The Terrifying Back Story of Bocks Car, the B-29 That Struck Nagasaki.

[@rodpowell7937]

My father was there, and said as much to me mere days before he passed. Thank you for bringing this to light.

[@TheMichaelBeck]

I watched a show once about a man who survived the Hiroshima bombing, traveled to his hometown, Nagasaki, and survived that bomb too. Amazing.

[@andrewwood6285]

I understand that the Japanese Government carefully documented these dual survivors and the last one died just a few years ago.

[@ToddBrooks-o5m]

You can watch it anytime it's on KZbin.

[@Mike44460]

"Silverplate" Yes this is the term to describe the nuclear B-29s. Fuel injected engines only used on Silverplate B-29s as well as reversible propellers if needed to assist in slowing the plane after landing. Another use of the term "Silverplate" was if you ran onto opposition for anything you required, airplane, fuel, spare parts. Say "Silverplate" and all was settled without question. Anyone who refused would be in deep trouble. This is why the 509th Composite Group was entirely self-sufficient. They had everything they needed and required no assistance from any other command on Tinian.

[@davidewhite69]

Groves said in his book the Manhattan District was one of only three projects in WW2 to have an AAA priority, Silverplate was authorised to use the Manhattan Project's priority but only to AA because they believe that was sufficient

[@user-ex4si2md6r]

God bless you 🙏 for your service Sir, my late Momma's uncle 'Norman Break "was a bombardier on one of those Boeing B-29 Super Fortress bomber's and as a little boy I used to listen to him tell me stories about his missions in them when he was a in the war and, he told me that every crew member had a .45 ACP issued to them after id asked him "what would you do if you had to bail out and then escape the Japanese army?" And he said," it was so we wouldn't be captured"and then many years later I was watching a documentary about the b-29 and they said that the crew member had the ability to end it before their parachute landed on the ground 😭"and I realized that if that, the losses were very high for the B-29 Super Fortress bomber.....😮😢

[@user-ex4si2md6r]

🙏☮️🌍

[@stephenearl761]

This model of the B-29 had other modifications as well as enhanced engines. All defensive armament with the possible exception of the tail position was removed (t.s. 6:36), I believed the bombays were modified to carry a heavier load at a specific position as well.

[@AndyRRR0791]

I thought that there was extensive modifications to the wing spar carry through structure to open up the entire bomb bay which had been originally designed as two bays fore and aft of the standard spar. I'm not sure how accurate that is though.

[@marc21091]

This short description of the dropping of the second atomic bomb on 9 August 1945 is brilliant. Many know that Nagasaki was not the primary target, but not about the different conditions from the 6 August bombing of Hiroshima and the serious difficulties overcome by the crew which were not experuienced by 'Enola Gay. The full story would make an excellent film, on the lines of 'Memphis Belle'. After the success of 'Oppenheimer', a film solely about the Nagasaki bombing, if made with the funding that it would deserve, could be a world-class production.

[@Wilett614]

I ABSOLUTELY Agree !! A Film covering Bockscar's Mission Is Definitely Deserved . Read the Book "Decision at Nagasaki " its incredible that this mission succeeded Without a Catastrophe !!!

[@turkey0165]

In my opinion the primary target should have been the war criminal that escaped justice and his home the Imperial Palace in Tokyo emperor Hirohito their the Japs living God!

[@donb7113]

The courage and dedication to their mission is amazing🫡🇺🇸. The base and hanger that Enola Gay and Bocks Car used for training are still open to the public. Wendover Army Air Corps base is in Wendover Utah, 90 miles west of Salt Lake City, it was the largest USAAF base in the world during WW-2.

[@notapilot1]

For some excellent backstory info on the B-29, read "Thirty-Five Missions Over Japan" by 1st Lt. Philip D. Webster. The B-29 itself and the missions to Japan generally were plagued with problems. So, that the fuel system went bonkers is not surprising, and probably was not surprising to the air crew either - they were used to doing workarounds to accomplish missions.

[@MrSuzuki1187]

VERY well done!! I am a military historian with a special interest in the atomic missions. In 1997, after Chuck Sweeney published his book War's End, I called him on the phone and he gave me an hour of his time because I had a question about a passage in his book. But I never got the courage to ask if they really dropped Fat Man by radar, but I am pretty sure they did by how far they missed the aiming point.

[@billpugh58]

You may have heard that the box shape fins often collapsed on the test devices.

[@pyrtwistPyrtwistWorldInMotion]

Great book. Like the part about meeting Dolittle when they landed.

[@Wilett614]

Then President Truman said that ONLY "Visual" targeting of the objective can be used . No Radar bombing of an "atomic" target is authorized by the President

[@chrismitchell446]

Incredible. Thanks for the great story! Viewers can see Bocks Car on display at the Museum of the US Air Force in Dayton, OH.

[@ronthomas3546]

Interesting report, but he has some of his facts wrong on saying this was a purpose built nuclear B-29. How do I know that. My mother, worked at the Martin Bomber Plant in Omaha Nebr, during WW2, where all 18 of the Original Silverplate aircraft were assembled. She told us many stories that they were frustrated by having to lighten certain aircraft that they had just assembled, and that were hand picked by Colonel Tibbets. No one knew why ! They looked like any other B-29 coming off the production line as not to draw attention to would-be spies. Modifications on the reverse props were done in Omaha, with further Modifications and streamlining done in Wendover Utah. B-26's were also built at the Omaha plant. The Building is still there, and is part of Offut Air Force Base. The modifactions hanger is now a recreation area for Air Force personnel

[@Wilett614]

These B29s Were indeed "Specially" constructed at a certain point . its just that only a "Very" few people knew the reason for modifications that took place . Col Tibbets selected an aircraft initially , but was told to choose another, by a Foreman who worked at the plant . He then chose 'Enola Gay" but before he named the bomber .

