Fat-Man Atomic Bomb - Theater-made Model, 1945
This diminutive wooden, theater-made model is deceptive. At only a few inches in length, drab to the eye and very lightweight, it betrays nothing to indicate that the full-sized device was one of the most destructive weapons of WWII: the 2nd atomic bomb used in combat, "Fat Man". This model was crafted on the island of Tinian in the Marianas Islands in 1945 and acquired by Captain (later Commodore) "Deak" Parsons, USN, an ordnance expert on the Manhattan Project.

As Officer-in-charge of the Overseas (Tinian, Marianas) Technical Group Captain Parsons was vital to the success of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki missions. He was also the nominal commander of all scientists and technicians from Project Alberta, who were organized as the 1st Technical Service Detachment. Project Alberta was the code name for the portion of the Manhattan Project which dealt with the design, deployment and delivery of atomic weaponry. He also served as Bomb Commander and weaponeer for the Hiroshima mission: an act for which he was decorated with the Silver Star, the nation's third highest award for Valor.

The flights departed from and returned to Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands. At that time almost the entire island had been converted into the busiest and most advanced airfield of World War II with over 40,000 U.S. personnel assigned. Military and civilian personnel were kept segregated from others areas of the massive base, which were entirely self-contained and possessed their own housing, offices, machine and tool shops and support facilities which contained some of the most sophisticated equipment in the world; where it would have been a simple matter to construct a model like this. Due to the secrecy surrounding the use of atomic weapons in combat, it would have been impossible for such a model to have been made anywhere but the secure section of the base on Tinian.

After the 9 August Nagasaki mission, Parsons' role on Tinian was complete. He was promoted to Commodore and departed Tinian to become Associate Director at the National Nuclear Laboratory at Los Alamos, NM, likely taking this model with him as a memento.

This small model, as battlefield art work made in a combat area, is commonly called "Trench Art." And although that name dates from WWI, it can be used to describe all manner of "theater made" artwork from any conflict from the Napoleonic Wars to the present day.

Provenance:
* Made on Tinian for Captain William "Deak" Parsons, August 1945.
* Retained by Admiral Parsons until passing 1953.
* Descent in the Parsons' estate until conveyed to USN Procurement officer, until 1991.
* Sold via Frank Cea's Barnstormer Auction, Roosevelt Airfield, Long Island, New York, to The War Museum of New York City, 1991.
* The War Museum of New York City, until 2013.
* Sold via Bonham's of New York City, NY to Zaricor Flag Collection, 2013.

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