While it was supposed to be a “top-secret” mission, President Truman had sent in select members of the American press to Tinian Island to photograph the launching of the Enola Gay. The biggest worry was that Typhoon Queenie was going to be on the path of these bombers. The Pacific Typhoon season had already begun. The B-29 pilots needed a clear weather so that they could accurately drop the bomb over their targets. The Straight Flush was to fly over Hiroshima.
LAST SURVIVOR OF ENOLA GAY CREW WALKS OUT OF CLASSROOM FULL
The Full House was supposed to fly over Nagasaki. Three weather aircrafts, Full House, Jabit III , and Straight Flush took off from the North Field in adjacent runways. Aug-6 01:15(T) 00:15(H) Aug-5 11:15(NY)Ī truck comes to pick up the crew of the Enola Gay and the two accompanying aircrafts. The crew headed to the Mess Hall to get an early breakfast and/or late dinner before they began their mission. We think it will knock out everything within a three-mile area." Aug-6 00:45(T) Aug-5 23:45(H) 10:45(NY) It is the most destructive weapon ever produced. He said,"The bomb you are going to drop is something new in the history of warfare. Earlier that afternoon, Derek Parsons decided not to sugar coat it. Interestingly enough, the most of the crew of the seven planes did not know about the nature of the atomic bomb until one day before the bombing. This shed was known as the “Kirkpatrick Building” In the Island of Tianen, they had constructed a special shed to assemble parts of the bomb. May the men who fly this night be kept safe in Thy care, and may they be returned safely to us. We shall go forward trusting in Thee, knowing that we are in Thy care now and forever. We pray Thee that the end of the war may come soon, and that once more we may know peace on earth. May they, as well as we, know Thy strength and power, and armed with Thy might may they bring this war to a rapid end. Guard and protect them, we pray thee, as they fly their appointed rounds. He wrote down the prayer in the back of the envelope.Īlmighty Father, Who wilt hear the prayer of them that love thee, we pay thee to be with those who brave the heights of Thy heaven and who carry the battle to our enemies. He has composed a special prayer for this occasion. The Chaplin, William Downey heads to the crew lounge. Two observation planes called The Great Artiste and Necessary Evil are also going to accompany the Enola Gay on the mission. Paul Tibbets has decided to pilot the main plane the Enola Gay. This mission has been named “Mission #13.” So far, seven B-29 bombers have been prepared to launch. Timeline Aug-6 00:00(T) Aug-5 23:00(H) 10:00(NY)Ĭolonel Paul Tibbets gives a final briefing at the crew lounge. (H) denotes the time in Hiroshima and (NY) denotes Eastern Standard Time in New York. This is where they begin to launch the operations. The US B-29 base is in a small island called Tinian Island which is off the coast of Guam. Please join us throughout the day as we learn about this day in history. Today, we will be live blogging minute by minute updates as it happened. On this day, the United States of America dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima.