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36-453: Big Stink may refer to: Big Stink (aircraft) , a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber (Victor number 90) that participated in the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945 The Great Stink , or the Big Stink, was a time in the summer of 1858 during which the smell of untreated human waste was very strong in central London. Big Stink

72-522: A National Historic Landmark District for their role in the war. In 2003 Runway Able was cleared/grubbed and the flight path was brought up to current FAA requirements by the Seabees in preparation for Exercise Tandem Thrust, a joint exercise with the U.S. Marine Corps, Navy Seabees and U.S. Army 25th Infantry Division . The Seabees successfully defended the runway and base from the Army's attack and then assisted

108-600: A bombardier in many of the 155 test drops for the Manhattan Project . On 1 July 1946, Dave's Dream while under the command of Major Woodrow Swancutt (who would become a major general in the United States Air Force ) dropped the " Fat Man "-type atomic bomb used in Test Able of Operation Crossroads at Bikini Atoll . In June 1949 Dave's Dream , operating in the by-then-independent United States Air Force ,

144-558: A protectorate of Japan following World War I . Under Japanese administration, Tinian was largely a sugar plantation. In 1939, large-scale military construction began on Tinian by the Japanese military, with 1,200 prisoners sent to the island from Japan for the construction of airfields as part of the defense of the Mariana Islands . By 1944, the island had three military airfields with a fourth under construction. What would become North Field

180-444: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Big Stink (aircraft) Big Stink – later renamed Dave's Dream – was a United States Army Air Forces Boeing B-29-40-MO Superfortress bomber ( Victor number 90) that participated in the atomic bomb attack on Nagasaki , Japan on August 9, 1945. Assigned to the 393d Bomb Squadron , 509th Composite Group , it

216-411: Is easily accessible by travelling just a few miles north of San Jose on the main north-south road, which is known as "Broadway". The runways (constructed out of crushed coral) are grayish-looking and quite weathered, but Runway Able and Runway Baker and some of the taxiways remain usable for driving on in an ordinary car, with considerable weed growth on the surface. Other than the two worn-out runways,

252-672: The Japanese surrender in August, 313th Bomb Wing units dropped food and supplies to Allied prisoners of war and participated in show-of-force flights over Japan. The units of the 313th Bombardment Wing were either reassigned or inactivated within a few months after the end of the Pacific War. The last USAAF unit, the 505th Bombardment Group, left North Field on 30 June 1946, ending its use as an operational airfield. The 313th Bombardment Wing moved to Clark Field , Philippines on 1 February 1946. The base

288-686: The Shimonoseki Strait , and contributed to the blockade of the Japanese Empire by mining harbors in Japan and Korea. In April 1945 the 313th assisted the invasion of Okinawa by bombing Japanese airfields used by kamikaze pilots. The 509th Composite Group was assigned to the wing in May 1945 from Wendover Army Air Force Base , Utah. The 509th, although assigned to the 313th Bomb Wing, was operationally controlled by Headquarters, Twentieth Air Force. The 509th

324-634: The Twentieth Air Force with reliable means of support from the western ports of the United States. The Ushi Point Airfield and its assigned aircrews did their part to repel American advances in the Marianas Islands, but following the fall of Guam and Saipan to American forces in July 1944 it became clear that Tinian would be attacked next. Assaulted on 24 July by United States Marines from Saipan,

360-474: The atomic bombing raids on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The incendiary campaign (which destroyed 40% of the targeted cities), the aerial mining campaign (which starved Japan of essential food imports) and the two atomic attacks have all been argued as major factors in the surrender of Japan . Tinian, with its sister islands of the Marianas, had passed through Spanish and German hands before becoming

396-421: The 1945 campaign to burn out Japanese cities with incendiary bombs , including the 9 March 1945 bombing of Tokyo which still stands as the most destructive air raid ever. North Field was the base for the 313th Bombardment Wing which carried out Operation Starvation , the dropping of naval mines in the harbors and sea lanes used by Japan. North Field was also the base for the 509th Composite Group which flew

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432-558: The Army in creating the defenses against the Marines. Aircraft used in the attack were CH-47 and CH-53 helicopters. Runway Baker and adjoining taxiways were cleared for ease of access. In addition, the Seabees donated additional time and help with several community projects. The secondary benefit of the clear and grub effort was the ability of the runway to be used by the Guam Air National Guard for training. In 2013, Baker runway

468-460: The Seabees initially repaired and extended the existing 4,380 foot runway and then added two runways, each 8,000 feet long and lying in an east-west direction. Nearly the entire northern end of the island was occupied by runways, the airfield area, and the various support facilities and containment areas. North Field was further expanded with three 8,000 feet runways involving the movement of nearly 1 million cubic yards of earth and coral and