[@edwinclements8112]

The story is that they tried to contact the Okinawa airfield on the radio, but nobody there was monitoring the radio. So they finally started firing flares out of an opening in the top of the airplane, which had been provided for that purpose if needed, and somebody in Okinawa saw them and sounded the alarm and they cleared the runway just in time for them to land. They barely missed colliding with another airplane when they landed. The flare gun is on display at the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, along with the airplane.

[@alanstevens1296]

Why was nobody there monitoring the radio? Big airfield. That is incredible.

[@jerryg53125]

@@alanstevens1296 They were monitoring the radio. Bockscar was calling on the wrong channel. No one was expecting Bockscar to be landing there.

[@alanstevens1296]

@@jerryg53125 Sweeney said in his book that they tried multiple proper channels but there was no answer. Okinawa handled emergency landings for B-29s.

[@jerryg53125]

@@alanstevens1296 Okinawa did handle emergency landings for B-29's but they were not looking for any B-29's that day. No one there knew anything about this mission. Sweeney did not have the channels for this airfield. Sweeney said he spent 20 minutes circling . That seems highly unlikely with them running out of fuel.

[@alanstevens1296]

@@jerryg53125 There was a war going on with B-29 missions nearly every day. Of course they open that day for any emergency landing needed. According to Major Charles W. Sweeney's accounts and other historical records, the B-29 bomber Bockscar did indeed make a very dramatic landing at Okinawa due to critically low fuel. Sweeney and his crew had to land quickly without circling, and they barely managed to stop the aircraft before the end of the runway. One of the engines indeed failed due to lack of fuel just as they were approaching the runway. Major airfields like Okinawa, Tinian, Saipan, and Guam did have standard air traffic control (ATC) channels that B-29 bombers could use for communication. Given the high volume of B-29 missions during the war, it's likely that emergency procedures and communication protocols were well-established to handle such situations.

[@johnflorio3576]

This should be a movie.

[@cmcycles8387]

Finally somebody does a story on the crew of bockscar and their mission also

[@janblake9468]

My father was scheduled to be the Fatman armorer on the flight. But he traded places with a Navy officer because I was about to be born in Los Alamos.

[@gmckemie4281]

I need to read a book on this mission to answer some questions I have never seen explained in the documentaries I have seen. Why was the mission not delayed to fix the fuel pump issue? Why wasn’t the fuel in the affected tank not decanted to reduce the weight of the plane? Where was the “Big Stink”, why did it miss the rendezvous point? What was it doing? Major Sweeney caught hell from both Tibbets and General Lamay. I am not sure it was totally deserved except for Sweeney’s excessive delay at the rendezvous point.

[@Inkling777]

The story I've heard about the rendezvous with the B-29 carrying cameras was that there'd been a communication error. It was there but at a different attitude.

[@bobjohnston8316]

Sweeney remained in the Massachusetts ANG after the war and retired as a BGEN. I wonder what it felt like to fly copilot with him. His answers to the questions that were inevitably asked.

[@johnwatson3948]

Bomb was only “accurately on target” in terms of it actually hitting part of the city - the intended target area was some distance away near the center and docks.

[@nelsonlanglois9104]

To be fair... The B - 29 was a Monster to develop/design , build , and finally to fly...many crashed both in training and after deployed

[@MrSuzuki1187]

Chuck Sweeny was personally chosen for the mission by Paul Tibbets. Sweeney totally effed up the mission which forever earned the enmity of Tibbets. Sweeny was a weak aircraft commander who allowed his bombardier and Hopkins, the A/C of Big Stink, to intimidate him. Hopkins was supposed to renedezvous with Sweeny over Iwo Jima. Hopkins out ranked Sweeney and was angry that he, Hopkins, did not get the mission. Hopkins was a total a-hole who misread his altimeter by 10,000 feet and was at 39,000 feet instead of the planned 29,000 feet which is why the two planes never met. Sweeney, being afraid of Hopkins due to his senior rank, circled over Iwo Jima for an astounding 45 minutes before heading to Kokura which was a big reason he ran low on fuel.

[@proudbirther1998]

Agreed! And thanks for filling in the back story. These details need to be worked out on the ground before the mission. And not in theory only. Sounds like the plane that missed the rendezvous point was carrying military VIPs on a sightseeing tour

[@alanstevens1296]

