What did the bombadiers of the enola gay

Such a terrible waste, such a loss of life. The aircraft was named after the mother of pilot Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr. On August 6,Major Thomas Wilson Ferebee, a U.S. Army Air Corps bombardier and Mocksville native, dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, man crew aboard the B bomber, the Enola Gay, took off for Hiroshima at 2 a.m.

Following their flight, some chose to keep a. I have no regrets, no remorse about it. Van Kirk felt the bombing of Hiroshima was worth the price in that it ended the war before the invasion of Japan, which promised to be devastating to both sides. Hiroshima made him a believer.

from Tinian Island in the western Pacific. Twelve American crew members were on that flight.

Enola Gay Wikipedia

I pray that we have learned a lesson for all time. The bomb, code-named "Little Boy", was targeted at the city of Hiroshima, Japan, and destroyed about three-quarters of the. Twelve American crew members were on that flight. Ferebee retired from the Air Force as a full colonel and died in at the age of In this interview for The Washington PostBeser was asked if he would do it again.

Even those in the group only knew as much as they needed to know in order to perform their duties. But I'm not sure that we have. On August 6,the B bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan. Ferebee, then 26 and a veteran of 64 combat missions, was napping and initially did not hear the pilot, Colonel Paul.

He slept in the plane both before and after he did his part. InVan Kirk came as close as he ever got to regret:. The th Composite Group was formed by the U. The group was segregated from the rest of the military and trained in secret.

There were a lot of lives saved. After the war, Van Kirk earned a masters degree in chemical engineering and worked for DuPont until his retirement. We unleashed the first atomic bomb, and I hope there will never be another. Van Kirk passed away in Thomas Ferebee pushed the button that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima.

The mission to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima special mission 13 involved seven planes, but the one we remember is the Enola Gay. He was 24 years old and a veteran of 58 missions in North Africa. They probably never will again. On 6 Augustduring the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb in warfare.

After the war, Ferebee stayed with the Air Force, serving in the Strategic Air Command and in Vietnam, and always defended the mission. The 50th anniversary of the bombing in brought renewed scrutiny to the crew of the Enola Gay, particularly when the Smithsonian Institution’s planned exhibit on the aircraft was met with controversy.

Following their flight, some chose to keep a low profile, and others spoke out about their place in history. Almost all had something to say. The Enola Gay is the B heavy bomber that was used by the United States on August 6,to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

Veterans’ groups clashed with peace activists and historians over how the bombing should be remembered. The group deployed to Tinian in with 15 B bombers, flight crews, ground crews, and other personnel, a total of about people.

The Enola Gay (/ əˈnoʊlə /) is a Boeing B Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. It was the first time the explosive device had been used on an enemy target, and it destroyed most of the city.