Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-09-09
Witness of Atomic Raid Describes Repeated Explosions
BY WILLIAM L. LAURENC

Htct lDHtcH dcCctOped me como.
The War Department released
the account last night.)
BY WILLIAM l.. LAURENCE.
WITH THE ATOMIC BONE
MISSION TO JAPAN, Aug. 8 (de-
layed We are on our way to bomt
the mainland of Japan. Our flying
contingent consists of three spe-
cially designed Super Forts, and
two of these carry no bombs. But
our lead plane is on it's way with
another atomic bomb, the second
in three days, concentrating its
active substance, and explosive en-
ergy equivalent to 10000, and under
favorable conditions, 10000 tons OF
TINT.
We have several chosen targets
One of these is the great industrial
and shipping center of Nagasaki
Different Bomb Used.
1t is thing of beauty, this bomb
Into its design went millions
of man-hours of what is without
bOobG tAlC dGCd lllbCl-
lectual effort in history. Never be-
fore had so much brain-power been
focused on a single problem.
This atomic bomb is different
from the bomb used three days ago
with such devastating results on
Hiroshima.
I saw the atomic substance before
1t was placed inside the bomb. BY
itself it is not at all dangerous to
handle. 1t is only under certain
conditions, produced in the bomb
assembly, that it can be made to
yield up its energy, and even then
1t gives up only a small fraction of
its total contents, fraction, how
ever, large enough to produce the
greatest explosion on earth.
In command of our mission is Maj
Charles w. Sweeney, 25, North
Quincy, Mass. His ship is carrying
the bomb.
Maj. Seeney's copilot is First 1t.
Charles D. Albury, "a, Miami, Fla.
The bombardier is Capt. Kermit K
Beahan, Houston, Tex, who is cele-
brating his 9th birthday today.
We were about an hour away from
our base when a storm broke. Our
great ship took some heavy dips
through the abysmal darkness
around us, but it took these dips
much more gracefully than a large
commercial airliner, producing a
sensation more in the nature of a
glide than bump"
l noticed strange eerie light
coming through the window in the
navigators cabin and as l peered
through the dark around us I saw
a startling phenomenon. The whirl-
ing giant propellers had somehow
become great luminous discs of blue
flame. The same luminous blue
flame appeared on the plexiglass
windows in the nose of the ship, and
on the tips of the giant wings it
looked as though we were riding the
whirlwind through space on a
chariot of blue fire.
1t was, I surmised, a surcharge of
static electricity that had accumu-
lated on the tips of the propeIers
and on the dielectric material in the
plastic windows. Ones thoughts
dwelt anxiously on the precious
cargo in the invisible ship ahead of
us. Was there any likelihood OF dan
ger that this heavy electric tension
In the atmosphere all about us may
set it off?
I express my fears to the pilot
who seems nonchalant and imper-
turbed at the controls. He quickly
treasures me:
1T is a familiar phenomenon seen
often on ships I have seen it many
times on bombing missions. 1t is
known as ST. Elmo's Fire"
On we went through the night.
We soon rode out the storm and
our ship was once again sailing on
a smooth course straight ahead, on
a direct line to the Empire.
Dawn Came at AM.
shortly after o'clock Sergt. Ralph
D. Curry of Hoopeston, Ill,
who had been listening for radio
reports while maintaining a strict
radio silence himself, greeted it by
rising to his feet and gazing out
the window It's good to see the
day" he told me. Il get a feeling
of claustrophobia hemmed in this
cabin at night
He is typical American youth,
looking even younger than his 20
years. 1t takes no mind reader to
read his thoughts.
It's a long way from Hoopeston,
Ill I find myself remarking.
Yep" he replies as he busies him.
self DECIDING a message from outer
space.
Think this atomic bomb will end
the WARP" he asks hopefully
There Is very good chance that
this one may do the trick" I assure
him. but if not then the next one
or two surely will Its power is
such that no nation can stand up
against it very long"
Every One Was Optimistic.
This was not my own view I had
IL ca VI CSSCd all al lew
hours earlier before we took off. To
any one who had seen this man.
made flreball in action, as I had
less than month ago in the desert
of New Mexico, this view did not
sound over-optimistic.
Our bombardier, 1t. Charles Levy,
comes over to invite me to take his
front-row seat in the transparent
nose of the ship and I accept eager
ly. From that vantage point in
space, 1900 feet above the Pacific,
one gets a view of HUNDREDS of
miles on all sides At that height
the vast ocean below and the sky
above seem to merge into one great
sphere. I was on the inside of that
armament, riding above the giant
mountains of white cumulous clouds.
letting myself be suspended in in
finite space.
Our weather planes ahead of us
are on their way to find out where
the wind blows. Half an hour