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Tibbets was referring to a conversation that took place long before May of 45. He was ordered to TRAIN to drop da bomb on Europe as well as Japan. Germany would have been first if they hadn't surrendered before the bomb was operational.

My dad in England saw a B-29 *once*, sometime in 1944 when they were still relatively newly operational. It attracted a considerable amount of attention among the B-17 folks at the airbase. Perhaps this was part of a training mission. In any case, B-29s in Europe were very rare. (I do believe Russia got a couple as part of the technology transfer; they cloned them after the war to make their own first generation long range strategic bombers. I have a dim recollection that these were flown across the north pacific rather than through Europe, though.)

At the Paul Garber Facility in Suitland, Md., the docents that used to give tours of the Enola Gay would refer to a nuclear bomb rack that they found in the Enola Gay (I believe), although formally it was on record as having been destroyed or recycled elsewhere. They said that this was indirect proof that a third undocumented nuke existed but that its existence was suppressed in the postwar period to avoid the appearance of being inhumane to the Japanese civilian population. I think the bomb rack itself ended up being hurriedly classified and recalled once its existence became known to the facility restoration crew at that time, and they were asked not to say anything about it (supposedly they didn't, for a while).

>> I think the bomb rack itself ended up being hurriedly classified and recalled once its existence became known to the facility restoration crew at that time, and they were asked not to say anything about it (supposedly they didn't, for a while).

The entire 509th Composite Bombardment Group's only mission was to deliver nuclear weapons. They reported directly to Hap Arnold completely cutting out MacAuthur. They had made practice runs against Japan dropping simulated atom bombs several times. Tokyo Rose taunted them "Men of the 509th bombard group, your weapons have had no effect". The Japanese must have been puzzled by B-29's dropping 10-ton dummy bombs on parachutes and turning suddenly 135 degrees. If the Japanese been looking, they would have seen it coming. One German physicist noticed that all reference to fission and nuclear research in English Language physics publications suddenly ceased in 1942. He took it to mean that the Anglo-Saxons had launched on a program of nuclear research and such matters were now considered military secrets.

Our erstwhile friends (the Soviets) "interned" a few stray B-29s (they released the crews, but kept the a/c), which Stalin ordered to be reverse-engineered by Tupolev, thus the Soviet Tu-4. Thus, for a brief time, the USSR and the USA fielded squadrons of very similar aircraft. Developments in the US made the move of little import. The Soviets were never shy about actually copying, just about admitting it (e.g.: the StuG 44 and the Ta-156).

FWIW, I heard Gen. Tibbets speak two years ago, and he sure seemed pretty sharp. He was the USAAF's chosen operational expert, and I don't believe he ever claimed to be more than that. Would that all the people back at the facility in NM had been as devoted to their country as Paul Tibbets.