Atmospheric Nuclear Detonation - Fat Man
image - fatman.jpg

Name:Fat Man; Date:August 9, 1945;
Operation:?; Site:Nagasaki, Japan;
Detonation:Air Delivered; Yield:21.00kt; Type:Fission,Pu²³⁹;

   US detonated second nuclear bomb during the WW II, at this time over Nagasaki, Japan. The bomb named Fat-Man was detonated at 11:02 am. at an altitude of 1500 ft. Yield 21Kt. Of the 286,000 people living in Nagasaki at the time of the blast, 74,000 were killed in an instant, and another 75,000 sustained severe injuries.
    Fat Man was identical to the Gadget device used in the Trinity test, except it was encased in steel. Ostensibly, Fat-Man used Pu²³⁹ instead U²³⁵ and more efficient, implosion type design. It measured 60 inches in diameter, was 12 feet long, and weighed 10,300 lb. All the parts for the Fat Man assembly finally arrived at Tinian by Aug. 2, 1945.
    The delivery date has been shifted several times due to changing weather conditions. Finally the date was set, Aug. 9. 1945. Primary target for the bombing has been an arsenal in the city of Kokura. B-29 arrived at the target zone around 10:44 am. However clouds, flaks and fighters prevented it from precise bombing and it had to rout towards the secondary target. One more problem was the malfunctioning fuel pump, which rendered a 600 gallon auxilary tank useless. That in turn limited the choice of the secondary target, so B-29 set the course towards Nagasaki. When the bomber arrived at Nagasaki the remaining fuel would only allow it one pass over the city for bombing, even with emergency landing at Okinawa.
    The only gap over the area permitted a drop, which missed the original aimpoint by several miles. The detonation occurred near the city perimeter, close to Mitsubishi arms plant. Despite the fact that Fat Man fell closer to an unpopulated area the casualties were immense, 42,000 died in an instant and 40,000 more were injured. 39% of the city buildings were destroyed.

Delivered by B29 Bomber Bock's Car, crew:
Major Charles Sweeney - Commander;
First Lieutenant Charles Albury - Co-Pilot;
Captain James Van Pelt, Jr. - Navigator;
Captain Kermit Beahan - Bombardier;
Lieutenant Jacob Beser - Electronic Countermeasures;
Staff Sergeant Ed Buckly - Radar Operator;
Sergeant Abe Spitzer - Radar Operator;
Master Sergeant John Kuharek - Flight Engineer;
Sergeant Raymond Gallagher Asst. Flight Engineer;
Staff Sergeant Albert Dehart - Tail Gunner;
Commander Frederick Ashworth - Weaponeer;
2nd Lieutenant Fred Olivi - Third Pilot;