I have read the Nagasaki accounts in the books by Sweeney, Tibbets, LeMay and Olivi. I would say there is controversy even 50+ years later about what actually happened in the cockpits of those planes. One said there is no way the Big Stink B-29 could have reached 39,000 feet. Another said the absence was an unresolved mystery. One claimed that the 600 gallon bombay tank's fuel was used. Most said it was not used. One said that the plane swap meant that Bock's crew was not in his usual plane and that they might have known its idiosyncrasies better including how to get the fuel transfer pump working before takeoff. Tibbets claimed that Major Sweeney "lost control of the mission" by giving in to demands by Commander Ashworth of Project Alberta. Ashworth was the bomb commander from the Manhattan Project. I believe that Air Force Major and Navy Commander are equal in rank. Tibbets claimed that after Kokura that Sweeney should have scrubbed the mission and returned to base with the bomb. There was already a glitch in the bomb's monitor system as they were climbing to altitude and they weren't sure whether it might go off then. Going back to low altitude might set off the trigger for the altitude fuse, they thought. No way to de-arm the bomb. It would have been very risky to try to bring it back to base and they probably didn't have enough fuel after Kokura. Ashworth's job was to make sure the bomb was dropped on a designated target and not jettisoned into the ocean. An important scientific photographer was kicked off of the photo plane just before takeoff because he forgot his parachute. There was a struggle in Bockscar between the Air Force and the Navy about who was really in control of the mission. Sweeney was the official commander of the Bockscar and over the other 5 planes and their mission. However Ashworth had orders from Washington to control the bomb and its delivery to the target. I would say that is a tough one to resolve. Six $650,000 planes and about 60 crew carrying a $2 billion bomb of which there was just two in August, and the potential to end the war quickly. One book said that the Air Force and its Army roots focuses on following orders as accurately as possible, while the Navy focuses on making sure the mission succeeds even if some rules and orders are bent or even broken (Midway was a good example of that). The bomb got dropped and missed its AP but it still destroyed several major war industries and killed over 40,000 people. All mission planes returned with no losses. I call that a major success and let's leave it at that! Despite all the tactical problems, they got the job done! That is all that matters.

[@johngaither9263]

My father was an 18 year old B-29 navigator. His plane flew a weather reconnaissance of Nagasaki the day of the attack. Nagasaki then became a secondary target and they returned to Tinian unaware of the consequences. Dad remembered the crew was angry. They dropped leaflets on one mission and had just looked out the windows on this one and dropped no bombs.

[@doctorsocrates4413]

Just to add that it was the crew of B-29 "Great Artiste" who flew the bockscar on august the 9th.

[@Wilett614]

Correct ! Sweeney Flew Captain Frederick "Bock's " Airplane hence the Name "Bockscar " Sweeney was the squadron commander

[@pi.actual]

You're right, other than Nagasaki being the alternate target I did not know any of this story. Thanks for telling it.

[@timmeinschein9007]

I recently saw a video about someone seemingly angry that the Target List that the Generals decided on initially did Not List Nagasaki. And that it was penciled in..... The fact is that Operation Olympic, the first Invasion of a Japanese Home Island was to be on Kyushu Island, the island that Nagasaki is on! Hence, if the Japanese didn't surrender, bombing Nagasaki would help ensure a successful landing!! To give you an idea how bad the casualty estimate was, my father's LST (Landing Ship Tank) was scheduled to go in on the FIRST WAVE!!! Normally the first LSTs don't go in until the 3rd or 4th wave..... There were only 2 good beaches on Kyushu Island for landings, and a few "fair" beaches, and the Imperial Army was heavily reinforcing them! Basically it was going to be much, much worse than Omaha Beach on D-Day!!

[@JohnWilliams-iw6oq]

I often wondered about this attack. Thank you.

[@JungleYT]

*Well done, Sir... Wow Did not know this!*

[@1960HikerDude]

Thanks for a well researched and very informative vid. 👍

[@itsjohndell]

Late to this convo but I have read the BDA in the archives at Wright-Pat. Sweeney made mistakes but he completed the mission and brought his crew home. Thats the message.

[@brianwilson6403]

Got to see Bockscar on display at the USAF Museum at Wright-Patterson a few years ago.

[@SuperDiablo101]

One time I was in a local antique shop just looking around and I stumbled upon a book signed by Sweeney addressed to one of his copilots/crew members which describes in Sweeneys own writing his time from the beginning of the war to him ending it and due to almost no fuel left upon landing he instructed the other crew members to shoot out every type of emergency flare they could find out the window of the B-29 in order to clear the runway. There is also some controversy about whether or not the bockscar you see in the museum is the original one as it may have been lost to non combat related reasons this maybe inaccurate but I do remember reading something similar in the book

[@Wilett614]

YES the B29 you visit at Wright Pat AFB museum "IS" the actual "Bockscar"

[@SuperDiablo101]

@@Wilett614 Thank you for clarifying

[@lot2196]

What amazes me is that Sweeny was only 26 years old at the time. Compare that to today's young people.

[@crushingvanessa3277]

This is always the forgotten one. As for the B-29 itself, it must be in very good condition and have low flight time.

[@jondrew55]

I can’t remember where I read this, but I recall that they did not drop the bomb accurately and the damage to the city was far less than expected.

[@barrygrant2907]

The damage was lessened by the terrain surrounding Nagasaki.

[@jondrew55]

@@barrygrant2907 Yes, because they missed the intended point where the bomb was supposed to hit. Again, that was what I recall reading.

[@ankles632]

It missed the aiming point by almost 2 miles and detonated in a valley in the NW sector of the city instead of the proposed target which was in the open area.

[@GermanShepherd1983]

It missed the AP by 2 miles. Just another mistake by Sweeney. One of many on that mission. Because it missed the AP and did far less damage than Little Boy, the Japanese concluded that the US was unable to make another large bomb and considered fighting on. So Sweeney endangered the peace process and the Japanese could easily have fought on instead of being totally shocked by the second bomb

[@IceManOregon]

I'm researching the manifest of who was actually on board the Bockscar. I've a newspaper report from 1946 said bombardier named Cpt Robert Von Garfen was observer on the plane. I'm trying to figure that out.

