The naval aviator who armed the second atomic bomb dropped on Japan to help end World War II will talk about his wartime experiences at Los Alamos and in the Pacific Theater today. Retired Vice Admiral Frederick Ashworth will offer his remembrances of the Nagasaki combat drop of Fat Man at the second in the Laboratory's Heritage Lecture series, at 1:30 this afternoon in the Administration Building Auditorium at Technical Area 3. Ashworth's talk is open to all badgeholders.
A U.S. Navy commander at the time, Admiral Ashworth came to Los Alamos in November 1944 to manage the field testing of the first atomic bombs. An accomplished naval aviator, Ashworth recently had returned from duty in the Pacific, where he flew combat missions in the Solomon Islands and served on the staff of Admiral Richard Turner, who commanded many of the amphibious landings in the Pacific.
Ashworth flew the second atomic bombing mission against Japan as the bomb commander. Flying in Bockscar, Ashworth had the responsibility for arming the Fat Man device. Along with aircraft commander Charles Sweeney, he made the decision to drop the bomb on Nagasaki.
Ashworth was on the staff of the Atomic Energy Commission's Division of Military Applications from 1952-54. He headed the Atomic Energy Division for the Chief of Naval Operations from 1958-60. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1966 and then assumed command of the Sixth Fleet. He retired from the Navy in 1968.
"Admiral Ashworth is one of the only people with first-hand knowledge of the Nagasaki mission," said Laboratory archivist Roger Meade of Information and Records Management (IM-5). "His talk will be of great value to anyone who is interested in the history of the Laboratory and the Manhattan Project."
Laboratory physicist Frank Harlow gave the first talk in the Heritage Lecture series, recalling his 50 years studying the complexities of turbulence science, last year as part of the Laboratory's 60th Anniversary celebration.