The Great Artiste

The Great Artiste. A Boeing B-29 Superfortress assigned to the 509th Composite Group during World War II, it played a crucial instrumental and observation role in both atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Flown by the crew of Major Charles Sweeney, it is historically unique as the only aircraft to witness both nuclear attacks firsthand. Its name, derived from the nickname of its regular aircraft commander, Captain Kermit Beahan, reflected his renowned precision as a bombardier.

History and design

The aircraft was a standard Boeing B-29 Superfortress, a long-range bomber produced by the Glenn L. Martin Company under license from Boeing. Assigned to the elite 509th Composite Group, which was activated at Wendover Air Force Base under the command of Colonel Paul Tibbets, it was modified alongside other unit aircraft for its specialized mission. These modifications included the removal of all defensive armament except the tail guns, the installation of fuel-injected engines, and Curtiss Electric propellers for enhanced performance. Unlike its sister ship, Enola Gay, which was configured as a dedicated strike aircraft, this plane was outfitted with scientific equipment designed by personnel from the Manhattan Project and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Role in the atomic bombings

On the mission to Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the aircraft, flown by Major Charles Sweeney with its usual commander Kermit Beahan as bombardier, served as the instrumentation and observation platform. It carried scientists and equipment from the Manhattan Project, including blast gauges and radio sondes, to record the effects of the Little Boy bomb dropped by the Enola Gay. Three days later, on August 9, it was assigned the same role for the attack on Nagasaki. When the primary strike aircraft, Bockscar, also flown by Sweeney, experienced issues with its initial target, the aircraft's regular commander, Beahan, visually identified the target over Nagasaki and released the Fat Man plutonium bomb, which detonated over the Urakami Valley.

Later service and fate

Following the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II, the aircraft returned to the United States with the 509th Composite Group, which was relocated to Roswell Army Air Field in New Mexico. It participated in Operation Crossroads, the postwar nuclear tests at Bikini Atoll in 1946, resuming its role as an instrumentation aircraft. Afterward, like many surplus B-29s, it was moved to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona for storage in 1947. The airframe was ultimately scrapped at Davis–Monthan in 1949, with its nose section reportedly saved for a time by a crew member before being lost.

In popular culture

The aircraft has been depicted in several major films and documentaries about the end of World War II. It features prominently in the 1989 television film Fat Man and Little Boy, which dramatizes the Manhattan Project. It also appears in the 1995 documentary Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie and is referenced in the 2014 biopic The Great White Hope. The plane's unique historical role is frequently highlighted in exhibits at institutions like the National Museum of the United States Air Force and the Smithsonian Institution.

Category:Boeing aircraft Category:World War II American bombers Category:509th Composite Group