Enola Gay Pilot To Share Memories At Florida Air Show

General Paul Tibbets, the man who piloted the first atomic bombing mission over Hiroshima, Japan in 1945, will be on hand at the TICO Air Show in Titusville, FL, this weekend to sign books and talk about his colorful career.

General Tibbets’ illustrious career has been overshadowed by the role he and his fellow crewmembers played in ending World War II. Tibbets played a key role in one of the most important periods in the history of our country.

General Tibbets was born in 1915 in Quincy, IL, and after his early schooling, graduated from Western Military Academy in Alton, IL, in 1933. At the age of eighteen, General Tibbets attended the University of Florida and the University of Cincinnati, the latter as a Chemistry major. Tibbets entered the Army Air Corps on February 25, 1937, and began his flying school at Randolph Field, TX, before graduating from pilot school at Kelly Field, TX, in February 1938.

At the outbreak of World War II, General Tibbets formed an anti-submarine patrol squadron at Pope Field, Fort Bragg, NC. In June 1942, he arrived in England and flew 25 combat missions over the European continent, including the first American B-17 Flying Fortress raid against occupied Europe -– a bombing mission that was led by General Ira C. Eaker. In the fall of 1942, Tibbets was assigned to fly General Mark Clark to his meeting with the French prior to the invasion of North Africa.

In the month that followed, General Tibbets conducted bombing missions over North Africa under direct control of the British, including the first heavy bombardment mission in support of the North African invasion. In March 1943, General Tibbets returned to the United States as a B-29 Program flight test pilot, where he worked with Boeing and the Air Materiel Command until March, 1944, when he was transferred to Grand Island, Nebraska. There he became Director of Operations for a B-29 instructor transition school under General Frank Armstrong.

In September 1944, Paul Tibbets was briefed on the Manhattan Project, the code name for the development of the atom bomb. It was to be his responsibility to organize and train a unit to deliver these weapons in combat operations. He would also determine and supervise the modifications necessary to make the B-29 capable of delivering the weapons, and for this, the unit had to be self-sufficient.

Secrecy was paramount. The unit would support Los Alamos with flight test airplanes to establish ballistics and detonator reliability to explode the bombs.

Tibbets was told, "You are on your own. No one knows what to tell you. Use normal channels to the extent possible. If you are denied something you need, restate your need is for 'SILVERPLATE' (a code name) and your request will be honored without question."

Paul Tibbets requisitioned 15 new B-29s and specified they be stripped of turrets and armor plating except for the tail gunner position; that fuel-injected engines and new technology reversible pitch propellers be installed; and the bomb bay re-configured to suspend, from a single point, ten thousand pounds. Such an airplane would fly higher, faster, and above the effective range of anti-aircraft fire.

A B-29 bombardment squadron, the 393rd, in its final stage of training, and Wendover Army Air Base located on the Utah/Nevada border were selected by Paul for "starters". The 393rd was fully equipped and the base had a fully manned "housekeeping" group. Wendover was isolated but close enough to Los Alamos to work together. The Salton Sea was an ideal distance for bombing practice. Then on December 17th, 1944, formal orders were issued activating the 509th Composite Group, consisting of seven subordinate units. In March 1945 the First Ordnance Squadron, a unit designed to carry out the technical phases of the group responsibilities, became part of the 509th. The personnel count now exceeded 1500 enlisted men and some 200 officers.

Quietly, the group started moving overseas to Tinian Island in the Marianas chain. On the afternoon of August 5th, 1945, President Truman gave his approval to use the weapons against Japan. By the time the plane left, it’s familiar arrowhead tail motif had been changed on both sides to the letter "R" in a circle, the standard i.d. for the Sixth bomb group. The idea behind the change was to confuse the enemy if they made contact, which they did not.

At 02:45 August 6th, the Enola Gay lifted off North Field with Paul Tibbets and his crew en route to Hiroshima. At exactly 09:15 plus 15 seconds the world’s first atomic bomb exploded. The course of history and the nature of warfare was changed. The Enola Gay landed back at Tinian at 2:58 P.M. and the plane and crew were greeted by General Spaatz, a large contingent of brass, and jubilant GIs. General Spaatz decorated Tibbets with the Distinguished Service Cross and the other crewmembers with Air Medals.

This tremendous accomplishment, which not only affected the outcome of World War II but also altered the history of the world, was not merely a single event. Rather, it was a culmination of events throughout which Paul Tibbets played a pivotal role.

Following the end of the war in 1945, General Tibbets was a technical adviser to the Air Force commander in charge of the Bikini Bomb Project from 1945-46. After an assignment as Director of the Strategic Air Division, Directorate of Requirements, Headquarters US Air Force, from July 1950 until February, 1952, General Tibbets was assigned as B-47 Project Officer at the Boeing Airplane Company, Wichita, Kansas, during the service test of the B-47 Stratojet to determine its operational suitability. General Tibbets later returned to Europe as Director of War Plans for the Allied Air Forces in Central Europe, at Fontainebleau, France.

He returned to the United States in 1956, as Commander of the 308th Bomb Wing, Hunter Air Force Base, GA. In January 1958, he was reassigned as Commander of the 6th Air Division, where he earned the rating of command pilot. In February 1961, General Tibbets was assigned once again to Headquarters, US Air Force, this time as Director of Management Analysis. In July 1962, General Tibbets was assigned to the Joint Staff, Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as Deputy Director for Operations, J-3. In June 1963, following the reorganization of the Operations Directorate, Joint Staff, General Tibbets became the new Deputy Director for the National Military Command System.

When Paul Tibbets retired from the US Air Force on August 31st, 1966, he had completed more than 29 and one-half years of service, but he was not through flying. Initially he resided in Geneva, Switzerland, operating three Lear jets throughout central Europe. There, he helped to educate the air ministries about the jet’s uses. He also advised the air ministries about the aviation controls and guidelines they later instituted within their countries.

Back in Columbus, OH, in 1970, Paul joined Executive Jet Aviation, an all-jet air taxi service company, where he served in different capacities. Tibbets rose up the corporate ladder to become Chairman of the Board in 1982. The company changed ownership in 1985 and Paul retired again. During his 15 years Paul Tibbets acquired almost 400 hours in Lear jets, flying with an Air Transport Pilot rating. As pilot of one of the most famous flights of WW II, which brought about a quicker surrender from the enemy and a reduction in the loss of Allied lives, and for his leadership and skill with both airplanes and people in times of stress, Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. is enshrined with honor into the National Aviation Hall of Fame.

FMI: www.nbbd.com/festivals/warbird