US Army Air Corps Japanese Propaganda Leaflets [Sylvan]
Creator:
United States. Office of War Information Search this
Extent:
0.05 Cubic feet (1 folder)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Leaflets
Date:
1945
Summary:
Before the atomic bombing missions of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, leaflets bearing illustrations and Japanese characters were dropped from the air by the US Army Air Corps to warn the Japanese populace. This collection consists of three bombing leaflets as well as a snapshot of Seymour Sylvan with his crew in front of his Boeing B-29 Superfortress.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of three bombing leaflets; two are 5.5 by 8.25 inches and the other is 4.25 by 5.25. The two larger leaflets contain messages in Japanese, accompanied with either images of Japanese leaders or of US Bombers dropping bombs, while the smaller leaflet contains only a message in Japanese. This collection also includes a snapshot of Seymour Sylvan with his crew in front of his Boeing B-29 Superfortress.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Before the atomic bombing missions of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, leaflets bearing illustrations and Japanese characters were dropped from the air by the US Army Air Corps to warn the Japanese populace.
Provenance:
Lenore Sylvan, Gift, 2016, NASM.2016.0018
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of three photographs of his wife and infant daughter carried by Staff Sergeant George Robert "Bob" Caron aboard the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay during the bomber's mission to Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of three photographs carried aboard the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay by Staff Sergeant George Robert "Bob" Caron during the bomber's mission to Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945; Caron carried the photographs tucked inside the clear plastic sleeve of his pressurized oxygen duration chart [Oxygen Placard, Enola Gay, A20200329000]. Two black and white photographs are of Caron's wife, Katherine Marie "Kay" (Younger) Caron (1924-2001). A third hand-colored photograph is of Kay Caron holding their baby daughter, Judy Kay Caron; inscribed on the reverse: "Sept. 5, 1945 / Judy Kay 3 mo. / To Daddy Love Kay & Judy Kay."
Arrangement:
No arrangement.
Biographical / Historical:
Boeing's B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II, and the first bomber to house its crew in pressurized compartments. Although designed to fight in the European theater, the B-29 found its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a variety of aerial weapons: conventional bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons. On August 6, 1945, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped the first atomic weapon used in combat on Hiroshima, Japan.
US Army Air Forces Staff Sergeant George Robert "Bob" Caron (1919-1995) was the tail gunner aboard the Enola Gay during its mission to Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. His rear-facing position in the aircraft enabled him to take what became the official USAAF photograph of a mushroom cloud rising from the city following the detonation of the atomic bomb nicknamed Little Boy.
Provenance:
Randall M. Holder, gift, 2008, NASM.2008.0037
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Interview of Thomas Adrian Fransioli, conducted April 21, 1981, by Robert F. Brown for the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, in Wenham, Massachusetts.
Fransioli speaks of his upbringing in Seattle, Washington; training and friendships at architectural school at the University of Pennsylvania; working in North Carolina, Virginia, Philadelphia, and Cleveland as an architect, interior designer, and draftsman; his commission for a grand country house in Virginia, 1932-1934; his work for John Russell Pope on the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.; work in photographic reconnaissance for the U.S. Army during World War II; visiting Hiroshima after the atomic bomb; his training at the Art Students League; his paintings of cityscapes and houses; the promotion of his career by Margaret Brown of Boston; and influences upon him. Fransioli also recalls Charles Klauder, Margaret Brown, Carl Feiss, Otto Eggers, John Walker, David Finley; and others.
Biographical / Historical:
Thomas Adrian Fransioli (1906- 1997) was an architect and painter from Massachusetts. He was born in Seattle, Washington.
Provenance:
This interview is part of the Archives of American Art Oral History Program, started in 1958 to document the history of the visual arts in the United States, primarily through interviews with artists, historians, dealers, critics and others.
Topic:
Architects -- Massachusetts -- Interviews Search this
This collection consists of eight photographs of United States military aircraft taken sometime during 1945, probably at one of the US Army Air Forces fields on Tinian, in the Mariana Islands.
