb Moji, the Straits of Shimonoseki between Honshū Big Stink was the name of a B-29 Superfortress (B-29-40-MO 44-27354 victor number 90 participating in the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki on After fruitlessly waiting 40 minutes, Sweeney and Bock proceeded to Kokura but found it obscured by clouds. Sweeney had orders to drop the atomic bomb visually if possible, and after three unsuccessful passes over Kokura, conferred with weaponeer Commander Frederick Ashworth (USN). Commander is a Military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service Vice Admiral Frederick L "Dick" Ashworth ( January 24, 1912 &mdash December 3 2005) was a United States Navy officer They agreed to strike the secondary target, Nagasaki. ( is the Capital and the largest city of Nagasaki Prefecture in Japan. [7]

A combination of factors including confusion about a malfunctioning transfer pump made fuel consumption a critical factor. Ashworth did not want to be forced to dump the bomb into the sea and decided to make a radar bombing run if necessary. [8] However, enough of an opening appeared in the cloud cover to allow Bombardier Kermit Beahan to confirm Nagasaki and the bomb was dropped, with ground zero being about 3/4 mile from the planned aiming point. A bombardier ( French for " bomberman " in the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force, or a bomb aimer Kermit K Beahan July 09, 1918 &ndash March 10, 1989 was the bombardier on the American B-29 Superfortress This combined with Nagasaki's position on the foothills (as opposed to Hiroshima's mostly flat terrain) resulted in lower overall casualties than in Hiroshima, with much of the blast confined in the Urakami Valley. The Japanese city of ( is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshū, the largest of Japan 's [9]

Because of the delays in the mission, the B-29 did not have sufficient fuel to reach the emergency landing field at Iwo Jima, so Major Sweeney flew the aircraft to Okinawa, where, despite being unable to make contact with the control tower, he made a safe landing with virtually empty fuel tanks. Iwo Jima ( 硫黄[[wikt 島|島]] officially Iōtō,also frequently Iōjima: “ Sulfur island” is an island of the Japanese is one of Japan 's southern prefectures, and consists of hundreds of the Ryukyu Islands in a chain over 1000 km long which extends southwest from Kyūshū [7]

Airplane history

B-29-35-MO 44-27297 "Bockscar." On the Nagasaki mission, it flew without nose art and with a triangle N tail marking, rather than the circle arrowhead shown here.
B-29-35-MO 44-27297 "Bockscar. " On the Nagasaki mission, it flew without nose art and with a triangle N tail marking, rather than the circle arrowhead shown here.

Bockscar, B-29-36-MO 44-27297, victor number 77, was assigned to the 393rd Bomb Squadron of the 509th Composite Group. Unit identification aircraft markings, commonly called "tail markings" after their most frequent location were numbers letters geometric symbols and colors painted onto the The 509th Composite Group was an air combat unit of the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War and as the 509th Operations Group, is One of 15 Silverplate B-29s used by the 509th on Tinian, Bockscar was built at the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Plant at Omaha, Nebraska at what is now Offutt Air Force Base, as a Block 35 aircraft. Silverplate was the code reference for the United States Army Air Forces participation in the Manhattan Project during World War II. Tinian (ˈtɪniən /ˌtiːniˈɑːn/ is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (14°59’51”N 145°37’39”E The Glenn L Martin Company was an early US Aircraft company founded by aviation pioneer Glenn Luther Martin. It was one of 10 modified as a Silverplate and re-designated "Block 36". Delivered on March 19, 1945, to the USAAF, it was assigned to Capt. Events 1279 - A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Frederick C. Bock and crew C-13 and flown to Wendover Army Air Field, Utah. Frederick C Bock ( 1918 - August 25, 2000) was a World War II pilot who took part in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki in 1945 with Wendover Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force base in Utah now known as Wendover Airport. The State of Utah (ˈjuːtɔː or) is a western state of the United States. [10]

It left Wendover on June 11, 1945 for Tinian and arrived June 16. Events 1184 BC - Trojan War: Troy is sacked and burned according to the calculations of Eratosthenes. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Events 1487 - Battle of Stoke Field, the last dying breath of the Wars of the Roses. It was originally given the victor number 7 but on August 1 was given the triangle N tail markings of the 444th Bomb Group as a security measure and had its victor changed to 77 to avoid misidentification with an actual 444th aircraft. Events 30 BC - Octavian (later known as Augustus enters Alexandria, Egypt, bringing it under the control of the Roman Unit identification aircraft markings, commonly called "tail markings" after their most frequent location were numbers letters geometric symbols and colors painted onto the [11]

