SOLD
7,500.00USDto floor+ buyer's premium
This item SOLD at 2012 Sep 27 @ 15:32UTC-04:00 : AST/EDT
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Vital survival gear carried by the pilot of Bock's Car - Flown over Hiroshima and Nagasaki
One of the finest Hiroshima/Nagasaki relics obtainable, an airman's "blood chit" carried by pilot CHARLES W. SWEENEY during his mission over Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and as pilot of Bock's Car, the aircraft that dropped the atomic bomb Fat Man on Nagasaki three days later.
CHARLES W. SWEENEY (1919-2004) joined the U.S. Army Air Corps on April 28, 1941 as an aviation cadet. In 1944 he was promoted to major and assigned as a B-29 Superfortress pilot instructor at Grand Island Army Airfield, Nebraska. Selected to be part of the 509th Composite Group commanded by Col. Paul Tibbets, he was named commander of the 320th Troop Carrier Squadron on Jan. 6, 1945 and on May 4, 1945, Sweeney became commander of the 393d Bombardment Squadron, Heavy, the combat element of the 509th. On Aug. 6, 1945 Sweeney piloted the B-29 Great Artiste as wing man for Paul Tibbets in the Enola Gay. Following the dropping of the bomb by the Enola Gay on Hiroshima, crewmembers aboard Sweeney's craft measured the blast and resulting radioactivity levels. Three days later, with scientific equipment still unladen from the Great Artiste, Sweeney piloted Bock's Car on her mission to bomb Kokura. Cloud cover and anti-aircraft fire forced a diversion to the secondary target, Nagasaki. Following the bombing, the return to Tinian was harrowing, with the aircraft arriving on fumes with two engines out due to fuel exhaustion.
"Blood chits" were either worn or carried by pilots and were vital in saving many pilot's lives should they land among unknown peoples. Sweeney's "blood chit", number 207852, 8 1/2" x 11", bears a large American flag at top with the following printed in French, Annamese, Thai, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, and Lao: I am an American aviator. My airplane is destroyed. I cannot speak your language. I am an enemy of the Japanese. Have the goodness to protect me, treat me, and to bring me to the nearest Allied military office. The government of my country will reward you".
This relic has the finest provenance possible. It is matted and framed with a T.L.S. on two-star general's letterhead [presumably Sweeney's], 1p 4to., [n.p., n.d.], reading in full: "This United States airman's identification patch #207852, which I have given to my friend Bill Greeley, USMC, was carried by me in air operations over Hiroshima, Japan, on 6 August 1945, and over Nagasaki, Japan, on 9 August 1945." Signed by Sweeney adding his rank as major general USAF. Immediately below appears a further attestation by his commanding officer and the pilot of the Enola Gay, PAUL TIBBETS (1915-2007): "As Officer in Command of the named operations, I verify the above." Boldly signed by Tibbets, who also adds his rank, that of brigadier general. This is a startlingly rare piece, an important uniform relic of the pilot of the Nagasaki atomic bomb mission, and rarer still, likely the only item extant that was flown over both Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the days of their destruction. Consigned to us directly by the recipient's daughter.
Estimate: $15,000 - 20,000.
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Part I: Lots 1-979 - September 27th, 2012
Part II: Lots 980-1845 - September 28th, 2012
Auction Location:
860 Canal Street. Second Floor., Stamford, Connecticut, 06902, United States
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