[@alanstevens1296]

I have read the Nagasaki accounts in the books by Sweeney, Tibbets, LeMay and Olivi. I would say there is controversy even 50+ years later about what actually happened in the cockpits of those planes. One said there is no way the Big Stink B-29 could have reached 39,000 feet. Another said the absence was an unresolved mystery. One claimed that the 600 gallon bombay tank's fuel was used. Most said it was not used. One said that the plane swap meant that Bock's crew was not in his usual plane and that they might have known its idiosyncrasies better including how to get the fuel transfer pump working before takeoff. Tibbets claimed that Major Sweeney "lost control of the mission" by giving in to demands by Commander Ashworth of Project Alberta. Ashworth was the bomb commander from the Manhattan Project. I believe that Air Force Major and Navy Commander are equal in rank. Tibbets claimed that after Kokura that Sweeney should have scrubbed the mission and returned to base with the bomb. There was already a glitch in the bomb's monitor system as they were climbing to altitude and they weren't sure whether it might go off then. Going back to low altitude might set off the trigger for the altitude fuse, they thought. No way to de-arm the bomb. It would have been very risky to try to bring it back to base and they probably didn't have enough fuel after Kokura. Ashworth's job was to make sure the bomb was dropped on a designated target and not jettisoned into the ocean. An important scientific photographer was kicked off of the photo plane just before takeoff because he forgot his parachute. There was a struggle in Bockscar between the Air Force and the Navy about who was really in control of the mission. Sweeney was the official commander of the Bockscar and over the other 5 planes and their mission. However Ashworth had orders from Washington to control the bomb and its delivery to the target. I would say that is a tough one to resolve. Six $650,000 planes and about 60 crew carrying a $2 billion bomb of which there was just two in August, and the potential to end the war quickly. One book said that the Air Force and its Army roots focuses on following orders as accurately as possible, while the Navy focuses on making sure the mission succeeds even if some rules and orders are bent or even broken (Midway was a good example of that). The bomb got dropped and missed its AP but it still destroyed several major war industries and killed over 40,000 people. All mission planes returned with no losses. I call that a major success and let's leave it at that! Despite all the tactical problems, they got the job done! That is all that matters.

[@nathanfugate8210]

"The Great Artiste" was supposed to carry the Kokura/Nagasaki "Fat Man" bomb. Due to weather issues, the flight was moved up 2 days, and the Artiste was not ready yet. So Sweeney switched to the already converted Bockscar, and brought his crew with him.

[@jimfinlaw4537]

Thank you for sharing this wonderful video regarding Bockscar. No doubt this second atomic mission was much more dangerous than the first mission at Hiroshima. Taking off with a fully armed atomic bomb took a lot of guts and the ramifications of what could have gone wrong on this mission I'm sure many do not fully realize. Charles Sweeney and his crew were true heros in delivering this weapon of mass destruction on target against all odds. I think God was looking out for them when they landed at Okinawa.

[@tiphockersmith1635]

Never knew of this and what a shame they never got the news value the first bomber gotl

[@DeereX748]

The Enola Gay/ Little Boy/ Hiroshima mission have always overshadowed the Bock's Car/ Fat Man mission because Enola Gay was the first nuclear strike ever. But to me, the second mission was much more interesting because of all the problems they encountered, and there was still the possibility of a "fizzle" if the detonation system did not operate perfectly.

[@lrmorrison999]

The Nagasaki bomb did not hit the target, the Submarine pens and dry docks in the narrow bay. It drifted in strong winds and detonated over a more densely populated civilian area. I was there in 1968 and toured ground zero. Our guide was in the city when the bomb detonated.

[@geodes4762]

With that kind of destructive power I am not sure why they even had to aim!

[@RamblerMan68]

Superb!! Thanks for sharing 👍

[@bobrunge7594]

I met Chuck Sweeney at an airport in NH back in the 1980’s. I asked him if he had one wish for the world, what would it be. He said he wished the nuclear bomb would never again have to be used. Strong man to have to live with the fact all those people died. Not easy…

[@jumpingjeffflash9946]

That museum is so awesome.

[@florabee9283]

I have visited this plane a few times in Dayton, but i never knew the difficulty of the mission

[@Ch1n4Sailor]

FANTASTIC story…. Thank you!!!

[@brt-jn7kg]

My uncle was flight engineer on the great artiste b29 on both missions

[@joeblough4605]

Wow, way more interesting story than the first bomb. Thanks. Sucked to live in Nagasaki back then.

[@Nedski42YT]

Good, to the point, summary of the events that day. The people of Kokura were spared by a USAAF SNAFU.

[@warrenholmes3311]

They weren't even CLOSE to being on target. They hit SEVERAL MILES away.

[@MrSuzuki1187]

This is because they dropped by radar with a last second setup. The rules were that they were to drop visually and if they dropped by radar, the crew would get a court martial. They were getting low on fuel and could not see the IP and Sweeney told the bombardier to drop it by radar because they were not taking the bomb home. Sweeney said he would take the court martial.

