Struck off charge and allocated for salvage from February 1960
Victor 90 left without one of the support members when Major Hopkins ordered Robert Serber of Project Alberta to leave the plane – reportedly after the B-29 had already taxied onto the runway – because the scientist had forgotten his parachute. Since Serber was the only crew member who knew how to operate the high-speed camera, Hopkins had to be instructed by radio from Tinian on its use.
The aircraft failed to make its rendezvous with the remainder of the strike flight, which completed the mission without it. It did however arrive at Nagasaki in time to photograph the effects of the blast – albeit at an altitude of 39,000 feet (12,000 meters) rather than the planned 30,000 feet (9,100 meters) – then recovered at Yontan Airfield, Okinawa, with both Bockscar and the B-29 The Great Artiste.
The aircraft originally was assigned the Victor (unit-assigned identification) number 10 but on 1 August 1945 was given the circle R tail markings of the 6th Bombardment Group as a security measure and had its Victor changed to 90 to avoid misidentification with actual 6th Bombardment Group aircraft. On 23 July 1945, with ColonelPaul Tibbets at the controls, it dropped a dummy "Little Boy" atomic bomb assembly off Tinian to test its radaraltimeter detonators.
On 6 August 1945, the aircraft was flown by crew B-8 (commanded by First Lieutenant Charles McKnight) as a back-up spare but landed on Iwo Jima when all other aircraft in the flight continued on. The airplane was reassigned to crew C-12 (under Captain Captain Herman S. Zahn) immediately following the Nagasaki mission, who named the airplane Big Stink and had nose art applied.
Big Stink also flew 12 training and practice missions, and two combat missions to drop pumpkin bombs on industrial targets at Nagaoka and Hitachi, Japan, both flown by Classen and crew A-5. Big Stink was flown by more crews (nine of the 15) on operational missions than any other 393d Bombardment Squadron B-29.
In June 1959 it was moved into storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona, and was dropped from the U.S. Air Force inventory in February 1960 as salvage.
Crew C-14 (normally assigned to Necessary Evil; 1st Lt. Norman Ray):[2]
Major James I. Hopkins, Jr., aircraft commander
2nd Lt. John E. Cantlon, co-pilot
2nd Lt. Stanley G. Steinke, navigator
509th Composite Group aircraft immediately before their bombing mission of Hiroshima. Left to right: Big Stink, The Great Artiste, and Enola Gay. Photo by Harold Agnew 19452nd Lt. Myron Faryna, bombardier
M/Sgt. George L. Brabenec, flight engineer
Sgt. Francis X. Dolan, radio operator
Cpl. Richard F. Cannon, radar operator
Sgt. Martin G. Murray, tail gunner
Sgt. Thomas A. Bunting, assistant engineer/scanner
^Operation Crossroads, the official pictorial record. The office of the historian, Joint Task Force One. New York: W.H. Wise & Co., inc. 1946. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.47294.
^ ab"Hiroshima and Nagasaki Missions - Planes & Crews". Atomic Heritage Foundation. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
^. Archived from the original on 2007-08-09. Retrieved 2007-08-06.
Campbell, Richard H., The Silverplate Bombers: A History and Registry of the Enola Gay and Other B-29s Configured to Carry Atomic Bombs (2005), ISBN0-7864-2139-8
509th CG Aircraft Page, MPHPA 2008-05-12 at the Wayback Machine
External linksEdit
Black and white image of Big Stink nose art 2015-10-24 at the Wayback Machine
Reflections from above: an American pilot's perspective on the mission which dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki
Eyewitness account of atomic bombing over Nagasaki, by William Laurence, New York Times
October 15, 2023
stink, aircraft, this, article, includes, list, general, references, lacks, sufficient, corresponding, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, june, 2010, learn, when, remove, this, template, message, thi. This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations June 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Big Stink aircraft news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Big Stink later renamed Dave s Dream was a United States Army Air Forces Boeing B 29 40 MO Superfortress bomber Victor number 90 that participated in the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki Japan on August 9 1945 Assigned to the 393d Bomb Squadron 509th Composite Group it was used as a camera plane in support of the bomb carrying B 29 Bockscar to photograph the explosion and effects of the bomb and also to carry scientific observers The mission was flown by crew C 14 but with Group Operations Officer Major James I Hopkins Jr as the aircraft commander Big Stink 1945 1946 Dave s Dream on the Bombing Run at Bikini Atoll circa 1946Other name s Dave s Dream 1946 1960 Type Boeing B 29 40 MO SuperfortressManufacturer Glenn L Martin Company at Omaha NebraskaSerial 44 27354Owners and operators United States Army Air ForcesIn service April 20 1945Fate Struck off charge and allocated for salvage from February 1960Victor 90 left without one of the support members when Major Hopkins ordered Robert Serber of Project Alberta to leave the plane reportedly after the B 29 had already taxied onto the runway because the scientist had forgotten his parachute Since Serber was the only crew member who knew how to operate the high speed camera Hopkins had to be instructed by radio from Tinian on its use The aircraft failed to make its rendezvous with the remainder of the strike flight which completed the mission without it It did however arrive at Nagasaki in time to photograph the effects of the blast albeit at an altitude of 39 000 feet 12 000 meters rather than the planned 30 000 feet 9 100 meters then recovered at Yontan Airfield Okinawa with both Bockscar and the B 29 