Enola gay named after

Seventy-five years ago, the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, enola gay named after, Japan, bringing an end to a long and devastating World War II and making the Enola Gay, the B that delivered it, one of the most famous in history.

At approximately a. This mission was piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets, commanding officer of the th Composite Group, who named the bomber after his mother. The four-engine plane, followed by two observation planes carrying cameras and scientific instruments, was one of seven making the trip to Hiroshima, but only the Enola Gay was carrying a bomb — a bomb that was expected to knock out almost everything within a 3-mile 5-kilometer area. Measuring over 10 feet 3 meters long and almost 30 inches 75 centimeters across, it weighed close to 5 tons 4. The Enola Gay weaponeer, Navy Capt.

Enola gay named after

In the early morning hours of August 6, , a B bomber named Enola Gay took off from the island of Tinian and headed north by northwest toward Japan. The bomber's primary target was the city of Hiroshima , located on the deltas of southwestern Honshu Island facing the Inland Sea. Hiroshima had a civilian population of almost , and was an important military center, containing about 43, soldiers. The bomber, piloted by the commander of the th Composite Group, Colonel Paul Tibbets, flew at low altitude on automatic pilot before climbing to 31, feet as it neared the target area. At approximately a. Hiroshima time the Enola Gay released "Little Boy," its 9,pound uranium gun-type bomb , over the city. Tibbets immediately dove away to avoid the anticipated shock wave. Forty-three seconds later, a huge explosion lit the morning sky as Little Boy detonated 1, feet above the city, directly over a parade field where soldiers of the Japanese Second Army were doing calisthenics. Though already eleven and a half miles away, the Enola Gay was rocked by the blast. At first, Tibbets thought he was taking flak. After a second shock wave reflected from the ground hit the plane, the crew looked back at Hiroshima. The yield of the explosion was later estimated at 15 kilotons the equivalent of 15, tons of TNT. On the ground moments before the blast it was a calm and sunny Monday morning. An air raid alert from earlier that morning had been called off after only a solitary aircraft was seen the weather plane , and by the city was alive with activity -- soldiers doing their morning calisthenics, commuters on foot or on bicycles, groups of women and children working outside to clear firebreaks. Those closest to the explosion died instantly, their bodies turned to black char.

Retrieved 5 May Some 70, people probably died as a result of initial blast, heat, and radiation effects.

At the Smithsonian July 30, The aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb will always inspire debate. David Kindy. Everything changed in an instant. The next, a brilliant flash of light blinded everyone and altered the course of history.

Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. He is best known as the aircraft captain who flew the B Superfortress known as the Enola Gay named after his mother when it dropped a Little Boy , the first of two atomic bombs used in warfare, on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Tibbets enlisted in the United States Army in and qualified as a pilot in After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor , he flew anti-submarine patrols over the Atlantic. In February , he became the commanding officer of the th Bombardment Squadron of the 97th Bombardment Group , which was equipped with the Boeing B In July , the 97th became the first heavy bombardment group to be deployed as part of the Eighth Air Force , and Tibbets became deputy group commander. He flew the lead plane in the first American daylight heavy bomber mission against Occupied Europe on 17 August , and the first American raid of more than bombers in Europe on 9 October

Enola gay named after

In the early hours of 6 August , three aeroplanes took off from the Mariana Islands in the Pacific. For hours they charted a course towards the Japanese coast, with Paul Tibbets piloting one of the planes. After hours of nothing but ocean beneath him and his crew, land became visible. At am Tibbets was able to complete his mission, by dropping one single bomb onto the city of Hiroshima. The resulting blast would become the most powerful explosion created by man up to that point, bringing unspeakable destruction to the Japanese city. B Bombers were designed to be a high altitude aircraft, capable of performing devastating bombing raids.

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On request, he gave a friendly wave for the cameras. If that happened to the Enola Gay , the bomb might explode and wipe out half the island. The bomber, piloted by the commander of the th Composite Group, Colonel Paul Tibbets, flew at low altitude on automatic pilot before climbing to 31, feet as it neared the target area. The forward fuselage went on display on 28 June The most common first reaction of those that were indoors even miles from ground zero was that their building had just suffered a direct hit by a bomb. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 8 June After , the bomb was fully armed on board the Enola Gay. On 2 July , three people were arrested for throwing ash and human blood on the aircraft's fuselage, following an earlier incident in which a protester had thrown red paint over the gallery's carpeting. Archived from the original on 31 October

At the Smithsonian July 30, The aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb will always inspire debate. David Kindy.

Retrieved 9 June Engineers placed five gun turrets on the fuselage: a turret above and behind the cockpit that housed two. The bomber remained at Andrews in outdoor storage until August Replacements were found or fabricated, and marked so that future curators could distinguish them from the original components. The numerous small fires that erupted simultaneously all around the city soon merged into one large firestorm, creating extremely strong winds that blew towards the center of the fire. The Making of the Atomic Bomb. This wing design allowed the B to cruise at high speeds at high altitudes but maintained comfortable handling characteristics during slower airspeeds necessary during takeoff and landing. Campbell, Richard H. Approximately Bs attacked Tokyo in March , killing upwards of , people and destroying one-fourth of the city in a single 24 hour period. Both Curtiss-Wright and the Dodge automobile company vastly expanded their manufacturing capacity to build the bomber's powerful and complex Curtiss-Wright R turbo supercharged engines. Harwit , Director of the National Air and Space Museum, was compelled to resign over the controversy.