There are over several hundred first
generation silver prints and a Kodak camera. The photographs were taken in Guam
and Japan and developed by the “9th Photographic Technical
Squadron”. This unit was mostly unknown until 2016 (1). Within the
mixed lot of photographs a 9 X 9” black and white Kodak negative was discovered.
This war relic is an image of the post bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th
1945.
The negative was most likely created
with a Fairchild K-20 or K-22 aerial camera (2). This camera was fitted onto
aircrafts such as the Boeing B 29, Douglas A-20, and North American P-51 and
F-86(1). The K-22 yield 9"×9"
or 9"×18" images using 9"+ roll film. The only plane capable of
reaching Japan at the time of the bombing was the B-29. It is unclear which plane took the photo, but
it was a Boeing F-13A Reconnaissance Super fortress (a modified B-29 bomber)
from the 3rd Photo Reconnaissance Squadron (3). There is unverified
indication that the “Valiant Lady” may have taken the photo (4). Its also possible that Enola Gay or The Big Stink took the photo.
(2)
https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/camera-aerial-fairchild-k-22
(3) Atom Bombs: The Top Secret Inside
Story of Little Boy and Fat Man by John Coster-Mullen: (Page 336) History of
Project A by Norman F. Ramsey 1945 Unclassified Manhattan Project Report