15 Facts About Bockscar

One of 15 Silverplate B-29s used by the 509th, Bockscar was built at the Glenn L Martin Aircraft Plant at Bellevue, Nebraska, at what is Offutt Air Force Base, and delivered to the United States Army Air Forces on 19 March 1945.

Bockscar was used in 13 training and practice missions from Tinian, and three combat missions in which it dropped pumpkin bombs on industrial targets in Japan.

On 9 August 1945, Bockscar, piloted by the 393d Bombardment Squadron's commander, Major Charles W Sweeney, dropped the "Fat Man" nuclear bomb with a blast yield equivalent to 21 kilotons of TNT over the city of Nagasaki.

Bockscar is on permanent display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio, next to a replica of a Fat Man.

Bockscar was built by the Glenn L Martin Company at its bomber plant in Bellevue, Nebraska, located at Offutt Field, now Offutt Air Force Base.

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Bockscar was used in 13 training and practice missions from Tinian, and three combat missions in which it dropped pumpkin bombs on industrial targets in Japan, in which Bock's crew bombed Niihama and Musashino, and First Lieutenant Charles Donald Albury and crew C-15 bombed Koromo.

Bockscar was flown on 9 August 1945 by Crew C-15, which usually manned The Great Artiste; piloted by Major Charles W Sweeney, commander of the 393d Bombardment Squadron; and co-piloted by First Lieutenant Charles Donald Albury, C-15's aircraft commander.

Bockscar had been flown by Sweeney and crew C-15 in three test drop rehearsals with inert Pumpkin bomb assemblies in the eight days leading up to the second mission, including a final rehearsal the day before.

Bockscar began its climb to the 30,000 feet bombing altitude a half-hour before rendezvous.

Bockscar reached the rendezvous point and assembled with The Great Artiste, but after circling for some time, The Big Stink failed to appear.

Critically low on fuel, Bockscar barely made it to the runway at Yontan Airfield on Okinawa.

The B-29's reversible propellers were insufficient to slow the aircraft adequately, and with both pilots standing on the brakes, Bockscar made a swerving 90-degree turn at the end of the runway to avoid running off the runway.

However, he noted its "Victor" number as 77, which was that of Bockscar, writing that several personnel commented that 77 was the jersey number of the football player Red Grange.

Bockscar is on permanent display at the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Dayton, Ohio.

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.