The Fat Man
- gldobbs
- 2 days ago
- 10 min read
Updated: 6 hours ago
November 3-4, 2025
“‘I don’t know, Chuck,’ Ashworth said. ‘It’s better than dropping it into the ocean,’ I answered. ‘Are you sure of the accuracy?” Ashworth pressed. ‘I’ll take full responsibility for this,’ I assured him… From the IP, Van Pelt and Buckley started to coordinate the approach to the aiming point. The outline of the city appeared on the scopes in front of Van Pelt and Buckley. Buckley called out headings and precise closure rates to Beahan, who fed the data into the bombsight, all the while hoping for a break in the clouds. I reminded the crew to put on their goggles. I decided to leave mine off so I could see what I was doing. We were thirty seconds from the bomb’s release. The tone signal was activated and the bomb bay doors snapped open. Twenty-five seconds.
Then Beahan yelled, ‘I’ve got it! I’ve got it!’ I answered, ‘You own it.’ Beahan had spotted a hole between the two great Mitsubishi armaments plants in the industrial valley. It was two miles north of the assigned aiming point and away from the residential area, now shielded by low hills beyond the coastal plain. He locked onto a race track reference point and made his adjustments, which were fed into the course direction indicator on my panel, from which I adjusted the flight panel as required. I was still flying the airplane manually to the release point. Earlier in the run, Beahan had caught a momentary glimpse of the assigned aiming point, but it would have disrupted the radar run if he took over. He reconsidered, hoping for a better view, which proved to be fortuitous for us and for the city below. ‘Bombs away!’ Beahan shouted, and then quickly corrected himself. ‘Bomb away.’”
The Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Damage Records
I’ll come to the bomb. But the city of Nagasaki is much more than the site of a nuclear tragedy.
I was very excited, as only a history nerd can be, coming to this city. It is not the most scenic we have seen so far but the city is steeped in history. Here was where Japan during the Edo Period allowed allowed a small opening to the outside world in the sixteenth century for Dutch and Chinese traders. Japan remained this way with Nagasaki as its only port to the outside world for 214 years. A short distance from our hotel 26 Catholic men were martyred by the Shogunate for proselytizing. They were murdered by cruxifixction. This event marked a significant turning point in relations with Christians in Japan.
In literature Nagasaki plays a central role. In Min Jin Lee’s brilliant historical novel Pachinko the city of Nagasaki is important to the plot of this multigenerational novel that the New York Times called “One of the 100 Best Books of the 21st Century”. In James Clavell’s masterpiece Shogun, the 1975 novel describes the dawn of the Edo period and the role what would become Nagasaki played in that epic story.
And of course the bomb. There were a series of mistakes that led Nagasaki to be the, hopefully, last city to endure a nuclear strike. But, more on that later.
First, lets explore -
Right next to our hotel is Chinatown. It is not very large, maybe a couple of square blocks in total. The Chinese were one of the two groups allowed to visit Japan during the Edo period. We ate there regularly during our time here.
This is Dejima, an artificial island built by the Japanese to house Dutch traders. The harbor was much closer then. The Dutch had long established trade routes throughout Asia in the 15th and 16th centuries. When Japan at last opened up to them it was here at Nagasaki.
The Dutch were confined to the island, but they didn’t care. There was money to be made here - a lot of it. People from all over Japan would travel to Nagasaki to see the strange wares the Europeans brought with them.
There was porcelain from China, new tools and weapons, exotic animals (Including elephants, Orangutans, and porcupines.), and most importantly sugar. The Dutch had trading relationships with Sugar plantations in Indonesia and introduced the precious condiment to Japan.
On February 5, 1597 26 Christians were killed here on this hill by cruxifixction. They were a mixture of 20 native Japanese Christians and six foreign priests (four Spaniards, one Mexican and one Portuguese from India). They had been arrested for proselytizing Christianity in Kyoto and Osaka and marched to Nagasaki for execution.
Why Nagasaki? At that time, despite the best efforts of the Shogunate, there was a growing population of Christians here in the city. To quell this strange religion, the Shogun’s administrators wanted to make an example of these men. It didn’t work.
The men were chained up on 26 crosses here on this hill and lanced to death. One of them was a man named Paul Miki
A remarkable man, Paul Miki, a Japanese native and son of a warrior, reportedly preached the gospel everyday during the forced march from Kyoto to Nagasaki. Then, after being nailed and hoisted on a cross he gave his final sermon.
He said, “All of you who are here, please, listen to me. I did not come from the Philippines, I am a Japanese by birth, and a brother of the Society of Jesus. I have committed no crime, and the only reason why I am put to death is that I have been teaching the doctrine of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I am very happy to die for such a cause, and see my death as a great blessing from the Lord. At this critical time, when, you can rest assured that I will not try to deceive you, I want to stress and make it unmistakably clear that man can find no way to salvation other than the Christian way.The Christian law commands that we forgive our enemies and those who have wronged us….”
Paul’s death, along with the 25 others caused a world wide sensation. All were canonized as Saints and the church now would focus considerable effort on Japan until finally being allowed in after the fall of the Edo Period.
There is a museum here now with stories of the men, and artifacts from the time. For some it is still a site of regular pilgrimage. Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, and Pope Francis have all visited here.
This is Glover Garden. Thomas Glover was a Scottish merchant who became rich here helping the government modernize in Ship building, mining, and other fields. His home was here on this high point just above the harbor with a fine view all around. He and his family lived here uninterrupted for decades except for the period of the second world war. After it’s conclusion, they returned here until the 1960’s.
It is close to Oura Cathedral, a landmark Catholic church that sits on a high hill in what is easily the most European of streets in the city.
