The B-29 on display, Bockscar, dropped the Fat Man atomic bomb on Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945, three days after the atomic attack against Hiroshima.

The pilot usually was Frederick C. Bock and, hence, the Bockscar .... which was one of 15 specially modified "Silverplate" B-29s assigned to the 509th Composite Group.

But on the day of the Nagasaki Raid, the crews were switched and Fred Bock flew the B-29 bomber "The Great Artiste", which was used for scientific measurements and photography of the effects caused by the nuclear weapon while the Bockscar for that raid on that day was piloted by Major Charles Sweeney.

Designed in 1940 as an eventual replacement for the B-17 and B-24, the first B-29 made its maiden flight on Sept. 21, 1942. In December 1943 U.S. Army Air Forces leadership committed the Superfortress to Asia, where its great range made it particularly suited for the long over-water flights against the Japanese homeland from bases in China. During the last two months of 1944, B-29s began operating against Japan from the islands of Saipan, Guam and Tinian. With the advent of the conflict in Korea in June 1950, the B-29 returned to combat. Although vulnerable to MiG-15 jet fighter attacks, the Superfortress remained effective against several types of targets throughout the Korean War.

The Bockscar was flown to the museum on Sept. 26, 1961

After the war, Fred Bock returned to Chicago where he earned his PhD in zoology with a specialization in mathematical statistics and genetics. Working in Chicago based research laboratories, Dr. Bock created algorithms for solving complex problems.

Dr. Bock retired in 1986 from Baxter Travenol Laboratories. It was there he devised a mathematical model for peritoneal dialysis.

A native of Greenville, Michigan, Bock died at his Arizona home in 2000 of cancer.