| Original caption: “‘Enola Gay’ after strike at Hiroshima, entering hard-stand.” Tinian’s topography, in the Marianas Islands, provided the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) with a superb platform for constructing 2 long-range Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber airfields, including North Field, the largest airfield in the Pacific – and perhaps in the world – during World War II. From Tinian’s 6 runways, as well as from bases on Saipan and Guam, armadas of B-29s raided and destroyed Japanese cities and towns in the homeland, shipping in Japanese waters, petroleum supplies, and industrial plants. On May 19, 1945, a new, secretive organization began arriving at North Field, the 1,767-man 509th Composite Group headed by Colonel Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. (February 23, 1915 – November 1, 2007) Finally, at 0245 hours local time (1445 hours, August 5, Coordinated Universal Time) on August 6, the “Enola Gay” left Runway 1 at North Field and dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, Japan, which in a matter of seconds destroyed 62,000 buildings and killed or mortally wounded 80,000 people. On August 9, Major Charles W. Sweeney (December 27, 1919 – July 16, 2004), flying from Tinian in the B-29 “Bockscar,” dropped a 2nd atomic bomb in Nagasaki, bad weather having prevented his attacking the primary target, Kokura. Soon after, the Japanese surrendered. The Martin-Omaha B-29-45-MO Superfortress, 44-86292, was carrying Bomb Unit L-11, the 1st nuclear weapon to be used during war. This was an 8,900 pound (4,037 kilogram) “gun type” fission bomb, the Mark I, code-named “Little Boy.” It contained 64.15 kilograms (141.42 pounds) of highly-enriched uranium. The bomb was 10 feet, 6 inches (3.2004 meters) long with a diameter of 2 feet, 4 inches (0.711 meters). The gun tube had a bore diameter of 6 1/2 inches (165 millimeters) and a length of 6 feet (1.8 meters). It weighed approximately a 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms). The gun fired a hollow uranium projectile, consisting of a stack of 9 rings of varying thickness contained within a sheet metal can, and with a 4 inch (10.16 centimeters) inside diameter, against a cylindrical uranium target insert. The projectile was 7 inches (17.78 centimeters) long. The target insert consisted of a stack of 6 uranium rings with a 1 inch (2.54 centimeter) inside diameter, held in place by a steel rod through the center. It was also 7 inches long, and had an outside diameter of 4 inches. The projectile weighed 38.53 kilograms (84.94 pounds) and the target, 25.6 kilograms (56.44 pounds). When the projectile came in contact with the target, the 2 completed a “critical mass.” A fission chain reaction resulted, releasing an incredible amount of energy. Although it was considered to be a very inefficient weapon, it had such a reliable design that it had never been tested. 6 Mark I bombs were built, but L-11 was the only 1 ever to be detonated. On the morning before the mission, Colonel Tibbets had his mother’s name painted on the nose of the airplane: “Enola Gay.” He had personally selected this bomber, serial number 44-86292, while he was visiting the Glenn L. Martin Company plant at Bellevue, Nebraska, May 9, 1945. An employee of the plant told him that the airplane had passed its acceptance tests with no faults of any kind. The B-29 was accepted by the Army Air Corps on May 15 and flown to the 509th’s base at Wendover, Utah, by Captain Robert A. Lewis (October 18, 1917 – June 18, 1983), a B-29 aircraft commander who would act as Tibbets’ co-pilot on the atomic bombing mission. The 509th Composite Group was equipped with specially modified “Silverplate” B-29s, which differed from the standard production bombers in many ways. They were approximately 7,200 pounds (3,266 kilograms) lighter. The bombers carried no armor. Additional fuel tanks were installed in the rear bomb bay. The bomb bay doors were operated by quick-acting pneumatic systems. The bomb release mechanism in the forward bomb bay was replaced by a single-point release as was used in special Royal Air Force Avro Lancaster bombers. A weaponeer’s control station was added to the cockpit to monitor the special bomb systems. The other crew members of Enola Gay on 6 August 1945 were Captain Robert A. Lewis, co-pilot; Captain Theodore J. (“Dutch”) Van Kirk (February 27, 1921 – July 28, 2014), navigator; Major Thomas W. Ferebee (November 9, 1918 – March 16, 2000), bombardier; Staff Sergeant Wyatt E. Duzenbury (April 6, 1913 – August 31, 1992), flight engineer; Sergeant Robert R. Shumard (September 7, 1920 – April 24, 1967), assistant flight engineer; Sergeant Joseph A. Stiborik (December 21, 1914 – June 30, 1984), radar operator; Private 1st Class Richard H. Nelson (April 26, 1925 – February 1, 2003), radio operator; Staff Sergeant George R. Caron (October 31, 1919 – June 3, 1995), tail gunner. The weaponeer and mission commander was United States Navy Captain William S. (“Deke”) Parsons (November 26, 1901 – December 5, 1953). 