Down the hill from Oura Cathedral lies another important shrine. This is the Nagasaki Confucian Shrine built in 1893. Confucius was a thinker born in 551 BCE in China. His collected teachings would be complied in what came to be called “The Analects”. Although he was very much a man, he was worshiped as a deity after his death at age 72. Followers of his teachings consider him one of the four great sages of the world including, Buddha, Socrates, and Jesus Christ.
The temple is unique due to its many dragon motifs, Chinese flourishes, and 72 statues of his students each one individual, that surround the hall. Each statue weighs 1.8 tons. The site is a regular pilgrimage destination for followers of the teacher.
And now The Fat Man-
On August 9, 1945, just over 80 years ago, it was shaping up to be another hot sticky day common in Nagasaki that time of year. Workers were heading into the Mitsubishi Munitions Plant in the northern area of the city. Fog had enveloped the harbor earlier that morning but by late morning was starting to burn off.
The city was populated now by mostly women, children, and senior citizens. Almost every man of “Fighting Age” was gone, either dead or locked in the now losing struggle with America. The war had been going very badly for the Japanese for months now and daily bombing raids from the allies were the norm. The night before multiple raid alerts were sounded, but no bombs fell.
Just before 11 am two silver B-29 bombers, “Bockscar” and “The Great Artiste” came in over the city. They were flying at 30,000 feet, too high for anti aircraft guns and most Japanese aircraft were non existent by that time. They weren’t supposed to be there. Kokura, another city in Japan was the desired target. But the site was covered in smoke from fires from an earlier firebombing in a nearby city.
So they flew here, the port of Nagasaki. They nearly did not make it. The B-29, as sleek as it looked was a notoriously flawed plane. It was supposed to replace the venerable and tested B-17. It flew higher, farther, and could carry a bigger load. But the engines were flawed and more of the aircraft were lost due to engine failure than enemy activity.
Such was the case this morning. A fuel line was not working in the lead plane and the great aircraft was going to be in jeopardy of not making it for the long flight back to tiny TInian Island. Bomb missions have failed before, with pilots dropping their loads in the ocean. Except this time they were carrying a 10,000 pound nuclear bomb. They would have only one chance at this attack.
The bomb was armed and the plane began its run. The cloud cover was still thick and the bombardier could not see an opening over the target, the center of the city. However, some 2 miles ahead there was a break in the cloud cover and the decision was made to drop the device there.
Some witnesses reported seeing the single bomb drop from the aircraft which then turned suddenly away in a steep banking maneuver uncommon for such a large plane. Some reported a parachute, there was none. Fat Man plummeted for 43 seconds from the bomb bay. Then, at 11:02 am, it ignited.
For a brief moment there was no sound, just a blinding flash of light. Rapidly afterwards there was a horrific deafening blast wave. It was as if a giant broom simply swept over every building all at once. If you survived this blow, the real problems began. For the sunny pleasant day over the city was instantly transformed into a hellish landscape of fire and death. Everything was on fire. Bodies were everywhere incinerated.
Due to the dropping of the bomb farther north in the city, Nagasaki was spared some of the fate of Hiroshima from 3 days earlier. The narrow valley where the epicenter lay, was shielded somewhat by the mountains on each side.
It was dropped here 1, 650 feet above this point. An altitude calculated to cause maximum damage
None the less approximately 40,000 people died instantly. Due to injuries and radiation the total death toll would exceed 100,000. Seventy percent of the casualties were women, children, and senior citizens.
Walking around the Peace Park at Ground Zero is a somber experience. The government has done a good job making the place quiet and reflective.. There are no jingoistic platitudes. Just a garden and some evocative art. People talk in hushed tones.
We visited a memorial hall where all the names of the dead are kept. It was just us at that time of the morning. An elderly Japanese man asked us if we had a few minutes. In his halting english he wanted to read to us a story. He was a volunteer at the museum. In that quiet place he read to us a story by Fujio Tsujimoto, a five year boy at the time of the bombing. Due to age and his English skills he read slowly and carefully. The boy lost everything. Hearing him tell the tale, here at ground zero was profoundly moving.
With tears we thanked him for his tender reading.
Did we need to do it? I will speak more about that in the coming days when we visit Hiroshima, the site of the first attack. The answer is complicated.
Here is J Robert Oppenheimer, the director of The Manhattan Project on that question from 1965, two years before he died.
When dealing with death on such a horrific scale, the numbers are too large to grasp. That is why a story from 5 year old Fujio Tsujimoto we heard earlier can help bring the horror into focus. In his story from “Living Under An Atomic Cloud” he writes,
“I am now in the fourth grade at Yamazato Primary School. That playground of terrible memories is now completely cleared and many of my friends are playing there happily. They are quite ignorant of the fact that so many children were killed and cremated in the very place.
Even I play with my friends on that playground, but I sometimes unexpectedly remember that awful day. When I do, I squat down on the spot where we cremated our mother and touch the earth with my fingers. When I dig deep in the ground with a piece of bamboo, several pieces of charcoal appear. Looking at the spot for a while I can dimly see my mother's image in the earth. So when I see someone else treading upon that spot, it makes me very angry. Whenever I go out into the playground, I remember that day. The playground is dear to me but at the same time I am very sad there.”
Post Script -
This is a stunning video of 8mm film taken of the men who prepared the bomb and it’s detonation above the city. It is silent. The lack of sound makes it more riveting. The men painting the outer casing of the bomb were all so young. I am sure they knew it was a big bomb. But I wonder if they ever knew that the thing they were painting would cause the death of over 100,000 people?
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