[@andrewwood6285]

Close enough

[@proudbirther1998]

The capt screwed up so badly wasting fuel and knowing they couldnt take the bomb back they just hoped for the best. The SAW THE TARGET AT LAST SECOND was BS.

[@jackzimmer6553]

I’ve got to get back out to the USAF museum again. It’s only about a half hour trip!

[@burtvhulberthyhbn7583]

What a harrowing tale.....

[@pedzsan]

I’ve heard this story before but what is confusing is Tibbets and LeMay was very upset with Sweeney but I can’t figure out why.

[@GermanShepherd1983]

Sweeney was ordered to circle for no more than 10 minutes waiting for Hopkins, instead Sweeney circled for almost an hour wasting precious fuel and the delay caused Kokura to get clouded over.

[@pedzsan]

@@GermanShepherd1983 Ah. That makes sense. Thank you.

[@proudbirther1998]

Sweeney wasnt the right man for the job. He unnecessarily put the mission and crew in Jeopardy. Especially knowing the reserve fuel was not working.

[@briancavanagh7048]

What was the issue with the Fatman bomb that required it to be armed before takeoff. The original bomb was armed in the air, so what was the technical reason that this couldn’t be done with Fatman?

[@Activated_Complex]

It's probably down to an issue with the Little Boy bomb, rather than one with Fatman itself. Where the latter was a plutonium bomb, relying on infamously soccer ball inspired explosive lenses arranged around this fissile material to compress it down to a critical density, and highly dependent on the precise timing of the detonation of these lenses to produce this result, the former was a uranium bomb relying on a "gun" firing a plug of U-235 into a sub-critical mass of the same. These had to be brought together very quickly to prevent a "fizzle" which might have robbed the weapon of 90% of its destructive power. Problem is, this design meant that the bomb contained a critical mass of U-235, held apart by a mechanism DESIGNED to bring them together rapidly. Pretty much the Demon Core on steroids. Any safeguard against this mass being brought together on the ground could potentially save the lives of every service member on Tinian. Even that "fizzle" I mentioned earlier being more than powerful enough to destroy the base. As it is, no one could predict the outcome, in the event that the Silverplate B-29 carrying the weapon crashed on takeoff.

[@georgegonzalez2476]

Fat Man's Plutonium was in the center, buried under several feet of explosives. Impossible to assemble in the air. The original bomb was a gun barell, with the target U235 at one end, easy to get to.

[@proudbirther1998]

It was 3/4 armed on the ground. Completely armed once into mission. A crash on takeoff wouldnt have been a nuclear blast. More like a dirty bomb

[@skimmer8774]

I'm wondering why Hopkins never showed up. The boxcar mission was full of oversight .

[@bobvanderveen3528]

Fairly good telling of the 2nd, “war winning” bomb delivery on Nagasaki except for the accuracy of the drop. It was pretty far off target. Good info though

[@smokinhalf]

wow! Did not know this, all I heard in history class was that they was waiting for an opening in the clouds. The second atomic strike was just as important as the first because, from what I gather, the empire of japan did not believe that america had another bomb or the bomb was just a dumb luck fluke.

[@dukecraig2402]

That's not why they didn't surrender after the first bomb, they knew it wasn't a fluke, tell me how someone could "fluke" something like that, no, something like that isn't done accidentally or by luck on part of the one who did it, and the people who ran Japan were smart enough to know it wasn't a fluke. The reason they didn't surrender after the first bomb is because things were deadlocked between the Supreme War Council and the regular government cabinet, after the second bomb the emperor finally grabbed the bull by the horns and told the high ranking military personnel that'd been running their war council that had so much influence for so many years that they'd had their chance, for some years at this point, to run the war and that he was going to see to a surrender before he'd watch all of his peoples cities go up in smoke one at a time, essentially he had been a young boy all through the war and allowed himself to be pushed around by them and finally had enough so he put his big boy pants on and did what he had to do.

[@smokinhalf]

@@dukecraig2402 Hmm well said. What you said makes more sense and you researched it more than I did. They be lots of weird info on the www and some are half truths and lots are misleading

[@johnharker7194]

The emperor was desperate for any way out of the war and an enemy's new super weapons incinerating entire cities served as an excellent excuse. I often wonder if he had received assurances for his continued rule from the US prior to his surrender. But such a thing would either be common knowledge, or unknowable if it did occur. So I won't hope to ever find out.

[@smokinhalf]

ty I guess the emperor was looking for a way out and spare lives@@johnharker7194

[@robertgallagher7734]

Killing the Rising Sun by Bill O'Rielly tells this event very well too.

[@turkey0165]

7 gallons of gas at the end of the mission is cutting it beyond endurance! The B-29 Bocks car made it home on a wing and a very big prayer !

[@Electriceye1984bySam]

Thank you !

[@proudbirther1998]

Bottom line... If you miss hitting any part of the bullseye using a nuclear weapon.... YOU FAILED your mission.

[@Wildkat-1]

Just think, if the Japanese had not pulled that sneak attack at Pearl Harbor, the US would have not needed to invent nuclear weapons...!

[@bob_the_engineer1045]

We probably would have, anyway. The Manhattan Project was started because we were afraid Germany was developing one. Fortunately for us, many physicists fled Germany and came to the US, and probably England. And I've heard Hitler didn't like "Jewish science", putting a low priority on nuclear development.

[@donaldewing7405]

He never explained how the crew was able to fly witth a full tank of fuel in the back of the plane. This would cause a massive center of gravity problem. They had to have come up with a solution.