Scope and Contents:
The collection includes four photographs of Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber aircraft assigned to the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) 509th Composite Group: "Enola Gay" (which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan), "Bockscar" (which dropped the atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan), and "The Great Artiste" (which flew as on observation aircraft on both atomic missions). Also included are photographs showing the aircraft nose art on two US Navy Consolidated PB4Y Liberators ("Lady Luck" and "Impatient Virgin") and views of two USAAF fighters (North American P-51 "Snortin Phyllie" and the burnt-out remains of a crashed Republic P-47 Thunderbolt). All photographs are believed to have been taken on Tinian in the Mariana Islands sometime during 1945, most likely at North Field.
Arrangement:
The original photographs were copied in 1988 and assigned Smithsonian Institution negative numbers 88-547 through 88-554; images are presented online in negative number order. Original prints are stored by subject in the National Air and Space Museum Technical Reference Files, NASM.XXXX.1183.
Biographical / Historical:
In 1944, donor Ed Mahaffey was sent to Tinian, Mariana Islands, with the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) 77th Air Services Group as ground support for the Twentieth Air Force's Boeing B-29 Superfortress Program. The eight photographs in this collection (taken sometime in 1945) were sent to Mahaffey after his return to the U.S. in January 1946 by a friend in the 77th Air Services Group.
Provenance:
Ed Mahaffey, gift, 1988, NASM.1988.0027
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
This collection consists of 11.9 cubic feet of material chronicling Lee Ya-Ching's role as a pilot trying to raise funds for China during World War II. The collection contains the following types of material: correspondence, both official and personal; maps; publications; newspapers; invitation; programs from events; lecture notes; scripts from radio shows; photographs, both official and snapshots; trip schedules and agendas; address books; scrapbooks; and official paperwork and licenses.
Scope and Content note:
This collection consists of 11.9 cubic feet of material chronicling Lee Ya-Ching's role as a pilot trying to raise funds for China during World War II. The collection contains the following types of material: correspondence, both official and personal; maps; publications; newspapers; invitations; programs from events; lecture notes; scripts from radio shows; photographs, both official and snapshots; trip schedules and agendas; address books; scrapbooks; and official paperwork and licenses.
Note: The digital images shown for this collection were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product which did not reproduce all materials found in this collection; some items have not been scanned. In addition, some materials have been excluded from display due to copyright, trademark, or patent restrictions.
Arrangement:
This collection of materials listed in the finding aid is arranged into two series, Ms Lee's personal papers and her professional papers. Within each series, items are arranged by material type then chronologically. No attempt was made to translate foreign language material in the collection.
Biographical/Historical note:
Lee Ya-Ching was born in Canton, China in 1912. As an only child who lost her mother at a young age, Ya-Ching was raised by her father and grandmother. Under her father's guidance she
learned many skills, including martial arts, some previously restricted to male children. Ya-Ching attended English schools in Hong Kong and Shanghai and at the age of 16 was sent to London to attend finishing school.
In 1929 at the age of 17, Ya-Ching went to Geneva, Switzerland. It is there that she took her first ride in an airplane and vowed to learn how to fly. She enrolled in Ecole Aero Club de Suisse and, in 1934, became the first woman to receive a pilot's license from the school. Determined to continue her education, Ya-Ching went to the United States and attended the Boeing School of Aeronautics in Oakland, California in 1935. In November of that year she became the first
woman licensed through the Boeing School. Upon completion of her training at the Boeing school Ya-Ching returned to China and began campaigning for a Chinese pilot's license, eventually obtaining the license in 1936. Seeing a need to train new pilots, Ya-Ching and some fellow pilots opened a civilian flying school in Shanghai in 1936.
When Japan invaded China in 1937, Ya-Ching volunteered to fly for her country, but was refused. Undeterred, she served her country by establishing hospitals. Leaving Shanghai for Hong Kong just before the city fell, she was finally given the opportunity to fly for China by piloting Red Cross planes ferrying supplies from Hong Kong to Canton. Realizing that China needed aid and supplies, Ya-Ching embarked on a Goodwill Tour of the United States and Canada in 1938. When the war prevented her return to China, Ya-Ching continued the tour expanding her appearances into South America.
Not much is known of Ya-Ching's life after the war. She returned to Hong Kong for a number of years. In the 1960's she returned to California, where she died in 1998 at the age of 86.
