A-bomb dropped as it could not be taken back
Aug. 1, Kyodo - The decision to drop an atomic bomb on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, by the crew of the U.S. B-29 bomber Bockscar was partially affected by problems stemming from a fuel shortage on the plane, a Japanese daily reported Sunday.The Asahi Shimbun also said in a front-page article that although the use of radar was prohibited in a strategic plan, the plane's commander ended up relying on radar to release the bomb because of poor visibility.
The strategic plan stipulated that the bomb was to be brought back to the base if the target could not be visually sighted. However, the plane could not have returned to base with the additional weight of the bomb as too much of the plane's fuel had been used up in the earlier stages of the mission, the paper said.
The U.S. Air Force's final report states that the target was confirmed through an opening in the clouds. However, the paper quoted the co-pilot of the bomber, Lt. Col. (ret.) Fred Olivi, now 77 years old, as saying there is possibility that the target could not have been visually sighted.
According to an order for dropping the atomic bombs issued on Aug. 2, 1945, the first target was Hiroshima, the second Kokura in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Fukuoka, and the third target Nagasaki.
The U.S. B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped the first bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.
Bockscar took off from its base on Tinian Island shortly before 3 a.m. on Aug. 9, 1945, according to recordings at the time by Lt. Gen. (ret.) Frederick Ashworth, the commander of the mission, the paper said.
The bomber arrived above Kokura at 9:44 a.m., but since the target could not be visually confirmed, the plane changed course for Nagasaki, according to Ashworth, now 87 years old, it said.
By the time it arrived over the southwestern Japan city, the plane was already running low on fuel and nearly an hour and a half behind schedule. Moreover, the intended target could not be confirmed as the city was obscured by clouds, he was quoted as saying.
The commander then made the decision to make a radar approach to get as close to the target as possible while still able to make an emergency landing on Okinawa, which was already under the control of the United States, the paper said.
