ISU Library Shelley Collection: Box 8, Reel 12

this is Jack Shelley on Blom the wire recording you are about to hear was made at a b-29 base somewhere in the Marianas where I attended one of the most absorbing press conferences at the Pacific War in a large conference room crew members of the plane which dropped atomic bombs and the first two missions over Japan and the fighters to cook powers and development and research making those weapons possible told their stories immediately after the conference I was able to record the voices of a number of those men the first man I talked to was the commander of the plane the great the first of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima Japan he is Colonel Paul W Tibbets jr. of Miami Florida but a few minutes after I met him I discovered that he lived for a number of years in Des Moines attended school where furthermore the very plane which he paddled it over Hiroshima and dropped the second atomic bomb on Nagasaki both these planes were built by the Martin bomber plant at Omaha Nebraska Colonel Tibbets said that in that history-making first use of the atomic bomb an actual warfare over Hiroshima his experience was hardly different from ordinary flying up until the time the bomb had been released and he had seen no fighters or anti-aircraft fire but immediately after the bomb was released and the explosion occurred he said the fight salinities our eyes was hard to believe that I asked Colonel Tibbets what it looked like well coming up on the bomb run the city after the bomb had exploded and by the time we could turn around and get a look at it the city was a mass of dust and what was the effect on your airplane itself on that terrific blast let's go to me it appeared that it was exactly the same as any aircraft fire a matter of fact I was fooled even though I was expecting a reaction it was black because you're playing with chickens oh by the confession yes that's right well you're not equipped with anything special to guard their eyes against the brilliant light I understand results from that explosion yes we knew that we would encounter a very brilliant light and all crew members had been issued a goggles similar to the type of a goggle that a welder where and that did I suppose reduce precisely the amount of light to face well that's right that's that reduce the light nevertheless was the additional light visible yes you could distinguish the fact that there was more light than ordinary daylight I see our thanks to Colonel Paul W Tibbets jr. of Miami and formerly of Des Moines internet layer that guy ought to tell you about he was a world of the Distinguished Service Cross for his part in this pioneering mission for the atomic bomb now we're going to hear the voice of the airplane commander of the second b-29 to drop an atomic bomb on Japan that bomb of course having been dropped on Nagasaki he is major Charles W Sweeney of North Quincy Massachusetts major tweeny this flight that you had over Nagasaki was not by any means uneventful wizard no we had a little operation of difficulty in the matter of whether in the second place we had to make three rooms on one target with that being able to release because we had instructions to drop by visual methods only we spent 15 minutes in the target area all the time consuming more gasoline we had 600 gallons of gasoline and the real bomb was trapped because of a mechanical difficulty and we finally turned to our secondary target after Nagasaki upon which we made a good run and knocked out some of our establishment thing that soon which of course is nothing confirmed because as far as I know the results of the full recon and I won yet when that point I really had to start saving gas because we up an emergency landing at Okinawa or fail or gasoline left you had to come in and sit down of Okinawa we should tell us what your reaction when you saw that great explosion activity or anything what did it look like to you it looked about the same as the air Ashima raid if not greater I think it was a little greater I understand that as a matter of fact the force of the concussion there was actually greater than it was in the previous race the two cleaning crew no one advanced it was going to drop an atomic boom and that very far in advance of course they'd like to know before they actually took off and forth because there there were so many small changes in procedures have had to be undertaken in that respect they did know something more about it didn't they and the men took part in the first mission and not exactly we went on the first mission earth I see many thanks to major Charles W swingy of North Quincy Massachusetts the pilot of the plane dropping the atomic bomb over Nagasaki now here's a member of that plane Master Sergeant John Deepu Harry Columbus Nebraska who was a flight engineer on that second mission the one discussed Nagasaki sergeant - Herrick one of you tell us a little bit about water was like without gasoline to the pelvic you had right we sort of sweating it out we were flying always getting lower and lower and fewer I sure is a happy boy when we landed as an hour I bet you were how much gas did you actually have left in your tank when you got back there we are enough for gas left for nine fifteen minutes light how did you feel going out on this atomic bomb mission knowing you were going to use the most terrific weapon of destruction that's ever been invented so far well then I can't very well describe my feeling a nation like that you saw the explosion in the first grade I believe but on the second one you were too busy with your job to observe the result man who's got a pretty good look at the way things were going after that very unusual which I don't imagine anybody else has ever seen before what was your job on the plane horizon am gunner another plane and when we come into our targets we're all put on glasses and after bombs away we made our turn and started out well I after I thought the bomb it good I looked out I saw flash and then after the flash three concussion waves came up as the way is opposed to ship we got a sudden bang against it against the ship and that continued for three times how would you describe those so-called concussion they look like want you to drop a pebble in Stillwater you'd get the same results just a wave for now alright must have been a marvelous and his brain fried to see and I know that you're probably just about the only man who is painted so far we're going to hear now the first scientist who took part in the development of the research which led to the use of the atomic bomb he's lost Johnson a graduate student from the University of California and I believe mr. Johnston that you also have somewhat of a record to talk about because I understand that you're the only man in the world who has seen all explosions of the atomic bombs have been touched off so far what were those three explosions well the first one was the test what remained of the bomb and the planes of New Mexico I'm going to do this to make sure that we had a weapon that was really going to hurt the enemy the second test we made over Hiroshima actually this was the first use of the weapon in combat and on this mission I was with dr. Luis Alvarez and Harold Agni making measurements of what was happening down below so we had no college this explosion when the third one was the mission over Nagasaki which you're just been hearing it tell me the platform the technique over Nagasaki was one from the one that was used in the FEMA that's one type and indeed that it was sort of bomb that will make the first one rather obsolete I thought that the reason that we ended up having to bond it is as follows it appeared extremely important we should have some kind of a bond before one of the other countries our enemies was able to get it and so we started on many lines of endeavor any language appeared promising to produce one of these things and in the end two of these methods seems to be successful one of them however is much more useful and lower than the other and that is the kind which we will use from now on I see well I hope it won't be necessary for you to use anymore thanks to you mr. Johnson an army doctor Captain James Nolan of st. Louis Missouri who likewise was engaged in the work out here in preparation for the planners people in using the atomic bombs all those first two missions dr. Nolan it seems a little bit strange for me to call you that or captain Nolan either one because actually I got a big surprise to find out that your Jim Nolan with whom I went to school about the University of Missouri about ten years or so ago it's good to see you jack it's been a long time and the long-distance all right it really has Jim now I understand for very good reason you don't want to talk too much about the nature of your work out here but I wonder if you would care to talk worried about being doctors and the other scientists who have been engaged in this mammoth project in all its various phases I certainly was have been many physicians medical technicians and by the network they have kept the technical staff in the job and have contributed a shortening of the law at this time has saved American law and if it is made an invasion unnecessary I certainly agree with you Jim thanks very much for that statement and again it certainly was trying to see you once again now the last month energy Denis broadcast is another proprietors who has taken part in the research and the development of the atomic bomb he also hails from the Middle West he's dr. Robert Thurber an ex professor at the University of Illinois at the server I believe that you took part in the tests that were made in New Mexico and were one of the rather I think that's very well said and I'm glad you Fair inside this is a two part in this development are hoping and praying as much as anybody else in the world will be used always as a benefit of mountain time thank you doctor server now this is actually returning you to Des Moines you have just listened to a report from the Pacific island of Guam transcribed this morning in San Francisco where it was received by shortwave from Guam in approximately 20 seconds we will hear Jack Shelley by direct shortwave from Guam in a later report the next voice you hear will be that of Jack Shelley