William Sterling Parsons

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rear Admiral William Sterling "Deak" Parsons (November 26, 1901 - December 5, 1953) was an American military engineer, best known for being the weaponeer on the Enola Gay (at the time, he had the rank of Captain) which dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan during World War II.

He bridged the gap between pure science and engineering, between laboratory research and military application of that research. He played a key role in the design and deployment of the proximity fuze, and helped to research, develop, assemble, and finally drop the atomic bomb. Parsons crawled into the Arctic-cold bomb bay of the Enola Gay to arm the bomb. After World War II he became the US Navy's leading figure on nuclear issues.

The "Rear Admiral William S. Parsons Award for Scientific and Technical Progress" was established by the US Navy in his name.

Rear Admiral Parsons was one of the early Navy men with expertise in the new atomic weapons. He served as Officer in Charge of Project Alberta and Deputy Task Force Commander for the Technical Direction of Operation Crossroads. He is shown [1] [2] in a series of watercolor paintings related to Operation Crossroads.

He died of a heart attack at age 52 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. [3]

[edit] Books

• Target Hiroshima: Deak Parsons and the Creation of the Atomic Bomb, Albert B. Christman, ISBN 1-55750-120-3. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1998. [Parsons was a U.S. Navy weapons specialist and representative to the Manhattan Project. He witnessed seven of the first eight nuclear bomb explosions; and served as the bomb commander and weaponeer during the Enola Gay's mission to bomb Hiroshima, when he performed the final assembly of the "Little Boy" nuclear weapon in the aircraft's bomb bay. He was the task force deputy commander during Operation Crossroads in 1946.]

• Bibliography for William "Deak" Parsons from the Alsos Digital Library

US Destroyer named in his honor:

USS Parsons (DD-949/DDG-33) began her career as a Forrest Sherman-class destroyer. Her keel was laid down 17 June 1957 by Ingalls Shipbuilding of Pascagoula, Mississippi. She was launched on 17 August 1958, sponsored by Mrs. William S. Parsons, and commissioned 29 October 1959 at Charleston, South Carolina with Commander W. R. Loomis in command.

[edit] Portrayals on Film

Warner Anderson in Beginning or the End, The (1947)

Michael Brockman in Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)

Larry Gates in Above and Beyond (1952)

Dee McCafferty in Day One (1989) (TV)

Robert Pine in Enola Gay: The Men, the Mission, the Atomic Bomb (1980) (TV)

Gary Reineke in Hiroshima (1995) (TV)