504-473: The U.S. Air Force began work on more extensive vegetation removal and pavement restoration, as part of a program to create dispersal bases for aircraft in the event of a confrontation with China. $ 78 million was budgeted in the Air Force's 2024 budget request for work at North Field. Work will also take place at Tinian International Airport . A five-year, $ 409 million contract has been awarded in 2024 to upgrade

540-563: The USAF 509th Bomb Wing , serial 67–7195, carried both the name and original nose art of Big Stink and the name Dave's Dream on its nosewheel doors while based at Pease Air Force Base , New Hampshire , in the 1970s and 1980s. North Field (Tinian) North Field was one of several bases for Twentieth Air Force Boeing B-29 Superfortress operations against the Japanese Home Islands in 1944–45 . North Field contributed aircraft to

576-414: The accumulation of some 900,000 truck miles. A fourth runway was constructed in May 1945 and hardstands built for 265 B-29 bombers. The four parallel 8,000 foot runways are oriented nearly east-west. Upon completion, North Field was the largest airfield in the world. North Field came under the command of Twentieth Air Force XXI Bomber Command , with the 313th Bombardment Wing being the host unit at

612-686: The aircraft was flown by crew B-8 (commanded by First Lieutenant Charles McKnight) as a back-up spare but landed on Iwo Jima when all other aircraft in the flight continued on. The airplane was reassigned to crew C-12 (under Captain Captain Herman S. Zahn) immediately following the Nagasaki mission, who named the airplane Big Stink and had nose art applied. Big Stink also flew 12 training and practice missions, and two combat missions to drop pumpkin bombs on industrial targets at Nagaoka and Hitachi , Japan, both flown by Classen and crew A-5. Big Stink

648-485: The airfield was almost totally destroyed by the American naval bombardment and air attack prior to the assault by the 4th Marine Division . The Japanese were taken by surprise, with several aircraft being captured relatively intact inside a hangar. The offensive was regarded as one of the best-executed amphibious operations of the war. Ushi Point airfield fell to U.S. forces on 26 July and was almost immediately handed over to

684-407: The care of U.S. Navy Construction Battalions, or Seabees . 1,500 Seabees landed with the initial forces on Tinian in July 1944 and immediately set to work repairing the damaged Japanese Ushi Point Airfield, even before the fighting had ended. Once under American control, a massive construction project was begun on the north end of Tinian. Operating for over 45 days and nights, often while under fire,

720-870: The effects of the blast – albeit at an altitude of 39,000 feet (12,000 meters) rather than the planned 30,000 feet (9,100 meters) – then recovered at Yontan Airfield , Okinawa , with both Bockscar and the B-29 The Great Artiste . B-29-40-MO 44-27354 was built at the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Plant at Omaha , Nebraska , accepted by the U.S. Army Air Forces on 20 April 1945, and flown to Wendover Army Air Field , Utah , by its assigned crew A-5 (under Lieutenant Colonel Thomas J. Classen, aircraft commander and group deputy commander) in May 1945. It departed Wendover for North Field on Tinian on 24 June 1945 and arrived 29 June 1945. The aircraft originally

756-523: The expansive station in December 1944. Its operational groups were: The four runways at North Field were lettered "A", "B", "C" and "D" from north to south. The 6th Group was parked on the south side of Runway D, then going north the 9th Group was parked between C and D. The 504th between C and B, and the 505th on the north side of runway A. In addition, the B-29s were assigned specific hardstands for each aircraft so

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792-602: The ground crew could store spares and other items for each aircraft on them. The groups used the runway to the north side of their parking area hardstands, but this was not fast and firm, because if there was an accident and the runway was closed, the aircraft shifted to another runway. Once in place, the groups of the 313th began flying missions, initially against Iwo Jima , the Truk Islands , and other Japanese held areas. Later, they flew low-level night incendiary raids on area targets in Japan; participated in mining operations in

828-436: The group's planes could not be identified by the Japanese. The 509th was also self-contained and drew little in resources from the 313th Wing or its other groups. In early August, the mission of the 509th was revealed when the group flew the atomic bomb missions over Hiroshima and Nagasaki . In November, the 509th was relieved from assignment to the 313th Bomb Wing and was reassigned to Roswell Army Air Base , New Mexico. After

864-420: The locals who wanted to get a vehicle could just do so by heading to the airfield and drive it until it could not be repaired. Some abandoned B-29 aircraft wrecks were also left behind at the airfield after the war ended, and these were melted down for scrap metal in the 1950s. The airfield has been steadily reclaimed by the dense tropical jungle on the island, being thoroughly abandoned and heavily overgrown. It