2nd Lieutenant Morris R. Jeppson (June 23, 1922 – March 30, 2010) was Parsons’ assistant weaponeer. The radar countermeasures officer was 1st Lieutenant Jacob Beser (May 15, 1921 – June 17, 1992). Lieutenant Beser also flew aboard “Bock’s Car,” on the Nagasaki mission, August 9, 1945. Enola Gay had 4 air-cooled, supercharged, 3,347.662-cubic-inch-displacement (54.858 liter) Wright Aeronautical Division R-3350-41 (Cyclone 18 787C18BA3) 2-row 18-cylinder radial engines with direct fuel injection. The R-3350-41 had a compression ratio of 6.85:1 and required 100/130 aviation gasoline. It was rated at 2,000 horsepower at 2,400 revolutions per minute at sea level, and 2,200 horsepower at 2,800 revolutions per minute for take-off. The engines drove 4-bladed Curtiss Electric reversible-pitch propellers with a diameter of 16 feet, 8 inches (5.080 meters), through a 0.35:1 gear reduction. The R-3350-41 was 6 feet, 2.26 inches (1.937 meters) long, 4 feet, 7.78 inches (1.417 meters) in diameter and weighed 2,725 pounds (1,236 kilograms). With the exception of the tail gunner’s position, all defensive armament — 4 remotely-operated gun turrets with 60 caliber machine guns — were deleted. Their remote sighting positions were also removed. “Enola Gay” carried a 1,000 rounds of ammunition for each of the 2 remaining Browning AN-M2 50 caliber machine guns in the tail. With these changes, the Silverplate B-29s could fly higher and faster than a standard B-29, and the new engines were more reliable. “Enola Gay” had a cruising speed of 220 miles per hour (354 kilometers per hour) and a maximum speed of 365 miles per hour (587 kilometers per hour). Its service ceiling was 31,850 feet (9,708 meters) and its combat radius was 2,900 miles (4,667 kilometers). At 0915 Hours, (mission time; 0815 Hours, local; 2315 Hours, August 5, UTC), “Enola Gay,” with a True Air Speed of 275 miles per hour (443 kilometers per hour), was at 30,060 feet (9,162 meters) over the Japanese city of Hiroshima, an industrial center on the island of Honshu, with a population of about 340,000 people. The bombardier initiated the automatic release sequence and the atomic bomb was dropped. It fell for 44.4 seconds and detonated at an altitude of 1,968 feet (600 meters), about 550 feet (168 meters) from the aiming point, the T-shaped Aioi Bridge over the Ota River. Immediately after the bomb was released, Colonel Tibbets put his B-29 into a 60 degree right bank and entered a 155 degree turn at full power. During the maneuver, which had been calculated to get the airplane as far away from the blast as possible, Enola Gay lost approximately 1,700 feet (518 meters) of altitude. When the bomb detonated, the bomber was about 11 miles (17.7 kilometers) away. Even at this distance, the shock wave struck the bomber with “…violent force. Our B-29 trembled under the impact and I gripped the controls tightly to keep us in level flight.” Ground 0, the point on the surface directly below the explosion, was the Shima Hospital. The overpressure is estimated to have been 4.5-6.7 tons per square meter. The 2-story brick building was completely obliterated. Of the patients, technicians, nurses and doctors inside, nothing remained. The resulting explosion was approximately equivalent in explosive force to the detonation of 6,000 tons (14,515 metric tons) of TNT (16 “kilotons”). An estimated 70,000 people were killed immediately, and another 70,000 were wounded. As many as a 160,000 people may have died as a result of the atomic bombing by the end of 1945. More would follow over the next few years. An area of the city with a radius of 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from the hypocenter was totally destroyed, and combined with the fires that followed, 4.7 square miles (12.17 square kilometers) of the city were destroyed. 69 percent of all buildings in Hiroshima were completely destroyed and another 6 percent damaged. The bomber was then flown back to Tinian, landing at 1458 Hours, after an elapsed time of 12 hours, 13 minutes. “Enola Gay” participated in Operation Crossroads, the nuclear weapons test at Bikini Atoll in July 1946. It was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution August 30, 1946, and placed in storage at Davis-Monthan Army Air Field, Tucson, Arizona, September 1, 1946. For decades, it sat in storage at different locations around the country, but finally a total restoration was performed. Today, the B-29 “Enola Gay” is on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, National Air and Space Museum. Today the historic Tinian Landing Beaches White 3 remain, as does the Japanese pillbox at Beach White 2, the Japanese service apron, air administration building, air operations building and 2 air raid shelters of former Ushi Point Field. The United States Department of Defense announced plans in 2024 to refurbish the runways for modern combat aircraft. | |
| Image Filename | wwii1667.jpg |
| Image Size | 552.07 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2936 x 2023 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | 509th Composite Group Photographic Laboratory |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | August 6, 1945 |
| Location | |
| City | |
| State or Province | Tinian |
| Country | Marianas |
| Archive | National Archives and records Administration |
| Record Number | NWDNS-77-BT-91 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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