At 9:45 AM on August 9, the B-29 bomber “Bockscar,” carrying the plutonium bomb “Fat Man,” arrived over Kokura. “Fat Man” was an entirely different and far more powerful weapon compared to “Little Boy,” the uranium bomb dropped on Hiroshima.
The primary target for this second atomic bomb was the Kokura Army Arsenal and its surrounding urban area. However, due to several factors—smoke from the previous day’s Yawata Air Raid, thick clouds, and intentional smoke screens created by workers at the Yawata Steel Works (by burning coal tar)—the “Bockscar” was unable to visually confirm the target. After three failed bombing runs, the aircraft diverted to its secondary target, Nagasaki, where the bomb was eventually dropped.
Atomic Bomb above Kokura on the morning of August 9th, 1945
from [War’s End: An Eyewitness Account of America’s Last Atomic Mission/Charles W. Sweeney, James A. Antonucci, Marion K. Antonucci ]
Kokura lay ahead. Jim Van Pelt had picked it up on his radar screen a few minutes earlier. It was 9:45 A.M. The skies were still hazy, as reported earlier, but they were now mixed with broken clouds.
As we arrived at the IP, some landmarks were reasonably visible-the river, buildings, even streets and parks-so we thought here was a good chance to sight the target, the Kokura arsenal.
I started our bomb run when Beahan suddenly yelled, “I can’t see it! I can’t see it! There’s smoke obscuring the target.” The fires resulting from the bombing of Yawata the night before were still burning out of control, and heavy smoke was being lifted across Kokura by winds that had shifted direction since George Marquart had radioed his weather report.
As we bore in on the aiming point, Beahan repeated, “I can’t see it!” The great Kokura arsenal was safely hidden by the smoke and haze.
I yelled into my intercom, “No drop. Repeat, no drop.”
I banked the airplane sharply to the left and swung around to the south to begin a return approach to the IP. Flak bursts started all around us—to the left, ahead, to the right, and behind us.
A moment later tail gunner Pappy Dehart yelled, “Flak! Wide but altitude is perfect.” Everyone saw it.
“Roger that, Pappy,” I replied. They were crawling the flak up toward us as they tried to zero in on our airplane. I was now doing something a bomber pilot rarely, if ever, does— making a second run on a target. Second runs gave antiaircraft guns second chances.
I changed my altitude to 31,000 feet to try to confuse the enemy flak fusing.
As I proceeded toward the aiming point, Pappy broke in again. “This damn flak is right on our tail and getting closer.” His voice now sounded a note of panic.
“Forget it, Pappy. We’re on a bomb run,” I said evenly, trying to keep my attention on the approach to the aiming point.
I waited for Beahan’s signal that he could see the target. I hoped he had picked it up through a break in the smoke and haze. I hoped we could catch a break on this mission.
“I can’t see it!” he yelled again.
I wheeled into another steep turn as I barked, “No drop. Repeat, no drop.”
Ed Buckley, our radar operator, reported, “Major, Jap Zeros coming up.
Looks like about ten.”
I decided to take us up another 1,000 feet to try to throw the antiaircraft gunners off again, and then approach from a different angle. Maybe from a different angle we might have a chance of finding a hole in the cover.
Beahan and Van Pelt were frantically calculating the run approach data.
The bursts of flak were breaking very close to the airplane, causing it to jump.
The third run was no more successful than the first two. The aiming point was still obscured. Kuharek reported that our fuel situation was very critical. We had enough to get to our secondary target, Nagasaki, and make one run. But we wouldn’t make it back to Okinawa, the closest American base. We would fall short by about fifty miles.
Ed Buckley broke in over the intercom,”Fighters below and climbing to meet us.”
Jake Beser, who was monitoring Japanese radio frequencies, confirmed increased activity on the Japanese fighter-director bands.
I wasn’t as concerned about the Zeros as I was about the flak. Like horseshoes and grenades, close might be good enough if a burst caught us just right. If we hung around any longer, it would only be a matter of time.
Our gunner, Ray Gallagher, muttered into his intercom, “Let’s get the hell out of here.” Abe Spitzer, our radio operator, kept saying, “What about Nagasaki?
What about Nagasaki?”
“Cut the chatter,” I ordered sharply.
I again banked sharply to set us on a southerly direction toward our secondary target.
The Legacy of Peace in Kokura
The “Bell of Nagasaki” Replica In Katsuyama Park, the former site of the Kokura Army Arsenal, stands a replica of the “Bell of Nagasaki,” presented by Nagasaki City. Every year on August 9, a memorial service is held here to honor the victims and pray for peace.
■ The Manhattan Project
In 1942, the United States launched the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. Following the death of President Roosevelt in April 1945, Vice President Harry S. Truman became the President of the United States. On July 16, 1945, the world’s first nuclear test (the Trinity test) was conducted in New Mexico. In August, atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
■ Visit by the Grandson of President Truman
In 2012, Clifton Truman Daniel, the grandson of President Truman, visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki to attend the peace memorial ceremonies. This marked the first time a descendant of the Truman family participated in these ceremonies since the atomic bombings.