900-515: The plane – reportedly after the B-29 had already taxied onto the runway – because the scientist had forgotten his parachute. Since Serber was the only crew member who knew how to operate the high-speed camera, Hopkins had to be instructed by radio from Tinian on its use. The aircraft failed to make its rendezvous with the remainder of the strike flight, which completed the mission without it. It did however arrive at Nagasaki in time to photograph

936-443: The taxiways, the empty remnants of the former Japanese-built administration buildings and the preserved loading/storage pits where the atomic bombs were loaded on the bomber aircraft, there is not much left of the old airfield. The forest has grown up to the edges of the runways and taxiways. The surviving airfield administration buildings, along with the airfield and the nearby landing beaches of White One and White Two, were designated

972-599: Was a Japanese airstrip 4,380 feet in length, known as Ushi Point Airfield and was home to the Nakajima C6N -1 reconnaissance aircraft of the 121st Kokutai Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service . Until the spring of 1944, the base remained largely out of major action. By mid-1944, the Americans had advanced inside the Japanese ring of defense in the Pacific Theater . Tinian, located approximately 1,500 miles from mainland Japan ,

1008-555: Was a concert series in Portland, Oregon put on by 's 94.7 KNRK Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Big Stink . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Big_Stink&oldid=778891373 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

1044-526: Was assigned the Victor (unit-assigned identification) number 10 but on 1 August 1945 was given the circle R tail markings of the 6th Bombardment Group as a security measure and had its Victor changed to 90 to avoid misidentification with actual 6th Bombardment Group aircraft. On 23 July 1945, with Colonel Paul Tibbets at the controls, it dropped a dummy " Little Boy " atomic bomb assembly off Tinian to test its radar altimeter detonators. On 6 August 1945,

1080-528: Was flown by more crews (nine of the 15) on operational missions than any other 393d Bombardment Squadron B-29. After World War II, Big Stink served with the 509th Composite Group at Roswell Army Air Field . In April 1946 it was assigned to Operation Crossroads , and renamed Dave's Dream by its crew in honor of Captain David Semple, a bombardier who had been killed in the crash of another B-29 on 7 March 1946, near Albuquerque , New Mexico . Semple had been

1116-482: Was given a base area near the airfield on the north tip of the island, several miles from the main installations in the center part of the island where the other groups were assigned. The 509th aircraft almost always used runway "A" and the aircraft were parked away from the other groups on the north side of the runway. Also unlike the other groups in the wing, the 509th used a wide variety of tail codes from various XXI Bomber Command groups, instead of using its own, so that

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1152-706: Was partially refurbished by the Marine Corps for Exercise Forager Fury II. The exercise was a demonstration of the Marine Wing Support Squadron 171's ability to displace rapidly and generate significant combat power in an expeditionary environment. A Marine Corps KC-130J Super Hercules landed on the runway 5 December 2013, the second aircraft to use North Field since 1947. In the case of a surprise Chinese ballistic missile attack on U.S. air bases in Japan and South Korea, aircraft could be rapidly dispersed on WWII Pacific airfields, including Tinian. In late 2023

1188-633: Was placed in a standby status until being closed on 30 March 1947. Having no real purpose or any use after 1947, North Field was officially abandoned by the USAAF. Immediately after the war, the locals on the island did not have to farm for the first two years after the airfield was abandoned because the withdrawing American military forces left entire stocks of almost everything ranging from food, brand-new military uniforms and even ice-cream makers (these were simply left behind in North Field's many warehouses). Any of

1224-790: Was transferred to the 97th Bombardment Group at Biggs Air Force Base , Texas . It was converted to a TB-29 training aircraft in April 1950 by the Oklahoma City Materiel Area at Tinker Air Force Base . It was subsequently assigned to: In June 1959 it was moved into storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base , Arizona , and was dropped from the U.S. Air Force inventory in February 1960 as salvage. Crew B-8 (regularly assigned to Top Secret ): Crew C-14 (normally assigned to Necessary Evil ; 1st Lt. Norman Ray): The crew were joined by two British observers: A FB-111A strategic bomber of

1260-421: Was used as a camera plane in support of the bomb-carrying B-29 Bockscar to photograph the explosion and effects of the bomb, and also to carry scientific observers. The mission was flown by crew C-14 but with Group Operations Officer Major James I. Hopkins, Jr., as the aircraft commander. Victor 90 left without one of the support members when Major Hopkins ordered Robert Serber of Project Alberta to leave

1296-688: Was well-suited for the United States Army Air Forces to establish a large staging area from which to conduct long-range strategic offensive air operations over the Japanese Home Islands with the new Boeing B-29 Superfortress . During early 1944, the B-29 heavy bombers were operating ineffectively from bases in China. Stationing the Superfortresses in the Marianas brought Japan within their effective range of operation, as well as provided

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