“We circled until we found a hole in the clouds over Nagasaki. About half a mile in front of us was the [B-29 bomber] The Great Artiste with its precious load. ‘There she goes!’someone said. Out of the belly of The Great Artiste a black object went downward. Our pilot swung around to get out of range. Despite the fact that it was broad daylight in our cabin,all of us became aware of a giant flash that broke through the barrier of our arc-welder’s lenses. We removed our glasses after the first blast but the light still lingered,a bluish-green light that illuminated the entire sky.”
–From “Nagasaki Was the Climax of the New Mexico Test,”LIFE,9/24/45,by reporter William Laurence,who flew in a B-29 bomber behind the plane that dropped the atomic bomb,codenamed “Fat Man,”on Nagasaki. NOTE:The Great Artiste did not,in fact,drop the bomb. Another B-29,Bockscar,performed that role,while The Great Artiste (originally slated to carry the payload) deployed instruments to monitor the explosion. Pictured:Urakami Cathedral (Roman Catholic),Nagasaki,September,1945,by Bernard Hoffman.
