James I. Hopkins Jr.
James Iredell Hopkins Jr. was a lieutenant colonel in the United States Air Force and the operations officer of the 509th Composite Group during World War II. He is best known for signing Operations Order No. 35, the document authorizing the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and for piloting the photography aircraft Big Stink during the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
Hopkins disappeared on March 23, 1951, when the Douglas C-124 Globemaster II he was traveling in vanished over the Atlantic Ocean following a fire and successful ditching.
Early life
Hopkins was born in Palestine, Texas, on December 4, 1918. He attended local schools before enlisting in the United States Army Air Forces. He married Catherine Mary Williamson in Anderson, Texas, on February 15, 1941. His son, James K. Hopkins, later became a professor of history at Southern Methodist University.Military career
World War II
Hopkins initially served in the North African campaign, where he completed 43 combat missions. He was subsequently assigned to the 509th Composite Group, the unit tasked with deploying nuclear weapons, where he served as the operations officer. At the time of the atomic missions, he held the rank of major. On August 5, 1945, Hopkins signed Operations Order No. 35, which directed the mission details for the dropping of a Little Boy atomic bomb on Hiroshima the following day.For the atomic bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, Hopkins was the pilot of the support aircraft Big Stink. The aircraft's role was to carry scientific personnel and photography equipment to document the explosion. Hopkins failed to make the rendezvous with the strike plane, Bockscar, at Yakushima, causing a 45-minute delay that critically impacted the mission's fuel reserves. Due to the delay and radio issues, Hopkins arrived at the target area after the detonation and missed photographing the initial blast.
Hopkins was promoted to lieutenant colonel on August 28, 1945, three weeks after the bombings.