by F.J. Foster

Created on: January 20, 2011   Last Updated: January 24, 2011

At 2:58 p.m. on the afternoon of Aug. 6, 1945, the B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay landed on Tinian Island, following a bombing run over Japan. It was a perfect mission, and a nightmare unleashed, all rolled into one. The Enola Gay had dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

The story of the Enola Gay is that of the dawn of the nuclear age in warfare. As such, the aircraft has, over time, found itself at the heart of heated disputes about whether its mission was ever necessary. But in the halls of power, during the dark days of World War II, no such qualms prevailed.

The United States began examining the potential of such a bomb following a letter from Albert Einstein to President Roosevelt warning that Germany might be nearing the ability to build one. Little happened, however, until 1942, when Colonel Richard Groves was put in charge of the effort. Groves began buying land and materials, and starting the construction of facilities to develop the project. Finally, he asked Dr. Robert Oppenheimer to direct the effort, and atomic bomb design and development gained speed at the U.S. nuclear facility at Los Alamos, NM.

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Paul W. Tibbets was chosen to organize and command the 509th Composite Group, which would ultimately drop both of the bombs that were used. A natural fit, Tibbets owned more time flying B-29s than anyone else. As a combat pilot he flew the first B-29 Flying Fortress bombing run in Europe, and then returned home to serve as test pilot aboard the new B-29 Superfortress. In all, he logged 400 hours flying the B-29s.

Under the cover of code name “Silverplate,” 15 bombers requisitioned by Tibbets were built to the specifications he required. To produce an aircraft capable of flying above antiaircraft gun range, the gun turrets were removed. That design change retained only the armor from the tail gunner’s position. The plane also featured a redesigned bomb bay that could suspend a single 10,000-pound bomb.

Tibbets’ 509th Composite Group grew to some 1500 men, based on Tinian Island in the Marianas chain, when on Aug. 1, 1945, the planned bombing of Hiroshima was placed on hold. A typhoon forced the postponement until, with clearing weather on Aug. 5, and the approval of President Harry S. Truman in hand, the run was rescheduled for the following day. Of the specially designed B-29’s available, Tibbets chose one known as Victor 82. Then he renamed the plane.

To the chagrin of number 82’s

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