Posted on 02/26/2024 3:55:49 AM PST by where's_the_Outrage?
Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets, better known as the man who piloted the Enola Gay during the bombing of Hiroshima, became a well-known figure in the United States at the end of the Second World War. Despite his fame, Tibbets asked that upon his death he receive no funeral or gravestone.
Paul Tibbets started his career as an abdominal surgeon before enlisting in the US Army Air Corps. He initially served for three years, qualifying as a pilot in 1938, and opted to stay on active duty when the US entered the Second World War. While he is best known for his service in the Pacific Theater, Tibbets first served on bombing missions in North Africa and France. He was also the personal pilot for Gen. George Patton from 1940-41.
By the fall of 1943, Tibbets was recalled to serve as a test pilot during the development of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, during which he found that the bomber was 7,000 pounds lighter - and its performance improved - if its armor plating and armaments were removed. After a year, he was tasked with retraining other pilots in the 17th Bombardment Operational Training Wing (Very Heavy).
In May 1945, Paul Tibbets and his men were transferred to Tinian, where they ran traditional bombing raids against Japanese-controlled islands while training with atomic bomb prototypes. When the 509th were given the go ahead to bomb Japan, Tibbets took over as pilot of the bomber that would drop Little Boy, the name given to the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. He named the aircraft Enola Gay, after his mother.
(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
Brig. Gen. Paul Tibbets, better known as the man who piloted the Enola Gay during the bombing of Hiroshima, became a well-known figure in the United States at the end of the Second World War. Despite his fame, Tibbets asked that upon his death he receive no funeral or gravestone.
One of the criticisms of the Pearl Harbor movie from the early 2000’s I had heard was that it was extremely rare for any soldier to switch theatres (from European to Pacific, say).
It sounds like Tibbets was one of the few that did.
I seem to recall a general or admiral saying something like "When we are finished the Japanese language will only be spoken in Hell".
OK, AI seems to think it was Admiral Halsey.
Trains, railroad yards and bridges had been destroyed by bombing. What little fuel Japan had was mostly reserved for military use. Trucks and boats were "targets of opportunity" for American fighter planes.
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