This testimony does not clarify either the number of aircraft or the important issue of the direction from which they flew into the sky over Nagasaki. Then heaven and earth shuddered with a tremendous explosion, and a spectral flash of light and blast wind descended on me from above. Perhaps 20 seconds after I first identified the aircraft, I heard the hissing sound of a falling bomb, a sound that continued for five or six seconds. We needed to prepare immediately for combat. These struck me as odd because I had never seen anything like them before.

To my surprise, the aircraft carried three strange objects like parachutes below the fuselage. I spotted the aircraft as it appeared from behind clouds, heading toward Mt. I responded immediately by searching the sky with the binoculars attached to my measuring instrument. The following is an excerpt from the testimony of Nakamura Yoshimitsu: All three men had an excellent view of the approaching aircraft. 8064 Anti-aircraft Battalion on Kōyagishima. Kompira and Hinako Akira and Hiraishi Yoshio, both of whom were serving in the Western Forces No. Among these are the recollections of Nakamura Yoshimitsu of the 4th Anti-aircraft Battalion at Mt. Many people remember seeing or hearing a single B-29 flying over Nagasaki, but it is not clear to which of the two B-29s they refer. It is surprising, however, that few witnesses report having seen two aircraft at the same time. It is a well-known fact that two B-29s reached Nagasaki after abandoning the primary target of Kokura. What flight path did the two aircraft- one carrying the atomic bomb and the other observation equipment- follow after leaving Kokura for Nagasaki and while flying over Nagasaki? Of particular interest is the observation that the aircraft flew in a westerly direction north of Kumamoto City and proceeded over the Ariake Sea and the northern part of Shimabara Peninsula, and that the leading B-29 reached Nagasaki from the northeast. This document is dated August 27, relatively soon after the atomic bombing, and therefore does not benefit from later atomic bomb research or surveys, but it nevertheless serves as a useful basic resource. Both aircraft then turned and escaped along the same flight path used on the approach. Flying from the northeast, the leading B-29 reached Nagasaki around 11:00 a.m., while the second aircraft followed from the same direction around 11:02 a.m. They proceeded over the Ariake Sea and the northern part of Shimabara Peninsula toward Nagasaki. flying in a westerly direction north of Kumamoto City. Although it is impossible to determine the exact flight path taken by the Nagasaki bombing unit, a number of reports, witness comments and memoirs provide useful clues.Ī document entitled “August 9 Report on Air-Raid Damage in the Nagasaki District” includes the following information: However, the log supposedly kept by James Van Pelt, the navigator of the Nagasaki mission three days later, has never been found. Van Kirk was the navigator of the Enola Gay, the aircraft used to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Regarding the flight path taken by the Hiroshima bombing unit on August 6, the log kept by Theodore Van Kirk includes the unit’s flight chart. Many things remain to be clarified regarding the flight path taken by Bockscar (the B-29 carrying the atomic bomb) and The Great Artiste, the observation aircraft accompanying it, before they dropped the atomic bomb and parachute-fitted radiosondes over the city. (2) Records from Other Cities and Prefectures Situation at the Time of the Atomic Bombing

Nagasaki atomic bomb