Time Line of Lee Ya-Ching
xxxx -- The following timeline covers key events in Ya-Ching's life, as well world events. Events involving Ya-Ching are shown in normal type world events are shown in italics.
1909 -- M. Vallon flies first plane in China
1911 -- China ousts the 2000 year old Imperial System for a Republic
April 16, 1912 -- Lee Ya-Ching is born in Canton, China
1916 -- Ya-Ching's mother dies of tuberculosis
1917 -- China enters World War 1 on the side of the Allies
1926 -- Begins career as a movie actress
1928 -- Leaves the film industry and goes to school in England
1929 -- The CCP (Chinese Communist Party) is ousted from China Goes to Switzerland
September 1931 -- Japan seizes control of Manchuria
November 1931 -- CCP resurfaces in China and forms the Chinese Soviet Republic in Jiangxi Province
May 1932 -- Amelia Earhart becomes first woman to solo across the Atlantic
1933 -- Begins flying lessons at Geneva's Cointrin-Ecole d'Aviation
1935 -- Attends and receives license from the Boeing School of Aeronautics in Oakland, California
1935 -- Falls out of an aerobatic plane, earning her membership in the Caterpillar Club
1936 -- Receives her pilot's license from the Chinese Government First domestic airline established in China Opens a civilian flying school in Shanghai
1937 -- Flies for the Red Cross ferrying supplies from Hong Kong to Canton Japan invades China Earns Hong Kong commercial pilot's license Helps establish hospitals in Shanghai
1938 -- Begins goodwill tour of United States and Canada
1939 -- Appears in US film Disputed Passage with Dorothy Lamour
1940 -- Flies "Estrella China" to Caribbean, Central and South America Aids Ruth Nichols in raising money for Relief Wings
1941 -- Begins working for United China Relief
December 7, 1941 -- Bombing of Pearl Harbor forces American entry into World War II
1944 -- Begins Goodwill and Fund Raising tour of South America and Caribbean
August 1945 -- Atom bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, followed by Japanese surrender and end of World War II
1946 -- Returns to China and retires
1946 -- Fighting between CCP and KMT (Nationalist party) resumes
October 1949 -- KMT retreats to Taiwan Mao Zedong establishes the People's Republic of China
1950 -- Receives Hong Kong private pilot's license
1963 -- Receives Hong Kong Special Purpose Pilot's license
1971 -- Permanently moves to the United States
1997 -- British rule ends in Hong Kong
January 28, 1998 -- Dies at the age of 86
Provenance:
Pax Cheng and Mary Wolfson, Gift, 2007, NASM.2008.0009.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Civilian relief Search this
This collection consists of an 18 inch by 21 inch spiral book, entitled, The Atomic Bomb, which was created by the United States Army Air Forces in 1945 to commemorate the success of the atomic bombs and the end of World War II.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of an 18 inch by 21 inch spiral book, entitled, The Atomic Bomb, which was created by the United States Army Air Forces in 1945 to commemorate the success of the atomic bombs and the end of World War II. This 17 page publication includes text, maps, and strike photography of the two atomic bomb sites, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, 1945. This copy was given to Captain Roy F. Knudsen.
Arrangement:
No arrangement as collection is just one item.
Biographical / Historical:
Boeing's B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II, and the first bomber to house its crew in pressurized compartments. Although designed to fight in the European theater, the B-29 found its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a variety of aerial weapons: conventional bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons. On August 6, 1945, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Silverplate, "Enola Gay" dropped the first atomic weapon used in combat on Hiroshima, Japan. On August 9, 1945, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Silverplate, "Bockscar" dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan.
Captain Roy F. Knudsen (1918 - 2011), graduated from the 10th Class of the Aviation Cadet Detachment at Scott Field, Illinois in August, 1942. Initially assigned to the 1st Mapping Group at Bolling Field, Washington, DC, Knudsen was later rassigned to the 2nd Photo Charting Squadron at Felts Field, WA. In August, 1944, Knudson was assigned to the 1st Photo Charting Group while later in October of that year he was assigned to the 3rd Photo Reconnaissance Squadron, both located at Buckley Field, CO. In April, 1945, he was sent to Smoky Hill Army Air Field in Salina, KS, for training on communications equipment installation for B-29 aircraft. He was then deployed to the Pacific Theater, based on Guam where his squadron was responsible for the aerial reconnaissance leading up to and following the atomic bomb attacks in August of 1945 and the end of the war. He left active duty upon his arrival home in February 1946.