The Great Artiste Contents 1 History 1 1 Hiroshima mission crew 1 2 Nagasaki mission crew 2 Other aircraft named Big Stink 3 References 4 External linksHistory EditB 29 40 MO 44 27354 was built at the Glenn L Martin Aircraft Plant at Omaha Nebraska accepted by the U S Army Air Forces on 20 April 1945 and flown to Wendover Army Air Field Utah by its assigned crew A 5 under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas J Classen aircraft commander and group deputy commander in May 1945 It departed Wendover for North Field on Tinian on 24 June 1945 and arrived 29 June 1945 The aircraft originally was assigned the Victor unit assigned identification number 10 but on 1 August 1945 was given the circle R tail markings of the 6th Bombardment Group as a security measure and had its Victor changed to 90 to avoid misidentification with actual 6th Bombardment Group aircraft On 23 July 1945 with Colonel Paul Tibbets at the controls it dropped a dummy Little Boy atomic bomb assembly off Tinian to test its radar altimeter detonators On 6 August 1945 the aircraft was flown by crew B 8 commanded by First Lieutenant Charles McKnight as a back up spare but landed on Iwo Jima when all other aircraft in the flight continued on The airplane was reassigned to crew C 12 under Captain Captain Herman S Zahn immediately following the Nagasaki mission who named the airplane Big Stink and had nose art applied Big Stink also flew 12 training and practice missions and two combat missions to drop pumpkin bombs on industrial targets at Nagaoka and Hitachi Japan both flown by Classen and crew A 5 Big Stink was flown by more crews nine of the 15 on operational missions than any other 393d Bombardment Squadron B 29 After World War II Big Stink served with the 509th Composite Group at Roswell Army Air Field In April 1946 it was assigned to Operation Crossroads and renamed Dave s Dream by its crew in honor of Captain David Semple a bombardier who had been killed in the crash of another B 29 on 7 March 1946 near Albuquerque New Mexico Semple had been a bombardier in many of the 155 test drops for the Manhattan Project On 1 July 1946 Dave s Dream while under the command of Major Woodrow Swancutt who would become a major general in the United States Air Force dropped the Fat Man type atomic bomb used in Test Able of Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll 1 In June 1949 Dave s Dream operating in the by then independent United States Air Force was transferred to the 97th Bombardment Group at Biggs Air Force Base Texas It was converted to a TB 29 training aircraft in April 1950 by the Oklahoma City Materiel Area at Tinker Air Force Base It was subsequently assigned to nbsp The crew of Dave s Dream pose in front of their ship c 1946 106th Radar Calibration Squadron Sioux City Air Force Base Iowa October 1952 7th Radar Calibration Squadron Sioux City Air Force Base September 1953 and 4677th Radar Evaluation Flight Hill Air Force Base Utah March 1954 In June 1959 it was moved into storage at Davis Monthan Air Force Base Arizona and was dropped from the U S Air Force inventory in February 1960 as salvage Hiroshima mission crew Edit Crew B 8 regularly assigned to Top Secret 2 1st Lt Charles F McKnight airplane commander 2nd Lt Jacob Y Bontekoe co pilot 2nd Lt Jack Widowsky navigator 2nd Lt Franklin H MacGregor bombardier 1st Lt George H Cohen flight engineer Sgt Lloyd J Reeder radio operator T Sgt William F Orren radar operator Sgt Roderick E Legg tail gunner Cpl Donald O Cole assistant engineer scannerNagasaki mission crew Edit Crew C 14 normally assigned to Necessary Evil 1st Lt Norman Ray 2 Major James I Hopkins Jr aircraft commander 2nd Lt John E Cantlon co pilot 2nd Lt Stanley G Steinke navigator nbsp 509th Composite Group aircraft immediately before their bombing mission of Hiroshima Left to right Big Stink The Great Artiste and Enola Gay Photo by Harold Agnew 19452nd Lt Myron Faryna bombardier M Sgt George L Brabenec flight engineer Sgt Francis X Dolan radio operator Cpl Richard F Cannon radar operator Sgt Martin G Murray tail gunner Sgt Thomas A Bunting assistant engineer scanner Cpl Sidney J Bellamy radar observerThe crew were joined by two British observers 3 Group Captain Leonard Cheshire VC former commander of 617 Dambusters squadron and official representative of the British Prime Minister Professor William Penney a member of Project Alberta and the leading expert on the predicted effects of nuclear weapons Other aircraft named Big Stink EditA FB 111A strategic bomber of the USAF 509th Bomb Wing serial 67 7195 carried both the name and original nose art of Big Stink and the name Dave s Dream on its nosewheel doors while based at Pease Air Force Base New Hampshire in the 1970s and 1980s citation needed References Edit Operation Crossroads the official pictorial record The office of the historian Joint Task Force One New York W H Wise amp Co inc 1946 doi 10 5962 bhl title 47294 a b Hiroshima and Nagasaki Missions Planes amp Crews Atomic Heritage Foundation 27 April 2016 Retrieved 11 August 2021 Eyewitness over Nagasaki August 9 1945 Archived from the original on 2007 08 09 Retrieved 2007 08 06 Campbell Richard H The Silverplate Bombers A History and Registry of the Enola Gay and Other B 29s Configured to Carry Atomic Bombs 2005 ISBN 0 7864 2139 8 509th CG Aircraft Page MPHPA Archived 2008 05 12 at the Wayback MachineExternal links EditBlack and white image of Big Stink nose art Archived 2015 10 24 at the Wayback Machine Reflections from above an American pilot s perspective on the mission which dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki Eyewitness account of atomic bombing over Nagasaki by William Laurence New York Times Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Big Stink aircraft amp oldid 1179523215, 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