[@davidbaldwin1591]

I believe he said the tank contained 600.gallons, and the full load was over 7000, with only the 600 unusable. That's less than 10%, plus unloading the weapon lightened the craft. Seems quite possible to manage.

[@ssnerd583]

AV gas weighs about 6.1 pounds per gallon.....this really would have caused an aft CG issue....likely the design kept it within limit, but not desirable @@davidbaldwin1591

[@proudbirther1998]

Tibbets told sweeney the weight of bomb would balance it. The co pilot oliveri mentions this in a video avout himself. He states too he was not aware of the fuel tank issue because tibbets and sweeney kept it to themselves....until they were well into the mission

[@redtomcat1725]

Great report !! I never new of this crisis. They should have pumped the 400 gallons of fuel that was not usable out before takeoff.

[@danieldubois3418]

My understanding is that the bomb was dropped a mile or two off target and did not do as much destruction as it could have if it hit near the planned center of city target. Comments?

[@vw2112]

have been to the actual impact point in Nagasaki and its not very close to the aiming point at all. its down in a valley and the surrounding mountain ranges lessened the blast area by funneling it upward rather then outward. if it had impacted where it was supposed to have it would have had more damage done. turns out except for the Indianapolis sinking area ive now been to every point of the bombs journey. Los Alamos, Tinian, Nagasaki and Okinawa back to the plane itself in Ohio. did the same with Little Boy but went to Washington for the plane

[@Despiser25]

How about the Japanese guy that survived Hiroshima and was going to Kokura to heal at his mother house but his sister talked him into instead coming to heal with her at her house in Nagasaki, lol...

[@GermanShepherd1983]

Chuck Sweeney was a complete idiot. He was ORDERED to wait no more than 10 minutes for Hopkins instead of circling for almost an hour. It was that delay that caused Kokura to be clouded over and forcing a detour to Nagasaki. Afterward he tried to blame Hopkins when he was the one who screwed up. Tibbets even told him he screwed up, actually Tibbets used the F word. Sweeney should have been court martialed and kicked out of the military. Of course he winds up a general. Typical of the US military. But we aren't going to forget how he almost wasted the bomb and endangered the crew.

[@jaman878]

Before we condemn Sweeney, we should ask why did he wait so long for the other aircraft “ The Great Artiste”. Great Artiste was a chase plane that was full of photographic and electronic instruments to monitor the bomb’s explosion and performance. This aircraft (and one other I think) went to Hiroshima with Col. Tebbits. This is why we have photos / movies of the Hiroshima bomb. These were taken from Great Artiste, not from Enola Gay. The plan had been to pull the instruments out of Great Artiste and install them in Bock’s Car and Sweeney in The Great Artiste would fly the second atomic mission. However moving all that equipment was going to take too long ant is was decided Sweeney and his crew would switch airplanes with Bock. Bock would fly the chase plane The Great Artiste and Sweeney and his crew would fly the atomic mission in Bock’s Car. It wasn’t their airplane and it lis likely they didn’t know about the issue with the rear fuel tank. Put yourself in Sweeny’s boots. If he didn’t rendezvous with Great Artiste, there would be no data from the mission. This was the bomb itself was the implosoion weapon. The data was an important part of the mission. If he followed orders he would have been criticized and if he waited too long he would have been criticized. Waiting for the chase plane was risky, but Sweeney could say, “I waited for them as long as I could.” The weather over Japan is unpredictable and clouds were always an issue during the entire B-29 campaign. It’s not surprising both targets were socked in. He correctly went on to the secondary target was was able to to visually deliver the bomb. Did he miss the target? With a 500 lb non, you could make the case that he did. But with an atomic bomb, close is good enough in horseshoes, hand grenades and atomic weapons. He delivered the weapon, and brought the crew and aircraft home. Sound like success to me. The other stuff is just armchair general-ing.

[@GermanShepherd1983]

@@jaman878 There are no photos of the Hiroshima bomb from the Great Artiste. The film was screwed up and didn't turn out. The only American photos from Hiroshima were taken by the tail gunner in the Enola Gay. Someone gave him a handheld camera just before they left Tinian and asked him to take pics. I've studied the two atomic missions quite extensively over the years and know the details. Even Tibbets was upset with Sweeney for waiting so long at the rendezvous point.

[@jaman878]

Thank you for the clarification. Why didn't Tibbets court-martial Sweeny? @@GermanShepherd1983

[@marc21091]

Yes. Thank you. Good and thorough explanation.

[@jerrynorton1080]

A backstory on han solo's milennium falcon has some badluck elements, too; aint history fun?

[@Joe-lb8qn]

Trivia that id like to know; Why did the other plane not turn up. The derivation of the planes name.Why not remove all that extra fuel that couldnt be used?

[@mookie2637]

I think the Big Stink (the B29 that apparently never showed) had misheard the rendezvous altitude, and was actually at the right point - just at 39,000 feet.

[@olesuhr727]

Bockscar was named for the pilot that usually flew the aircraft, Frederick C. Bock.

[@paulnomic2027]

As soon as I heard the word “Nuclear”…. Gone

[@dennislaskowski3773]

Pucker factor was high with this one.😂

[@TickleSalty]

Col Paul Tibbets congratulated Sweeney on his run, but also mentioned that if there was to be a third atomic bomb run, that he himself would be the only one to command it. Turned out it was unnecessary.

