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64 Years Ago Today - BOCKSCAR
- Thread starter jmcquate
- Start date
From the little known facts dept:
The city of Kokura had been the secondary target for 'Little Boy' (the 1st bomb -- the Hiroshima bomb) and the PRIMARY target for 'Fat Boy' (the Nagasaki bomb). WX @ Kokura played in its favor and the mission moved on to Nagasaki and into history. The Japanese refer to the 'Luck of Kokura' when describing someone or something as having extremely good fortune ... and for good reason, as you can see ....
Army Air Corps notwithstanding, the 'weaponeer' for the bomb on BOCKSCAR was none other than a USN career officer ... then CDR "Dick" Ashworth ... an Academy grad, a former VT-11 CO (torpedo, not training .. it's lineage is still alive and well as the former VA-115 Arabs and the current VFA-115 Eagles), veteran of Guadalcanal and the HORNET (second carrier so named), CO of the FDR, and he closed it out as COMSIXTHFLT -- quite a career. He retired as a VADM and passed away in 2005.
Vice Admiral Frederick L. "Dick" Ashworth - Wiki
Obit in the NYT, 12-08-2005
Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Project - Commander Frederick L. Ashworth, USN, Collection
The city of Kokura had been the secondary target for 'Little Boy' (the 1st bomb -- the Hiroshima bomb) and the PRIMARY target for 'Fat Boy' (the Nagasaki bomb). WX @ Kokura played in its favor and the mission moved on to Nagasaki and into history. The Japanese refer to the 'Luck of Kokura' when describing someone or something as having extremely good fortune ... and for good reason, as you can see ....
Army Air Corps notwithstanding, the 'weaponeer' for the bomb on BOCKSCAR was none other than a USN career officer ... then CDR "Dick" Ashworth ... an Academy grad, a former VT-11 CO (torpedo, not training .. it's lineage is still alive and well as the former VA-115 Arabs and the current VFA-115 Eagles), veteran of Guadalcanal and the HORNET (second carrier so named), CO of the FDR, and he closed it out as COMSIXTHFLT -- quite a career. He retired as a VADM and passed away in 2005.
VT-11 onboard USS HORNET .... December, 1944
Vice Admiral Frederick L. "Dick" Ashworth - Wiki
Obit in the NYT, 12-08-2005
Manhattan Project Heritage Preservation Project - Commander Frederick L. Ashworth, USN, Collection
'Pumpkin bomb' drops/missions.
Correct. The "Pumpkin" bombs were designed to replicate the shape/aerodynamics of the Fat Man Bomb and were used for training missions. Black "Fat Man" symbols are training drops (or pumpkin bombs), while red are for actual drops. The Enola Gay had similar markings.
