Crew of the enola gay

Some chose to keep a low profile and others spoke out about their. The Enola Gay's crew consisted of 12 men led by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets Jr., who commanded the historic atomic bombing mission on August 6, Key members included co-pilot Robert Lewis, bombardier Thomas Ferebee, navigator Theodore Van Kirk, and radar countermeasure officer Jacob Beser. Most Americans were probably never aware of it, but for the approximately 2, troops that were staged stateside, in Europe, on Pacific Islands, or aboard ships, they quietly remembered it as an experience they were blessed to have missed.

Later that day, men of the th Composite Group assembled for a briefing. Four members of the Enola Gay crew had been on Tibbets’s B crew in Europe: bombardier Ferebee (called by Tibbets “the best bombardier who ever looked through the eyepiece of a Norden bombsight”) navigator Van Kirk, tail gunner Caron, and flight engineer Duzenbury.

Russell. It exploded with the energy of 15 kilotons of TNT. The crews arrived back on Tinian at PM without incident, after about 12 hours in the air. It is not a thousand pounder, it is not a ten-ton blockbuster, this bomb has the strength of twenty thousand tons of TNT. The th were further informed that the mission would occur as soon as the weather cleared, what their targets were, and that the Japanese would not be expecting them.

Finally, Tibbets told the men about their mission to bomb Japan and the immensely destructive nature of the bomb. Some chose to keep a low profile and others spoke out about their. The final items of preparation for the operation came July 25th and 29th. As a result, completion and successful testing of the atomic bomb moved that particular option to the front burner.

Twelve men were on that flight. At this briefing were the six crews of the th that would participate in dropping Little Boy and top officials from Washington. Even before the surrender of Nazi Germany on May 8,plans were underway for the largest operation of the Pacific War, Operation Downfall, the Allied invasion of Japan. Four members of the Enola Gay crew had been on Tibbets’s B crew in Europe: bombardier Ferebee (called by Tibbets “the best bombardier who ever looked through the eyepiece of a Norden bombsight”) navigator Van Kirk, tail gunner Caron, and flight engineer Duzenbury.

Another plan was in the works to hopefully bring the war in the Pacific to an end. Twelve men were on that flight.

  • The U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, 75 years ago, bringing an end to World War II and making the Enola Gay one of the most famous Bs in history.
  • The aircraft assigned to the Hiroshima mission consisted of three weather recon planes, two observations planes, a strike spare aircraft located on Iwo Jima and the Enola Gay, the weapon delivery plane. Predictions of casualties from both the Allies and Japan numbered in the millions. On August 6,the B bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima.

    There were three strike planes that flew over Hiroshima that day: the Enola Gay, which carried the bomb, and two observation planes, the Great Artiste and the Necessary Evil. The Enola Gay (/ əˈnoʊlə /) is a Boeing B Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. Three crews were to fly ahead to assess the weather and to relay the information to the bomb carrier.

    Russell. There were three strike planes that flew over Hiroshima that day: the Enola Gay, which carried the bomb, and two observation planes, the Great Artiste and the Necessary Evil. The gun type fission weapon was armed by the weaponeers after takeoff. The other two crews were to accompany the bomb carrier as observation units. Description : th film recordings of top secret Wendover bombing trials, Tinian inner sanctum atomic bomb assembly buildings, atomic bomb loading and drops on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, crew interviews after atomic bombings min.

    On August 6,the B bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima. The Enola Gay's crew consisted of 12 men led by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets Jr., who commanded the historic atomic bombing mission on August 6, Key members included co-pilot Robert Lewis, bombardier Thomas Ferebee, navigator Theodore Van Kirk, and radar countermeasure officer Jacob Beser. The orders designated four targets: Hiroshima, Kokura, Niigata, and Nagasaki, and ordered the attack to begin as early as the next week, weather permitting.

    Tibbets did not, however, reveal it was a nuclear weapon. On 6 Augustduring the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in warfare. On August 6,the Enola Gay became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb. On 6 Augustduring the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in warfare.

    Finally, the men were told that until the mission occurred, they could not discuss the mission, even among themselves. The Enola Gay (/ əˈnoʊlə /) is a Boeing B Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. Scott B. Davis Honorary member th Composite Group All Rights Reserved.