Bockscar was also used in 13 training and practice missions from Tinian, and three combat missions in which it dropped pumpkin bombs on industrial targets in Japan. "Pumpkin bombs" were conventional High explosive aerial Bombs developed by the Manhattan Project and used by the United States Army Air Bock's crew bombed Niihama and Musashino, and 1st Lt. is a city located in the eastern part of Ehime, Japan. It has the third largest population in Ehime behind the prefectural capital of Matsuyama Musashino may refer to Musashino Terrace Musashino_Tokyo Don Albury and crew C-15 bombed Toyama. is the capital city of Toyama Prefecture, Japan. It is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan on the island of Honshū, about 200 km north [12]

It returned to the United States in November 1945 and served with the 509th at Roswell Army Air Field, New Mexico. Walker Air Force Base was the largest Strategic Air Command base of the United States Air Force at the time of its closure in 1967 New Mexico ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States of America. It was nominally assigned to the Operation Crossroads task force but there are no records indicating that it deployed for the tests. Operation Crossroads was a series of Nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States in the summer of 1946 In August 1946 it was assigned to the 4105th Base Unit at Davis-Monthan Army Air Field, Arizona, for storage. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base adjacent to Tucson, Arizona. The State of Arizona ( is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States.

At Davis-Monthan it was placed on display as the aircraft that bombed Nagasaki, but in the markings of The Great Artiste. In September 1946 title was passed to the Air Force Museum (now the National Museum of the United States Air Force) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, but it was not moved there until September 26, 1961, where its original markings were restored. The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official National Museum of the United States Air Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Greene and Montgomery counties eight miles (13 km) northeast of Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a Year 1961 ( MCMLXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. [13]

Bockscar is now on permanent display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio. The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the United States Air Force Museum) is the official National Museum of the United States Air Dayton is a city in southwestern Ohio, United States. It is the County seat and largest city of Montgomery County. Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads This display includes a replica of the "Fat Man" bomb and signage that states that it was "The aircraft that ended WWII". This is in contrast to the display of Enola Gay at the Smithsonian's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, where little mention is made of that aircraft's role in WWII. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (NASM's annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in

In 2005, a short documentary was made about Charles Sweeney's recollections of the Nagasaki mission aboard Bockscar, including details of the mission preparation, titled "Nagasaki: The Commander's Voice. " [14]

Regularly assigned crew

Crew C-13 (manned "The Great Artiste" on the Nagasaki mission)

Nagasaki mission crew

Crew C-15. front row: Dehart, Kuharek, Buckley, Gallagher, Spizer; back row: Olivi, Beahan, Sweeney, Van Pelt, Albury
Crew C-15. front row: Dehart, Kuharek, Buckley, Gallagher, Spizer; back row: Olivi, Beahan, Sweeney, Van Pelt, Albury

Crew C-15 (normally assigned to The Great Artiste):

Also on board were the following additional mission personnel:

National Museum of the United States Air Force display

References

  1. ^ USAF Museum - Bockscar Story Fact Sheet
  2. ^ 509th CG Aircraft Page, MPHPA
  3. ^ a b Reflections from above. Jacob Beser ( March 15, 1921  – June 16, 1992) was a lieutenant in the United States Army Air Forces who served University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. Retrieved on 9 May 2007. Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
  4. ^ Richard H. Campbell (2005). The Silverplate Bombers: A History and Registry of the Enola Gay and Other B-29s Configured to Carry Atomic Bombs. McFarland & Company, Inc. . ISBN 0-7864-2139-8.  , 113-114.
  5. ^ Eyewitness account of atomic bombing over Nagasaki. Atomic Archive. com. Retrieved on 9 May 2007. Events 1457 BC - Battle of Megiddo (15th century BC between Thutmose III and a large Canaanite coalition under the King of Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.
  6. ^ Campbell, 222 Appendix G note 13.
  7. ^ a b Timeline #3- the 509th; The Nagasaki Mission. The Atomic Heritage Foundation. Retrieved on 5 May, 2007.
  8. ^ Spitzer Personal Diary Page 25 (CGP-ASPI-025). The Atomic Heritage Foundation. Retrieved on 5 May, 2007.
  9. ^ Dennis D. Wainstock (1996). The Decision to Drop the Atomic Bomb. Praeger, 92.  
  10. ^ Campbell, 172.
  11. ^ Campbell, 19.
  12. ^ Campbell, 113, 139, 142.
  13. ^ Campbell, 172-173.
  14. ^ Last recording of Sweeney before his death in 2004

See also

External links

White Light/Black Rain The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is a 2007 Documentary film written directed and produced by director
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