[@diffened]

1466, there weren't any more bombs, were there? That has always been my understanding.

[@barrygrant2907]

My Seabee dad did all the surveying work for the atomic bomb pits.

[@checkyoursix5623]

As a SAR helo pilot (UH-1N) at NAS Agana, Guam in the '70's, we often flew up to Tinian and Saipan. It was amazing to observe what remained of Tinian's North and South fields, and I managed to get some photos of the bomb uploading pit. There's a memorial marker there, probably overgrown by tangan-tangan these days.

[@budlanctot3060]

I met a guy at a car meet who was selling some car parts I was interested in. I drove to his house in Walla Walla. I noticed he had personal pictures of B-29's on his walls. We got to talking and he said he was on the ground crew for one of the nuke planes on Tinian. He told me a story about how when they were practicing loading and taxiing with the fat-boy bomb(mock-up, I hope) some green lieutenant dropped it on the tarmac, and since the plane was high-centered on the bomb, they had to jack up the B-29 high enough to drag it out from underneath it, and then lower the plane back down. Hilarious.

[@williamashbless7904]

Sadly, nobody remembers the second man to walk on the moon either. A really interesting story that ought to be more widely known.

[@thomasbell7033]

Nobody remembers Buzz Aldrin? I beg to differ. Unlike Neil Armstrong, Aldrin has been a constant media figure.sunce 1969 and I would suggest his face is better known than Armstrong's, though not necessarily his name. Buzz is the only member of the Apollo 11 crew still with us.

[@RTFLDGR]

nobody walked on the moon. I was in Kindergarten when they programmed that lie into us.

[@punchnazis3498]

@@RTFLDGR Apparently your brain is still in kindergarten lol you might want to go get it

[@JamesJoseph-u1y]

I disagree. The man was Buzz Aldrin. And many people are aware of that name. But...who was the third guy?

[@michaelf4506]

​​@@JamesJoseph-u1yMichael Collins... I only know this because I'm Irish

[@ianmangham4570]

AWESOME beast of a plane 🤘🤠 GIT SUM

[@bobclifton8021]

Taking off without that extra fuel was fool hardy. Keeping it on board as extra dead weight was equally fool hardy.

[@GermanShepherd1983]

Actually they needed the fuel there to counterbalance the plane. Couldn't take off without that fuel

[@bobclifton8021]

That trapped fuel also bcame their Achilles heel. @@GermanShepherd1983

[@proudbirther1998]

I think he meant TAKING OFF WITH EXTRA FUEL that has no working tranafer capability was wrong

[@mjktrash]

I always thought it was "Box Car"...

[@roberthale8407]

Yomitan Air field was the place it went to on Okinawa.

[@flyingtigerline]

The Little Boy dropped at Hiroshima was only a fraction in yield of what it should have been (aprox. 9 kt). This was because of damage done to the weapon by scientists at Tinian. That doesn't sound like a flawless mission to me. This is one among many error in this video.

[@lrmorrison999]

Didn’t do that much damage? Ask the still visible silhouettes of people on the stone walls that were vaporized by the blast.

[@Eduardomd54]

I have always thought that there was NO NEED, for this second bomb. The Japanese as soon see what a devastation in Hiroshima. And the threat, that if they don’t. You will drop even a more powerful one ! For sure they were on days to surrender.

[@jamesneveaux4892]

No safe room?

[@kaptkrunchfpv]

Sounds like Ms Car didnt want to vaporize a bunch of farmers.

[@stratcat3216]

And I always thought it was Box Car...

[@vw2112]

named after the plane captain Fredrick C Bock

[@mirrorblue100]

Lucky Kokura.

[@dereklucero5785]

I was about to say….. that plane isn’t the Enola Gay…..

[@tryithere]

The forgotten one.

[@PeterMayer]

"BOX" Car

[@NATES84]

Wow ,They schacked the taget though Big military factory's there

[@robertwoodroffe123]

Boxcar ! , and fat man , was a Plutonium bomb ! Different to the uranium ! Little boy

[@robertwoodroffe123]

@@jamessmith-ie7ym they are / were constructed almost completely differently! The gadget / trinity And Fatman ! Implosion plutonium! Little boy cannon & target.!

[@chuckaddison5134]

ATOMIC strikes, not nuclear. Nuclear weapons did come along until after the war. Hydrogen bombs are nuclear, Fat Man and Little Boy were atomic weapons.

[@johnbigelson7471]

Yeah I'm with james above, not only is this needless pedantry, it's factually wrong. A fission based weapon still undergoes a nuclear reaction. The clarification you probably MEANT to make was people calling it an H-bomb or thermonuclear weapon, which didn't come until the later fusion based designs.

[@scottwooster4102]

Very informative but weren't Fat man and Little boy atomic bombs, not nuclear? I am fairly certain there is an important difference.

[@tomdemerly]

Hmm. That’s a good question. You know, I honestly don’t know if there is a difference between an “atomic bomb” and a “nuclear bomb”. I do know there are several types of nuclear weapons, that is, weapons that release or disrupt the normal orbit of atoms to create chain reactions that cause a significant amount of energy in the form of blast, heat and radiation. You already know there are “atomic bombs”, like Fat Man and Little Boy. Then there are hydrogen bombs, a “thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb” (Wikipedia). And the. There are “neutron bombs” with low (relative) blast effects but enhanced radioactive effects. That’s about the extent of my understanding.

