Bockscar
- Extended Description
- 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 393rd Bomber Squadron of the 509th Composite Group. The Great Artiste had been outfitted for scientific measurement for the Hiroshima mission and so the flight crews were simply switched to each others' plane; thus making The Great Artiste the only support plane to accompany both atomic bombs to Japan.
Kokura was the primary target, but when Bockscar arrived at its rendezvous point off the coast of Japan the third aircraft of its flight was not present. After 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 conferring with weaponeer Commander Frederick Ashworth (USN), flew on to Nagasaki, the secondary target.
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