Frederick Ashworth
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vice Admiral Frederick L. "Dick" Ashworth (January 24, 1912—December 3, 2005) was a United States Navy officer who served as the weaponeer on the B-29 Bockscar that dropped the atomic bomb "Fat Man" on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 1945.
- Main Article: Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
A native of Beverly, Massachusetts, Ashworth graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1933. Holding the rank of commander, he became Director of Operations for Project Alberta, the portion of the Manhattan Project tasked with dropping of the weapons on Japan, and selected Tinian as the location of its operating airbase. The director of Project Alberta, Captain William Parsons, had been weaponeer during the first mission August 6, when Hiroshima had been bombed.
Prior to his being named to Project Alberta, Ashworth had been commander of Torpedo Squadron Eleven (VT-11), a Grumman TBF Avenger unit based on Guadalcanal and the USS Hornet. He stayed in the Navy after the war, serving in various roles. He was promoted to Vice Admiral and served as commander of the United States 6th Fleet from 1966 until his retirement in 1968.
Frederick L. Ashworth lived for over three decades in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He died in Phoenix, Arizona at the age of 93.
[edit] External links
 |
This biographical article related to the United States Navy is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
