boyutpedia Chapter 791 The Second Atomic Bomb
Chapter 791 The Second Atomic Bomb
However, this atomic bomb bombing did not go very smoothly. Shortly after the B-29 heavy bomber "Bock's Car" took off, it was discovered that one of the fuel tanks had a problem, which caused the 29 gallons of fuel on the B- heavy bomber "Bock's Car" to be unusable.
However, after Sweeney's crew roughly calculated the range of the B-29 heavy bomber "Bock's Chariot", they believed that the remaining fuel was basically sufficient, so they decided to continue the bombing flight.
当“博克之车”号B-29重型轰炸机飞到硫磺岛上空的汇合点时，另外两架提前起飞的B-29重型轰炸机观测和负责照相的B-29重型轰炸机本来应该在那里等候与之汇合，可是“博克之车”号B-29重型轰炸机只遇到了其中应该在汇合点集合的一架B-29重型轰炸机。
Sweeney's crew's B-29 heavy bomber, "Bock's Chariot", flew over Iwo Jima and waited for thirty minutes but did not see any sign of another B-29 heavy bomber. So, the B-29 heavy bomber, "Bock's Chariot", resolutely flew towards Kokura in northern Kyushu, Japan.
At 29:, the B- heavy bomber "Bock's Chariot" arrived over Kokura. However, the weather conditions over Kokura, Japan that day were very bad. The sky was covered with thick clouds, the ground was filled with thick smoke, and visibility was extremely low.
The B-29 heavy bomber "Bock's Chariot" circled over Kokura, Japan three times, but was still unable to find the aiming point for dropping the atomic bomb, which was the No. Arsenal in the city of Kokura.
At this time, the Japanese ground air defense forces in Kokura launched intensive anti-aircraft fire at the B-29 heavy bomber "Bock's Chariot" in the air, forcing the B-29 heavy bomber "Bock's Chariot" to increase its flight altitude to avoid the Japanese anti-aircraft fire.
When Sweeney's crew decided to enter the sky over Kokura again to search for the aiming point, the radio operator reported that based on the frequencies used by the Japanese Air Force that were intercepted, fighter jets might take off to intercept the "Bock's Car".
Suddenly, there was a panic on the B-29 heavy bomber "Bock's Car". Sweeney's crew turned the nose of the B-29 heavy bomber "Bock's Car" without time to contact the base, and decided to change the site of the atomic bomb to Nagasaki, Japan.
So, the B-29 heavy bomber "Bock's Car" flew towards the second target, Nagasaki, ninety-seven miles southwest of Kokura.
After leaving Kokura, Sweeney's crew sent a radio message to the base, saying that because the visibility over Kokura was too low to drop bombs, they would change their plan to bomb Nagasaki, Japan.
At 29:29, the B- heavy bomber "Bock's Chariot" arrived over Nagasaki, Japan. It was cloudy in Nagasaki that day, so the B- heavy bomber "Bock's Chariot" was unable to find the aiming point of the bombing target when it first entered the sky over Nagasaki.
At this time, the fuel gauge pointer on the B-29 heavy bomber "Bock's Chariot" was also dropping sharply, and Sweeney's crew was extremely nervous. Finally, Sweeney's crew decided to drop this "Fat Man" no matter what when they entered Nagasaki for the second time.
So, Sweeney's crew announced that they would switch to radar aiming, prepare to drop bombs, and then return.
Kermit Beahan, the bombardier in Sweeney's crew, was also a very experienced veteran. When he was about to switch to the radar instrument for aiming, he was suddenly surprised to find a large gap between the two clouds under the "Bock's Chariot" B-29 heavy bomber. Through the gap, he could clearly see the aiming point, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Nagasaki Shipyard. This would allow the "Bock's Chariot" B-29 heavy bomber to carry out visual bombing of Nagasaki.
At 29:29, Kermit Beahan, the bombardier on the B- heavy bomber "Bock's Car", aimed at a runway in the valley and dropped the atomic bomb. "Fat Man" broke away from the B- heavy bomber "Bock's Car" and flew towards Nagasaki.
However, the atomic bomb did not hit the original target point, but was dropped into the Urakami River basin 2,500 meters north of the target, and finally landed between two Mitsubishi arsenals. Then, the huge explosive force of the atomic bomb instantly blew the two factories producing military supplies to pieces.
After dropping the bombs, the B-29 heavy bomber "Bock's Chariot" was seriously short of fuel. On the way back, it had to make an emergency landing at the United States Air Force Base on Okinawa Island to refuel. Finally, after twenty hours of flight, the B-29 heavy bomber "Bock's Chariot" successfully returned to the United States Air Force Base on Tinian Island very late.
This was the second atomic bomb attack on Japan by the U.S. military, following the U.S. Air Force dropping an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
On August 15, 1945, the Japan Broadcasting Association broadcast a recording of the Japanese Emperor reading the "Armistice Rescript", and the Japanese government formally announced its surrender.
There is no doubt that the Soviet Union's declaration of war on the Japanese government and its dispatch of troops to China's northeast region were also one of the decisive factors in accelerating the unconditional surrender of the Japanese government and ending the war ahead of schedule.
However, there is another aspect of the problem, namely, how to view the position of the Soviet Union's dispatch of troops to the Northeast in its Far East strategy, especially its role in the Soviet Union's policy toward China.
In fact, declaring war on the Japanese government was an established policy of the Soviet government's Far East strategy. Whether during or after the war, the primary target of the Soviet Union's foreign strategy was of course Europe.
Through this war, the Soviet Union not only expanded its territory, but also directly controlled the Eastern European countries. At the same time, the Soviet leaders never forgot the Far East. For centuries, both Tsarist Russia and the subsequent Soviet Union have been working hard to implement the Far East strategy centered on establishing and protecting outlets to the Pacific Ocean.
However, the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 not only caused Tsarist Russia to lose almost all of its rights and interests in the Far East except for North Manchuria, but also became the fuse of the Russian Revolution. What is puzzling is that Soviet Russia, which overthrew the old Russian Empire and always advocated national equality and internationalism, has always remembered the "humiliating" defeat suffered by Tsarist Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. Moreover, the Soviet government is very eager to regain everything Russia has lost in the Far East through war.
The Soviet leaders were almost outspoken about this. Before the Yalta Conference, they had mentioned to the United States several times, either explicitly or implicitly, the interests of Tsarist Russia in the Far East and stated that the Soviet Union had "political demands" on the Far East.