''Big Stink'' – later renamed ''Dave's Dream'' – was a

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

Boeing B-29-40-MO Superfortress bomber ( Victor number 90) that participated in the atomic bomb attack on

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

, 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 ''Bockscar'', sometimes called ''Bock's Car'', is the United States Army Air Forces Boeing B-29 Superfortress, B-29 bomber that dropped the Fat Man, Fat Man nuclear weapon over the Japanese city of Nagasaki during World War II in the secondand ...

'' 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 Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

James I. Hopkins, Jr., as the aircraft commander. 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 Tinian () is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Together with uninhabited neighboring Aguiguan, it forms Tinian Municipality, one of the four constituent municipalities of the Northern ...

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 rather than the planned – then recovered at Yontan Airfield, Okinawa, with both ''

'' and the B-29 '' The Great Artiste''.

History

B-29-40-MO 44-27354 was built at the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Plant at

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, accepted by the U.S. Army Air Forces on 20 April 1945, and flown to Wendover Army Air Field,

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

, 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

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 Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

Paul Tibbets at the controls, it dropped a dummy "

Little Boy Little Boy was a type of atomic bomb created by the Manhattan Project during World War II. The name is also often used to describe the specific bomb (L-11) used in the bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima by the Boeing B-29 Superfortress ...

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...

assembly off Tinian to test its

radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

altimeter An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. Ty ...

detonators. On 6 August 1945, the aircraft was flown by crew B-8 (commanded by

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

Charles McKnight) as a back-up spare but landed on

Iwo Jima is one of the Japanese Volcano Islands, which lie south of the Bonin Islands and together with them make up the Ogasawara Subprefecture, Ogasawara Archipelago. Together with the Izu Islands, they make up Japan's Nanpō Islands. Although sout ...

when all other aircraft in the flight continued on. The airplane was reassigned to crew C-12 (under

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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 () is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1910 and headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company is active in various industries, including digital systems, power and renewable ener ...

, 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 Operation Crossroads was a pair of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. They were the first nuclear weapon tests since Trinity on July 16, 1945, and the first detonations of nuclear devices sinc ...

, 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 Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. Semple had been a bombardier in many of the 155 test drops for the

Manhattan Project The Manhattan Project was a research and development program undertaken during World War II to produce the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States in collaboration with the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the ...

. 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 The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

) dropped the "

Fat Man "Fat Man" (also known as Mark III) was the design of the nuclear weapon the United States used for seven of the first eight nuclear weapons ever detonated in history. It is also the most powerful design to ever be used in warfare. A Fat Man ...

"-type atomic bomb used in Test Able of

Bikini Atoll Bikini Atoll ( or ; Marshallese language, Marshallese: , , ), known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 19th century and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a central lagoon. The atoll is at the no ...

. In June 1949 ''Dave's Dream'', operating in the by-then-independent

, was transferred to the 97th Bombardment Group at

Biggs Air Force Base Biggs may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Biggs (TV channel), a Portuguese television channel formerly for kids, teens and youth and now for teens and youth. * Biggs Darklighter, a character in ''Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope'' * Biggs, a re ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It was converted to a TB-29 training aircraft in April 1950 by the Oklahoma City Materiel Area at

Tinker Air Force Base Tinker Air Force Base is a major United States Air Force base, with tenant U.S. Navy and other Department of Defense missions, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, adjacent to Del City and Midwest City. The ba ...

. It was subsequently assigned to: * Dave s Dream

106th Radar Calibration Squadron, Sioux City Air Force Base,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

(October 1952) *7th Radar Calibration Squadron, Sioux City Air Force Base (September 1953), and *4677th Radar Evaluation Flight,

Hill Air Force Base Hill Air Force Base is a major U.S. Air Force (USAF) base located in Davis County, Utah, just south of the city of Ogden, and bordering the Cities of Layton, Clearfield, Riverdale, Roy, and Sunset with its largest border immediately adja ...

(March 1954) In June 1959 it was moved into storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base,

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, and was dropped from the U.S. Air Force inventory in February 1960 as salvage.

Hiroshima mission crew

Crew B-8 (regularly assigned to '' Top Secret''): *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/scanner

Nagasaki mission crew

Crew C-14 (normally assigned to '' Necessary Evil''; 1st Lt. Norman Ray): *Major James I. Hopkins, Jr., aircraft commander *2nd Lt. John E. Cantlon, co-pilot *2nd Lt. Stanley G. Steinke, navigator * Agnew HiroshimaAircraft

2nd 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 observer The crew were joined by two

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

observers: *

Group Captain Group captain (Gp Capt or G/C) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries that have historical British influence. Group cap ...

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''

A 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 New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

, in the 1970s and 1980s.

References

* Campbell, Richard H., ''The Silverplate Bombers: A History and Registry of the Enola Gay and Other B-29s Configured to Carry Atomic Bombs'' (2005),
509th CG Aircraft Page, MPHPA

External links

Black and white image of ''Big Stink'' nose art

* ttp://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/Hiroshima/Nagasaki.shtml Eyewitness account of atomic bombing over Nagasaki, by William Laurence, ''New York Times'' {{B-29 family Big Stink Big Stink Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki