Roughly two hours before the United States bombing of Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, Iowa pilot Paul Tibbets announced to his crew of the Enola Gay that they were carrying the “world’s first atomic bomb.”
By 8:15 a.m. (Hiroshima time) 80 years ago, the uranium bomb dropped 31,060 feet in 43 seconds over the city of 350,000 people. The bombing, which led to the end of World War II, came at a cost of over 100,000 lives and left the city in ruins.
While Tibbets flew the plane, bombardier Thomas Ferebee directed the release of “Little Boy,” a 9,000-pound bomb born out of the Manhattan Project.
When is the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing?
The U.S. dropped an atomic bomb over Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945. Just three days later, on Aug. 9, the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki. The bombings marked the first time an atomic weapon was used in war.
The Japanese government surrendered on Aug. 15, clearing the way for the war to end on Sept. 2, 1945.
What was the death toll and damage caused by the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
The atomic bomb that fell over Hiroshima, Japan, killed 140,000 people. Around two-thirds of Hiroshima was destroyed, according to Britannica.
Another 70,000 people died in Nagasaki from the second round of atomic bombing days after, according to PBS. The bombing left 40% of the city’s buildings destroyed or severely damaged, according to Britannica. Thousands of people were killed instantly, while others succumbed to injuries, fires or radiation poisoning.
Buildings melted while human and animal tissue “vaporized,” as the grounds of Hiroshima reached 7,000 degrees.
Iowan pilots B-29 that dropped the A bomb
Born in Illinois, Tibbets moved to Davenport at age 3. A few years later, his family purchased a house in Des Moines with city documents showing the family living at 5700 Waterbury Road.
On Feb. 25, 1937, Tibbets joined the Army Air Corps, where he became a skilled aviator and tested the B-29. The 29-year-old named the plane, which would carry out one of the most violent acts in history in 1945, the Enola Gay, after his mother.
“It was the most boring flight that I ever made because nothing went wrong,” Tibbets said in an interview from 2001.
Tibbets recalled being able to taste the lethal radiation as if he had a sucker made of metal in his mouth, according to the WBNS 10TV interview.
“If you gave me the same circumstances, I would not hesitate,” Tibbets said in 2001. “And I have never lost a night’s sleep.”
Kate Kealey is a general assignment reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach her at kkealey@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter at @Kkealey17.
This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Hiroshima 80th anniversary: This Iowa pilot flew the plane that dropped the atomic bomb
Reporting by Kate Kealey, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
