Kermit Beahan
Encyclopedia
Kermit K. Beahan was the bombardier
on the American B-29 Superfortress
Bockscar
, and was the one who, on August 9, 1945, targeted Nagasaki, Japan
, in order to drop an atomic bomb
onto it. It was his 27th birthday on the same day. He flew on the earlier Hiroshima mission in The Great Artiste
which was named after him, purportedly because he could hit a pickle barrel with a bomb from 30,000 feet, or he was "good with the fairer sex". Beahan attended Rice University
on a football scholarship during the 1930s. He was part of the famous 97th and took part in the 1st including the first B-17 raids in Europe. He flew 12 missions over Europe and 19 missions over North Africa. He was shot down and crash landed twice in Europe and twice in North Africa. He returned to the United States as a bombing instructor in Midland Texas. In the summer of 1944, he was recruited by Colonel Paul Tibbets to be part of the 509th Composite Group which was formed to deliver the atomic bomb. Following the Japanese surrender, he returned to the United States as a crewman in the record-breaking 1945 Japan–Washington flight
under Lieutenant General Barney M. Giles
. He remained in the Air Force until 1964. After he retired from the Air Force, he worked as a technical writer for the engineering and construction firm Brown & Root through 1985.
In 1985, on the 40th anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing, Beahan said he would never apologize for the bombing, and that he had been thanked for his role by a group of 25 Japanese. He said the bombing was the "best way out of a hell of a mess." Beahan hoped that he would forever remain the last man to have dropped an atomic bomb.
Bombardier (air force)
A bombardier , in the United States Army Air Forces and United States Air Force, or a bomb aimer, in the Royal Air Force and other Commonwealth air forces, was the crewman of a bomber responsible for assisting the navigator in guiding the plane to a bombing target and releasing the aircraft's bomb...
on the American B-29 Superfortress
B-29 Superfortress
The B-29 Superfortress is a four-engine propeller-driven heavy bomber designed by Boeing that was flown primarily by the United States Air Forces in late-World War II and through the Korean War. The B-29 was one of the largest aircraft to see service during World War II...
Bockscar
Bockscar
Bockscar, sometimes called Bock's Car or Bocks Car, is the name of the United States Army Air Forces B-29 bomber that dropped the "Fat Man" nuclear weapon over Nagasaki on 9 August 1945, the second atomic weapon used against Japan....
, and was the one who, on August 9, 1945, targeted Nagasaki, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, in order to drop an atomic bomb
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
onto it. It was his 27th birthday on the same day. He flew on the earlier Hiroshima mission in The Great Artiste
The Great Artiste
The Great Artiste was a U.S. Army Air Forces Silverplate B-29 bomber , assigned to the 393rd Bomb Squadron, 509th Composite Group, that participated in the atomic bomb attacks on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Flown by 393rd commander Major Charles W...
which was named after him, purportedly because he could hit a pickle barrel with a bomb from 30,000 feet, or he was "good with the fairer sex". Beahan attended Rice University
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
on a football scholarship during the 1930s. He was part of the famous 97th and took part in the 1st including the first B-17 raids in Europe. He flew 12 missions over Europe and 19 missions over North Africa. He was shot down and crash landed twice in Europe and twice in North Africa. He returned to the United States as a bombing instructor in Midland Texas. In the summer of 1944, he was recruited by Colonel Paul Tibbets to be part of the 509th Composite Group which was formed to deliver the atomic bomb. Following the Japanese surrender, he returned to the United States as a crewman in the record-breaking 1945 Japan–Washington flight
1945 Japan–Washington flight
The 1945 Japan–Washington flight was a record-breaking air voyage made by three specially modified Boeing B-29 Superfortresses on September 18–19, 1945, from the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō to Chicago in the Midwestern United States, continuing to Washington, D.C...
under Lieutenant General Barney M. Giles
Barney M. Giles
Barney McKinney Giles was an American military officer who helped develop strategic bombing theory and practice. Giles stepped outside of established bomber doctrine during World War II to develop long-range capabilities for fighter aircraft in use by the United States Army Air Forces...
. He remained in the Air Force until 1964. After he retired from the Air Force, he worked as a technical writer for the engineering and construction firm Brown & Root through 1985.
In 1985, on the 40th anniversary of the Nagasaki bombing, Beahan said he would never apologize for the bombing, and that he had been thanked for his role by a group of 25 Japanese. He said the bombing was the "best way out of a hell of a mess." Beahan hoped that he would forever remain the last man to have dropped an atomic bomb.