Provenance:
Gary Knudsen, Gift, 2020, NASM.2020.0029
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
This collection consists of three 5.5 x 8.5 inch leaflets, printed on both sides. They contain text in Japanese as well as images. Caption information from an unknown source is provided for some of the leaflets. Leaflet No. 2101 reads, "This is a message from the President of the United States, Harry Truman, to the people of Japan. The only way to avoid complete destruction of your family, home, economy, and nation is to immediately cease all military activities and surrender unconditionally. If you continue your futile resistance, we will be forced to bring unnecessary destruction upon the nation. This damage will be far greater than those received by Germany." This leaflet has an image of Harry Truman, one of a Japanese woman holding a baby, and another of Japanese fishermen in boats. The leaflet also has an image of bombed buildings with the caption, "Save your nation from destruction" and an image of a B-29 in flight captioned "Superfortress above Tokyo." Leaflet No. 2097 has an image of an emaciated man and a body of water on one side and reads, "A year after the supplies were cut off to an isolated island in the souther [sic] sea...This soldier and the floating debris speak the truth about this war." Leaflet No. 2094 has an image of President Truman and various military equipment on one side and reads, "In his message to the Japanese people, the President of the United States, Harry Truman says 'The term "unconditional surrender" is strictly a military term. We only demand the military to surrender its weapons. We do not intend to enslave or exterminate the people of Japan. The former Prime Minister Gen. Koiso gave a false interpretation of this term in order to forcefully continue the war that cannot be won.'" The reverse of this pamphlet reads, "Unconditional surrender means the surrender of all weapons" and features an image of an unidentified military officer signing papers and a second image of a group of civilians standing by military personnel.
Biographical / Historical:
Shortly before the crew of the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay completed their mission to bomb Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, U.S. pilots dropped leaflets over Japan warning citizens of coming destruction. The leaflets warned Japanese citizens that their government was leading them to death and that the US government had no wish to kill civilians.
Provenance:
Unknown, Gift, Unknown
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Shortly before the crew of the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay completed their mission to bomb Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, U.S. pilots dropped leaflets over Japan warning citizens to evacuate the cities. This collection consists of four original leaflets, as well as 15 color slides taken by the National Air and Space Museum photo lab of the propaganda leaflets
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of four original leaflets, printed on both sides that range in size from 5.5 by 7.5 inches up to 10.75 by 8 inches. The collection also includes 15 color slides taken by the National Air and Space Museum photo lab of the propaganda leaflets, some of which appear to be duplicates.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged by type of material.
Biographical / Historical:
Shortly before the crew of the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay completed their mission to bomb Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, U.S. pilots dropped leaflets over Japan warning citizens to evacuate the cities. The leaflets warned Japanese citizens that their government was leading them to death and that the U. S. government had no wish to kill civilians. I.A. Kurzman was a machinist mate, 2nd class stationed in the Pacific aboard the USS Wasp (CV-18) from which the aircraft carried the leaflets.
