Charles Sweeney

Charles Sweeney
USAF picture
Birth nameCharles William Sweeney
Born(1919-12-27)27 December 1919
Lowell, Massachusetts
Died16 July 2004(2004-07-16) (aged 84)
Boston, Massachusetts
Buried
AllegianceUnited States
BranchUnited States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Forces
 United States Air Force
Massachusetts Air National Guard
Years of service1941–1979
RankMajor General
Unit509th Composite Group
Commands393rd Bombardment Squadron
102nd Tactical Fighter Wing
Battles / warsWorld War II
AwardsSilver Star
Air Medal

Charles William Sweeney (27 December 1919 – 16 July 2004) was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II and the pilot who flew Bockscar carrying the Fat Man atomic bomb to the Japanese city of Nagasaki on 9 August 1945. Separating from active duty at the end of World War II, he later became an officer in the Massachusetts Air National Guard as the Army Air Forces transitioned to an independent United States Air Force, eventually rising to the rank of major general.