The B-29 nicknamed Enola Gay and its pilot, Col. Paul Tibbets Jr., came together Aug. 6, 1945, to lead a mission that would deploy a uranium bomb known as "Little Boy" over Hiroshima, Japan. But there was nothing little about it.
The atomic bomb destroyed about five square miles of Hiroshima — a destructive force equivalent to the conventional bomb load of 220 B-29 bombers. The casualties reached more than 160,000, and many more died within four months from blast effects, radiation poisoning and the bomb's resulting firestorm.
But the Hiroshima event marks an important part of history that helps the global powers "be better prepared for the future," said Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets IV, grandson of the namesake pilot.
"These events laid the groundwork for strategic deterrence today," Tibbets said in an email to Air Force Times on the 70th anniversary of the bombing event. "Through a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent, we have avoided the actual employment of those types of weapons since 1945."
The younger Tibbets continues his grandfather's legacy is unique: In June, he became the commander of the 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, the same bomber wing his grandfather hailed from.
"My grandfather always understood the importance of the mission that he and all of the service members supporting the mission carried out," Tibbets said of his grandfather's orders, handed down directly from President Truman. "He knew that these missions had the real possibility of bringing World War II to an end, saving a substantial number of lives on both sides, and getting Americans home to their families."
Tibbets said his grandfather spoke of the experience, often met meeting Japanese and American citizens who shared their appreciation for carrying out the mission in order to save thousands of lives that hung in the balance.
Tibbets said he respects that his grandfather and the crew carried out the orders given by the President of the United States, directly assisting in bringing about the end of the war. // whoops this is a repeat from above.//OP
Tibbets said it is an honor and privilege to command the unit that his grandfather organized nearly 71 years ago and led during World War II.
"The mission of the 509th Bomb Wing has some parallels to the mission of the 509th Composite Group, but the way in which we accomplish it has changed dramatically since my grandfather was in command," he said. The wing today maintains "readiness to employ the B-2 bomber in precision long-range strike missions around the world at a moment's notice."
John Bretschneider contributed to this story.
OTHER ITEMS FROM BRETSCHNEIDER:
Enola Gay is the nickname for Tibbets' mother.
On the bombing: It was dropped at 8:15 a.m. Hiroshima time from an altitude of 31,060 feet and fell for about 44 seconds, exploding 600 feet above the city.
More on the casualties: Exact numbers are unknown as many residents and the city's records disintegrated in the explosion. Other survivors fled the city and were unaccounted.
Enola Gay's last surviving crew member, navigator Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk, died July 28, 2014.
The aircraft is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Va.