[@georgegonzalez2476]

It was called a "A-Bomb" in the press. Technically the part that goes bang is the nucleus. What you call it really doesn't matter, it still goes boom.

[@jaman878]

An Atomic bomb explodes because of a runaway fission reaction. This is where the (uranium in the case of little boy) nuclei are split apart. Fatman was also an Atomic bomb. It was based on plutonium and it used a different detonation system called implosion. Thermonuclear bombs are much more powerful. These bombs use nuclear fusion of hydrogen instead of fission of heavy nuclei. Thermonuclear weapons are commonly referred to as “H Bombs”. However it is proper to refer to both types of bombs as “nuclear weapons or bombs”.

[@georgegonzalez2476]

The point is, all bombs are "Atomic Bombs", as atoms are the only things that can go boom. But your traditional bomb, chemical bombs, are really "electron bombs", as chemistry is 99.8% an effect of electron energy levels. While "Atomic Bombs" are 99.9% percent having to do with the nucleus and nothing to do with the electrons. So more properly called "Nuclear bombs".

[@Thunderboid]

Should have been named " Dont mess with Merica"

[@jrisner1951]

Box Car.

[@barrygrant2907]

Bocks Car

[@bas1010]

Bock's Car

[@barrygrant2907]

@@bas1010 The nose art is "BOCKS CAR."

[@GermanShepherd1983]

The guy that named it was Fred Bock

[@jaman878]

The others are correct. The aircraft’s name was “Bock’s Car”. It was named after its original pilot Captain Frederick C. Bock. The name is a play on words. The pilot’s name was Bock and the B-29 was very big like a box car, so….Bock’s Car.

[@johnmorykwas2343]

The Millennial can not even spell its proper name.

[@MrSvenovitch]

Glad to hear the clouds opened up and tens of thousands of people didn't have to worry about preparing breakfast the next morning....stories like these and millions of others around the world remind me why I never wanted kids to experience this ridiculous short hell of a life on this miserable rock floating through space.

[@stevelangstroth5833]

No atom bombs --- 2 world wars 20 years apart Two atom bombs dropped --- no world wars in 80 years

[@tomjohnson5700]

Lot of destruction but still missed the target by 3 miles.

[@ruthparker1140]

("Sgt.J."). " Isn't that BOXcar..? U know like The Box car is used to haul Heavy loads." What is a bocks car? Did you mean Bullocks car? Lol. Come on English/Aus folks... Let's help get the Correct spelling here. 😁

[@jerryg53125]

The plane was named after it's normal pilot Fred Bock. So Bocks car is a play on words.

[@relaxingnature2617]

Interesting story about a war crime

[@jaman878]

This is why woke Hollywood will never make it into a movie.

[@fredsalfa]

Yes it was brave of the crew to get back with no fuel. But let’s not forget the 40,000 dead from this attack

[@hodaka1000]

Yeah think of the bright side 🤗

[@sewallm60]

What about the dead of an evil enemy?@@hodaka1000

[@hodaka1000]

@@sewallm60 Yes At wars end my father having survived the Sandakan Death March and escaping from the extermination camp at Ranau was in hiding and very close to death in the jungle in Japanese occupied North Borneo Without the atomic bombings he may not have survived and my family children and granddaughter would not exist today The same could probably be said for a large percentage of the world's population and more than likely the entire present population of Japan I enjoy "The Big Boom Celebration Days"

[@hodaka1000]

@@sewallm60 Whenever I see comments on these videos from the Japanese and the others whinging whining about the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki I can't help but to think about how ungrateful they are Wherever they went the Knights of Bushido murdered men women and children from beginning to end Who knows even fredsalfa may not exist today without those two bombs

[@goldgeologist5320]

Reality is the Japanese were a determined evil enemy with no regard for human life! I am here today probably because of the bombs.

[@relaxingnature2617]

Box car ..not bocks car

[@gredw6733]

The former pilot was named Bock....time for you to sit down and STFU!

[@mikecain3134]

You are wrong. Get a history book or Google it.

[@lot2196]

It is Bockscar. I've seen the plane many times at the Air Force museum.

[@alanstevens1296]

BOCKSCAR to be exact!

[@James-zp5po]

Sry but Nagasaki has never been nuked because nukes don't exist no one has nukes sry really really sry

[@kimmer6]

The Earth is flat and commercial jets fly on compressed air over unity so the airlines can charge high prices by claiming that the engines burn jet fuel. And the flat Earth is full of ignorant dushbags who took the blue pill and never learned physics let alone how to spell. Sry kid.

[@OtherSarah2]

you really might want to rethink that.

[@James-zp5po]

@@OtherSarah2 why would I want to rethink that nukes don't exist when I know for sure that nukes don't exist

[@OtherSarah2]

How do you know? Why are you so sure? I've been to the Trinity site. I served in the US Air Force. I've seen what's stored in a SAC WSA. I've gone to school across a barbed wire fence from PanTex. Nukes do exist. Sadly, they have been used. The US has used them twice in war. The US, USSR, Israel, UK, France, India, and other nations have tested these weapons. Where do you get your surety from?@@James-zp5po

[@janreznak881]

Stop glorifying a war crime.

[@gredw6733]

The REAL war crime was Pearl Harbor.