![]() ![]() The sky was a beautiful blue, as you know it is when you fly an airliner - it's up there without any contamination - a beautiful blue sky.Īnd it turned into like a white, for a fraction of a second - that was the flash. It was just a bright, bright flash - fraction of a second just obliterated the whole sky. SWEENEY, AUTHOR AND PARTICIPANT IN WORLD WAR II ATOMIC BOMBING MISSIONS OVER JAPAN: But just as we leveled out, I saw this tremendous flash - a flash that, I guess, human beings who weren't there have never seen and I hope never see again. In order to not be caught in the blast, Major General Sweeney had to make a sharp turn and fly eight miles from the blast in 43 seconds. His plane also carried a team of scientists to read and analyze the measurements. ![]() Three days before that, he piloted the plane that flew alongside the Enola Gay, the plane that bombed Hiroshima.Īt the moment the bomb was dropped, General Sweeney's plane released scientific instruments that measured the heat, blast, and radiation. Now in his late 70s, he offers this eyewitness account in his new book "War's End." General Sweeney commanded the Nagasaki mission, flying the plane that dropped the 10,000-pound plutonium bomb. My guest, Major General Charles Sweeney was the only pilot who flew on both missions. This August will mark the 22nd anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. ![]()
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