Provenance:
I.A. Kurzman, Gift, 1985, NASM.2008.0018
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of William Jones' World War II scrapbook.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of William Jones' World War II scrapbook. The scrapbook measures 10.125 by 12.5 by 4.25 inches and contains 215 pages plus inserted pockets holding additional documents and photos. The scrapbook includes maps; patches and images of insignia; Jones' military records; news clippings; foreign currency; drawings; a technical drawing of a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress; fabric from a Japanese aircraft; a typewritten narrative by Jones of his time in the U.S. Army Air Corps; a piece of paper autographed by Harry S. Truman; an Office of Civilian Personnel Recreational Guide to the Tokyo area; vectographs and two pairs of viewing glasses; information on Jones' donations to other museums; and numerous photographs, many of which were taken by Jones. Subjects of the photographs include daily life in the U.S. Army Air Corps; portraits of various military personnel; scenes in various parts of the Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan; views of bombing damage in Japan; prints from gun camera film of Japanese aircraft being shot down; and aerial views of Itazuke Airfield and Nagasaki and Hiroshima after the atomic bombing took place. The aerial photos of Nagasaki are signed by Fred J. Olivi (co-pilot of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Silverplate Bocks Car) and the aerial photographs of Hiroshima are signed by Paul Warfield Tibbets, Theodore J. "Dutch" Van Kirk, and Thomas Wilson Ferebee (pilot, navigator, and bombardier respectively of the Boeing B-29, Silverplate Enola Gay). Aircraft depicted in the photographs include the North American P-51 Mustang; Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress; Douglas C-54 Skymaster; Consolidated B-24 Liberator; Stinson (Aircraft) L-5 Sentinel; Noorduyn Norseman; Mitsubishi A6M5 Reisen (Zero Fighter) Zeke; and Nakajima J1N1-S Gekko (Moonlight) Irving (Night Fighter Model 11). The collection also includes the publication, How to Make Polaroid Vectographs, published by the Polaroid Corporation in November 1943, as well as four CDs containing high resolution scans of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki aerial views and scans of other pages in the scrapbook.
Arrangement:
No arrangement, single item.
Biographical / Historical:
William Jones was an aerial photographer in the Army Air Corps during World War II. During the occupation of Japan, Jones photographed the atomic bomb damage of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki at low altitude. After his discharge he continued in his photography career, owning and operating a studio, Jones Photos, in Columbia City, Indiana, for over 43 years.
Provenance:
William Jones, Gift, 2006, NASM.2006.0067
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Hiroshima-shi (Japan) -- History -- Bombardment, 1945
Date:
[ca. 1940s, 1980s]
Scope and Contents:
Series I of this collection consists of the following: seven folders containing almost 200 photographs and negatives on display in the exhibit, four series of slides (two detailing the U.S.S. Midway used for background research, one detailing documents and photos of the Philippine Sea battle, and of the finished museum exhibit) and the exhibit script. Series II is a collection of images that were collected for the Sea Air Operations Gallery but were not used in the exhibit itself. It consists of 17 folders of photographs and negatives dealing with the following subjects: Pearl Harbor, Pacific battleship battles of 1942-1945, US and Japanese commanders, aircraft carriers, aces, the USS Enterprise, Guadalcanal, USMC air operations, Grumman workers, Manila atrocities, miscellaneous aircraft and miscellaneous photos. In Series I, 33 of the photograph negatives have no corresponding prints in the folders but are on display downstairs. Seven of the photos of a more graphic nature have no accompanying print nor are they on display. Series III consists of research material gathered in support of the Sea Air Operation Gallery. Series IV consists of slide images taken by Lt. William G. Lotz, USN, aboard the USS Midway circa 1989-1990. Series III and IV were merged with the exiting collection in 1998.
Biographical / Historical:
The National Air and Space Museum's Sea Air Operations Gallery details the operations of carriers and their aircraft, both of the World War II era and the present day. Featured are panels focusing on carrier-verses-carrier battles fought by the U.S. and Japanese navies during World War II: the Battle of the Coral Sea, the Battle of Midway, the Battle of the Eastern Solomons, the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands, the Battle of the Philippine Sea, and the Battle for Leyte Gulf. The exhibit also highlights other Pacific missions, from Pearl Harbor, through Midway, to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Topic:
Pearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941 Search this
Hiroshima-shi (Japan) -- History -- Bombardment, 1945
Date:
1945
Scope and Contents:
This collection includes leaflets, photos and reports relating to the United States bombing missions, both conventional and atomic, against Japan during 1945. Included are propaganda leaflets dropped by the United States over Japanese cities warning of bombings, including English translations of the leaflets. There is also a formerly restricted comment on engine pressure ratios, and a copy of eight congratulatory telegrams to the bombers. The photographs include aerial photos and negatives of bombings of Japanese cities of Kobe, Kyushu, Tokyo, Kure, and Nakajima, as well as the Mitsubishi Engine Plant; Boeing B-29s over Fujiyama and Yokohama; and two photographs of Hiroshima before and after the atomic bomb was dropped. There are formerly confidential bombing reports by the 499th Bombardment Group from March, 1945, for the cities of Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe, and the Tachiarai Machine Works; and a report, "Incendiary Raids by B-29s," from the 73rd Bombardment Wing dated 6/15/45.'
