Boeing B-29 “Bockscar” nose art, s/n 44-27297 #77
Details on the B-29 Bockscar Mission
On August 9, 1945, Bockscar, a B-29 Superfortress piloted by Major Charles W. Sweeney, took off from Tinian on a mission to drop the second atomic bomb on Japan. Bockscar was one of fifteen “Silverplate” B-29s, a designation given to modified B-29s that could carry atomic bombs. The target for this mission was Kokura, but due to cloud cover and other issues, the crew opted for their secondary target: Nagasaki.
Bockscar had been delivered to the USAAF in March 1945 and assigned to the 393rd Bomb Squadron, 509th Composite Group. After the mission, it returned to America in November 1945. Like Enola Gay, Bockscar’s markings were changed from its usual markings for this mission. While the sources do not indicate what markings were used, they do note that Enola Gay’s markings were switched to the tail markings of the 6th Bomb Group.
Bockscar carried “Fat Man”, a plutonium implosion-type weapon. Nearly half of Nagasaki was destroyed in the blast, killing 35,000 people and injuring 60,000 more. The Bockscar mission, alongside the Enola Gay mission, contributed to the end of World War II. Bockscar was given to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in 1946 and its original markings, including nose art added after the mission, were restored.