Fu-Kemal-Tu

Boeing B-29-45-BW Superfortress of the 444th Bomb Group, 676th Bomb Squadron, "FU-KEMAL-TU”, s/n 42-24720. The bomb icons painted on the side of the aircraft represent bombing missions to Japan. Above them are a couple of camels which indicate flights over the Himalayas, and above that are marks for ships sunk.

This month marks the 70th anniversary of our dropping A-bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Stu put up posts about the two planes, Enola Gay and Bockscar, that did the job. I had never heard of Bockscar (a play on the commander's name, Bock), so I went looking for some more info, and what do we find? The Fu-Kemal and the Fu-Kenal-Tu. I think these names give you a much better idea of how people felt at the time.
    The Fu-Kemal was retired in 1944. The Fu-Kemal-Tu survived the war and made some supply drops to POW camps in China (?!?). It was ditched in the ocean on the way back. The crew survived.
    The pilot, which is not the same as the commander, of the Fu-Kemal-Tu was John R. Birch, who is not the same person as John Morrison Birch for which the John Birch Society is named.

Previous post about the B-29. Comrade Misfit also has a few words on the subject.