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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...

I saw this interview of Paul Tibbets who piloted the plane that did it. Interesting (to me at least) what led up to August 6 for him with the B-29's development and his preparation for the bomb drop. These are about 20 minutes each. Part 1 of 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qG2n3EmNtqY&t=159s Part 2 of 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UelE357z58M

Just wondering if that would have put a halt to the Japanese aggression and given them a sense of what they were up against and what we were willing to do. Could it have saved thousands of American lives in the South Pacific? As an alternative history buff I’m curious about the opinions here.

Nice short video of a restored B29

Awesome cinematography of this shiny newly restored B-29 with only a few hours flight time under its belt. The imagery is great, the sound is kinda rough.

I know we're all wired into the 'best election ever' but here's a little slice of cool news and views regarding the B-29, Doc. Video at link.

The B-29 bomber known as Doc may be flying again before the summer is over. On May 20th, the nonprofit group Doc’s Friends announced that they had accepted an airworthiness certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration. Several dozen members of the group, along with other supporters, attended a ceremony at Doc’s hangar at Air Capital Flight Line, the former Boeing Wichita factory complex. “The biggest thing is how important this airplane is to history,” said Jeff Turner, board chairman for Doc’s Friends. “The light of freedom was growing dimmer (during World War II), and the men and women of our...

Did you know that the Millennium Falcon's cockpit was inspired by the WWII B-29 Superfortress bomber? Did you know that the Star Wars saga most famous spacecraft featured a cockpit clearly inspired to a World War II heavy bomber? Well, the iconic greenhouse-style window of the Millennium Falcon was designed with the style of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, a strategic bomber flying 30 years before Han Solo and Chewbacca first appeared driving the iconic spacecraft into the hyperspace, in mind.

On the morning of Aug. 6, 1945, shortly after 8:00 a.m. local time, a lone American B-29 was conducting what seemed to be a reconnaissance flight at high altitude over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. At about 16 minutes after 8:00, the aircraft released an object over the centre of town. Attached to parachutes, the object floated down slowly enough to give the four-engine Boeing Superfortress time to turn and lumber out of the airspace. The atom bomb exploded at about 1,900 feet above the centre of Hiroshima. The devastation was cataclysmic. Immediate casualties, dead and injured, numbered approximately 115,000....

I'm going to comment on the ethics of nuking Japan. This is one of those perennial issues that America-bashers constantly raise. There are two extremes we need to avoid: "my country right or wrong," and "blame America first." For me the war has a personal dimension. My late father was a WWII vet who served in the Pacific theater. He was radio operator in the Air Force. His squadron conducted reconnaissance over Japan. He had some interesting stories to tell: i) He trained on B-17s in Alaska, then flew on B-29s in Florida. ii) Our pilots discovered the jet stream....

Juror B29, also known as “Maddy,” made her first major television appearance with Al Sharpton Tuesday afternoon since she first revealed her face and spoke to ABC News’ Robin Roberts about her conflicted feelings on the George Zimmerman verdict. Maddy offered her reactions to Zimmerman’s recent detainment in connection with a domestic dispute involving his estranged wife and father-in-law. After viewing dashcam video of Zimmerman being put in handcuffs by officers, Maddy told Sharpton, “it hurts a lot,” because she keeps going back and thinking “what could I have done” to change the outcome of the trial. At the same...

A number of people have been asking for our response to Juror B-29’s remarks during ABC’s Robin Roberts' interview about the Zimmerman verdict. The big headline from the story is “George Zimmerman got away with murder,” but that is an inaccurate distillation of Juror B-29's statements. Rather, the substance of the juror’s other comments are more complicated and nuanced. Here’s a key exchange that got my attention: Juror B-29 says, “For myself, he’s guilty, because the evidence shows he’s guilty.” Robin Roberts asks for a clarification, “He’s guilty of?” Juror B-29 responds, “Killing Trayvon Martin. But as the law was...

Two weeks after George Zimmerman was acquitted in the death of Florida teen Trayvon Martin, the only person on the jury who is a member of an ethnic minority said in an ABC News interview that Zimmerman “got away with murder.’ Juror B29, identified only by her first name Maddy, sat down with ABC’s Robin Roberts, to discuss the trial for “Good Morning America.” As the first juror to show her face on camera, Maddy expressed both conviction and regret. “You can’t put the man in jail even though in our hearts we felt he was guilty,” Maddy said of...

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On Sept. 12, 2001, it is highly doubtful that any member of Congress was worried that our government would be too harsh in its treatment of terrorists. When countries are threatened, basic survival trumps civil liberties not just for enemy combatants but for citizens as well. Our priorities change. We saw that with the attack on Pearl Harbor. Days before Japanese warplanes destroyed the U.S. Pacific fleet on Dec. 7, 1941, 80% of Americans did not want to go to war against either Germany or Japan. The day after the attacks, those numbers reversed themselves. Over the next four years,...

On the 40th, 50th and 60th anniversaries of D-Day, Presidents Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush traveled to Normandy to lead us in tribute to the bravery of the Greatest Generation of Americans, who had liberated Europe. Always a deeply moving occasion. The 40th, 50th and 60th anniversaries of the dropping of the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, however, were not times of celebration or warm remembrance. Angry arguments for and against the dropping of the bombs roil the airwaves and fill the press. And the reason is obvious. While World War II was a just war against enemies...

Lord, Keep our Troops forever in Your care Give them victory over the enemy... Grant them a safe and swift return... Bless those who mourn the lost. . FReepers from the Foxhole join in prayer for all those serving their country at this time. .................................................................. .................... ........................................... U.S. Military History, Current Events and Veterans Issues Where Duty, Honor and Countryare acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated. Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should...

Events Remembering Iwo Jima and the B-29 Bomber Feb 19-20 2005 The Collins Amateur Radio Club, in cooperation with the Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club will be operating a special Amateur Radio Station at The Carl and Mary Koehler History Center, 615 1St. Ave. S.E. Cedar Rapids on February 19th and 20th to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the WWII invasion of Iwo Jima. February 19th is 60 years, to the day, from the landing on Iwo Jima by American forces. In that battle, which was fought to secure an emergency landing site for B-29's that were bombing Japan, 6,821...

The Collins Amateur Radio Club, in cooperation with the Cedar Valley Amateur Radio Club will be operating a special Amateur Radio Station at The Carl and Mary Koehler History Center, 615 1St. Ave. S.E. Cedar Rapids on February 19th and 20th to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the WWII invasion of Iwo Jima. February 19th is 60 years, to the day, from the landing on Iwo Jima by American forces. In that battle, which was fought to secure an emergency landing site for B-29's that were bombing Japan, 6,821 US forces were killed and 19,217 wounded. Iwo Jima was...

Louis Hernandez and Vincent Radkiewicz met by chance two years ago, at an East Side pancake house. Hernandez had a postcard from Poland but couldn't read it. Radkiewicz, another customer, could - and did. The two struck up a conversation. Hernandez told Radkiewicz, a Polish native, that he was shot down over Poland during World War II. Radkiewicz, 66, who remembers the horrors of the war, realized he could do something to thank Hernandez, 83, for his sacrifice. So he did. Hernandez was a World War II pilot with the 452nd Bomber Group based in England. On June 21, 1944,...