Master Sergeant John D. Kuharek served as the flight engineer on the B-29 instrument/observation aircraft The Great Artiste during the August 6, 1945 Hiroshima mission, and as the flight engineer on the strike B-29 Bockscar during the August 9, 1945 Nagasaki mission

The Hiroshima Mission (August 6, 1945)

Aircraft: The Great Artiste (a B-29 designated for instrumentation and scientific observation).
Role: Flew as a flight engineer alongside pilot and aircraft commander Major Charles W. Sweeney, shadowing the primary strike plane Enola Gay to measure and record the explosive blast of the "Little Boy" bomb.

The Nagasaki Mission (August 9, 1945)

Aircraft: Bockscar (the primary B-29 strike bomber carrying the "Fat Man" plutonium bomb).
Role: Served as the active flight engineer under Major Charles Sweeney.
Key Event: During the harrowing mission, Kuharek was responsible for alerting Sweeney to critical fuel transfer issues involving a jammed reserve tank pump in the rear bomb bay, which heightened the urgency and near-emergency fuel state during their diversion to Nagasaki and subsequent landing on Okinawa.

Role in the 509th Composite Group

Hiroshima Mission (August 6, 1945): Flew as flight engineer on The Great Artiste, which accompanied the Enola Gay to measure and record the blast.
Nagasaki Mission (August 9, 1945): Flew as flight engineer on the primary strike aircraft Bockscar that dropped the "Fat Man" weapon.
Pre-flight action: Notified pilot Major Charles Sweeney of a critical fuel pump failure in a reserve tank before takeoff from Tinian.

Enola Gay Flight Crew and Specialists

The 12-man crew consisted of Col. Paul Tibbets (Pilot/Commander), Capt. Robert Lewis (Co-pilot), Maj. Thomas Ferebee (Bombardier), and Capt. Theodore Van Kirk (Navigator). Also on board were Capt. William Parsons (Weaponeer/Mission Commander), 2nd Lt. Morris Jeppson (Assistant Weaponeer), 1st Lt. Jacob Beser (Radar Countermeasures), TSgt. George Caron (Tail Gunner), TSgt. Wyatt Duzenbury (Flight Engineer), Sgt. Joe Stiborik (Radar Operator), Sgt. Robert Shumard (Assistant Flight Engineer), and PFC Richard Nelson (VHF Radio Operator). [1,

The Great Artiste Crew Photo Art

Signatures from Crew