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
David Dibelius, Gift, 1995, 1995-0037, unknown
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Topic:
World War, 1939-1945 -- Aerial operations Search this
This collection contains two photographs of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Silverplate "Enola Gay" on the island of Tinian, taken by Raymond N. Rittko.
There are also two Radio Press News releases for the "U.S.S. Guilford", dated December 12 and December 19, 1945. The releases detail post-war news stories from around the world.
Biographical / Historical:
Tinian Island, part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, fell to the Japanese after World War I. It was captured by the United States on June 15, 1944. From December 1944 until the end of World War II, the island served as an airbase for Boeing B-29s. It was the loading point for atomic weapons onto the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Silverplate "Enola Gay".
Boeing's B-29 Superfortress was the most sophisticated propeller-driven bomber of World War II, and the first bomber to house its crew in pressurized compartments. Although designed to fight in the European theater, the B-29 found its niche on the other side of the globe. In the Pacific, B-29s delivered a variety of aerial weapons: conventional bombs, incendiary bombs, mines, and two nuclear weapons. On August 6, 1945, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped the first atomic weapon used in combat on Hiroshima, Japan.
The "U.S.S Guildford" (APA-112) was a Bayfield-class attack transport. The vessel assisted in Operation "Magic Carpet", which facilitated the return of of troops from the Pacific theatre and the supplying of troops for the occupation of Japan.
Provenance:
R. Damian Mycka, Gift, 1991, NASM.1991.0095.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Silverplate "Enola Gay" and Radio Press News Collection, Acc. NASM.1991.0095, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Hiroshima-shi (Japan) -- History -- Bombardment, 1945
Date:
1925-1946
undated
bulk 1940-1946
Summary:
World War II personal papers, photographs, and printed material of Anthony R. Lanza, who served in the U.S. Army in Japan between 1944 and 1946.
Scope and Contents:
The collection documents Anthony Lanza's United States Army service in Japan during World War II, mostly through letters and photographs. Also included are miscellaneous items such as newsletters, clippings, drawings, Japanese travel and language guides, and official military papers. Particular research value lies in the photographic documentation of Hiroshima shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped, photographs of the Enola Gay, and an eyewitness account by a survivor.
Series 1, Photographs, 1925, 1944, 1945, 1946, undated, contains documentation of Lanza's time in Japan during World War II, divided by subject matter. Many of the photographs are annotated on the reverse side. Included in the collection are photographs of the Enola Gay, Hiroshima shortly after the atomic bomb was dropped, and the 308th General Hospital in Japan. There are also several photographs of landscapes and Japanese citizens. The folder containing street scenes includes one formal portrait of a Japanese family Lanza encountered in his travels. There are also photographs not taken in Japan, including images of Niagara Falls.
Series 2, Personal Papers, 1940s, undated, contains various papers that belonged to Lanza, including his diary, several letters to his mother written from Japan, a scrapbook, a first person account of the Hiroshima bombing written by Reverend John A. Siemes, military papers (special orders, immunization records, payroll information, and discharge papers), military newsletters, newspaper and magazine clippings, and various sketches and notes. The newspaper and magazine subjects contain information regarding a relative, a blurb about a DDT insecticide experiment, and information regarding musical performances.
Series 3, Materials Related to Japan, 1945, undated, contains two Japanese language books, a tourist magazine, and a book created for tourism about Japan dated 1945.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in three series.
Series 1, Photographs, 1925, 1944, 1945, 1946, undated
Series 2, Personal Papers, 1940s, undated
Series 3, Materials Related to Japan, 1945, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Dr. Anthony R. Lanza was born July 20, 1925, in New York City. He was inducted into the United States Army in March of 1944, worked at the 308th General Hospital in Japan, and received an honorable discharge in May of 1946. He attained the rank of Master Sergeant and received the American Campaign Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal. Lanza later worked as a public school teacher in Union, New Jersey, and Valley Stream, New York, as well as a faculty member of the School of Education at New York University. He also served as Chief of the NESA Education Branch in AID/Washington, as an Education Advisor in Turkey for nine years, and as a USAID Chief Education Officer in Guatemala, Afghanistan, and Pakistan for twelve years. He went on to work as Regional Education Officer for Africa for the Office of Overseas Schools in the U.S. State Department.
