Happy Bockscar Day

[Stainless1]

Today is the 69th anniversary of the Bockscar dropping the Bomb that ended WW2

Enjoy your freedoms. 

[tauruck]

Thanks Bob.

[kiwi belly tank]

I don't believe the nuking of 100,000 human beings should be remembered with the word "happy" included in the statement.
We have memorials for WW2.
  Sid.

[Kansas Bad Man]

The ENOLA GAY got there attention a few days earlier, since then Japan has produced more motorcycles then the rest of the world combined, Stainless has a garage full of Engines Made IN Japan, he ran out of places to put the things so one went in BOX CAR hope it dries out to see it run, good luck BUDDY . I will finish up the Vincent liner today and probably fire it up tomorrow , see you in a few days.

MAX  

[hotrod]

Perhaps the saving of over a million people by ending the war and preventing a ground invasion of Japan is a worthy reason to celebrate.
That action saved 20x the lives it cost to get the militant arm of the Japanese Army to give up their fight to the death strategy which would have effectively destroyed the entire country and killed uncountable casualties in the allied forces and Japanese civilians who were going to be forced to fight a no win house to house campaign to defend the home island.

[4-barrel Mike]

Thank you, hotrod.

[Tman]

One only has to read about the fire bombings of Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Kobe to realize why the tough decision was made. Thanks go out to the crew of the Bockscar.

[Stainless1]

Coincidence?

Not really....
Never been a history revisionist.... always figured if you don't want no shit don't start none...

Happy Bockscar Day to all, wish we were racing 

[Schruiber]

Back in the last Century I met Fred Olivi, co-pilot of Bockscar. He was member of the same "Cross and Cockade" World War One Aviation Club near Chicago. He was with us when we took a field trip to the Dayton Air Force Museum - they opened the airplane for us!  Great History and Memories.

Michael

[Stainless1]

In 1990 the 509th had a reunion at Wendover during SpeedWeek.  We had the opportunity to meet a lot of America's heroes.  Fred Bock was an honorary member of our Bockscar team, and explained to us that we actually didn't have the first 4 wheeled Bockscar, he and his crew built a car from parts and named it Bockscar 2 when they were on Tinian.  I should dig for the picture he sent Ben Jordan afterwords, I have a copy if it is not lost to all my moves since then...
We heard a lot of great stories that week. 

[Plan B]

http://www.alternatewars.com/Bomb_Loading/Bomb_Guide.htm

[John Noonan]

If it wasn't for the fear that the Americans were about ready to drop yet another Bomb the Japanese would not have surrendered.  Truth is we (Americans) were quite aways from completing the third bomb.  It was the right decision and one I am thankful for.

[wobblywalrus]

My father was an officer planning for the second wave of the landing on the Tokyo plain.  He was in Hiroshima just after the Japanese gave up.  His version of events was similar to what Hotrod says. 

[manta22]

My Dad was on MacArthur's staff when we lived in Japan just after the end of the war. He told me that they had budgeted for 1 million Allied casualties in the invasion of Japan. The landing was to have taken place on this beautiful beach in the Chiba Prefecture. The horrors of that invasion would have dwarfed both the Normandy D- Day landing and the Okinawa operation. In retrospect, the A-bomb actually saved untold numbers of people on both sides.

Regards, Neil  Tucson, AZ

[grumm441]

That horse looks like it could use a feed
G