Related Materials:
World War II Bomb Damage Photographs contains photographs of the aftermath of the bombings in Nagasaki, Japan, and Manila in the Philippines. Emilio Segre Collection documents research relating to the development of the atomic bomb.
Provenance:
Anthony Lanza's son, Kenneth Lanza, donated this collection in 2005 and additional materials were donated in 2007.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use. Researchers must handle unprotected photographs with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
29 videotapes (Reference copies). 75 digital .wmv files and .rm files (Reference copies).
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Videotapes
Transcripts
Place:
Trinity Test Site (N.M.)
Hiroshima-shi (Japan) -- History -- Bombardment, 1945
Nagasaki (Japan)
Nagasaki-shi (Japan) -- History -- Bombardment, 1945
Date:
1987-1990
Introduction:
The Smithsonian Videohistory Program, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation from 1986 until 1992, used video in historical research. Additional collections have
been added since the grant project ended. Videohistory uses the video camera as a historical research tool to record moving visual information. Video works best in historical
research when recording people at work in environments, explaining artifacts, demonstrating process, or in group discussion. The experimental program recorded projects that
reflected the Institution's concern with the conduct of contemporary science and technology.
Smithsonian historians participated in the program to document visual aspects of their on-going historical research. Projects covered topics in the physical and biological
sciences as well as in technological design and manufacture. To capture site, process, and interaction most effectively, projects were taped in offices, factories, quarries,
laboratories, observatories, and museums. Resulting footage was duplicated, transcribed, and deposited in the Smithsonian Institution Archives for scholarship, education,
and exhibition. The collection is open to qualified researchers.
Descriptive Entry:
Stanley Goldberg, consulting historian for the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History (NMAH), recorded eighteen video sessions with fifty-five participants
involved in the engineering, physics, and culmination of the Manhattan Project. Goldberg examined the research and technologies necessary to realize the uranium and plutonium
bombs. He supplemented interviews with visual documentation of the industrial plants that refined and separated the isotopes, and of the machinery that delivered and dropped
the bombs. Interviewees explained the other steps of designing, building, testing and detonating an atomic bomb. Discussions with participants also elicited a social history
of the Project as recalled by various men and women responsible for different duties in different locales. Between January 1987 and June 1990 the sessions were recorded on-site
or in-studio in Hanford, Washington; Boston, Massachusetts; Oak Ridge and Louisville, Tennessee; Alamogordo and Los Alamos, New Mexico; Washington, D.C.; and Suitland, Maryland.
The sessions are divided into five series: Hanford, Oak Ridge, Cambridge, Los Alamos, and Alberta.
This collection consists of eighteen interview sessions, separated into five series, totaling approximately 47:00 hours of recordings, and 1188 pages of transcript.
Please note that Sessions 14 and 15 in Series Four are comprised of dual sets of tape from two cameras positioned at different angles.
Historical Note:
The United States government began underwriting investigations of the feasibility of atomic weapons in October 1941. Within a year, promising research at several universities,
particularly at the Metallurgical Laboratory of the University of Chicago, showed that it was possible to produce atomic bombs based on the chain-reacting fission of uranium
235 isotope or of plutonium. This led to the reorganization of the Manhattan District, or "Project," of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to make these bombs a reality. Brigadier
General Leslie R. Groves directed and coordinated the Project from 1942 to 1945, spending 2.3 billion dollars on nuclear reactors and chemical separation plants at Hanford,
Washington, and Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and on the weapon research and design laboratory at Los Alamos, New Mexico. The first plutonium bomb was successfully detonated at Alamogordo,
New Mexico, on July 16, 1945. The B-29 bomber Enola Gay exploded the first uranium bomb, "Little Boy," over Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945; the B-29 Bock's Car
exploded the second plutonium bomb, "Fat Man," over Nagasaki, Japan, two days later.
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