Pilot talks about Enola Gay mission
by Master Sgt. Eddie C. Riley
Air Force Print News
WASHINGTON -- “Airspeed and altitude” was the flight strategy that
positioned the Enola Gay to deliver the first atomic bomb used as a
weapon
nearly 60 years ago, said the pilot who planned and flew the mission.

Retired Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets spent several days in the nation’s
capital attending events leading up to the Dec. 17 celebration of the
centennial of flight.  He also spoke with about 200 people at the
Pentagon
as he autographed his book.

To prepare the B-29 Superfortress known as the Enola Gay, Tibbets said
he
wanted altitude and airspeed, which he got by stripping down the
airplane
to make it lighter.  He needed to fly high enough with the 10,000-pound
atomic bomb to evade anti-aircraft fire and escape the blast and
fallout
of the explosion.

The 88-year-old retiree, who refers to himself as a proud airman,
recounted how he got the job of flying the Enola Gay on its famous
mission
and his approach to accomplishing the mission.  He said he was
“definitely
selected,” but only makes educated assumptions about the reason why
because he never questioned his superior officers about the assignment.

“They said, 'this is what you are going to do,' and I saluted and said
‘yes, sir.’  I do know that they spent enough time to narrow it down to
three people.  I was the junior of the outfit,” Tibbets said.

He was a lieutenant colonel selected over a colonel from Gen. “Hap”
Arnold’s
staff and Brig. Gen. Frank Armstrong, whom he had worked for in Europe.
Tibbets said his willingness to push the envelope in new aircraft
landed
him the job.

His enthusiasm for wanting to fly an aircraft beyond its known limits
allowed him to accumulate about 400 flying hours in the B-29 by the
time
the decision was made to pursue dropping an atomic bomb.

“I felt that they selected the right guy because I knew damn well that
I
could do it, and I didn’t know the other guys could.  I had the
advantage
of having had operations with B-17s where I had to do things that were
never done before,” Tibbets said.  “I had 11 months of testing the B-29
under my belt.  I knew that airplane better than anybody … at the
time.”

He used this experience to lead about 1,700 men of the 509th Composite
Group for 10 months in preparing the B-29 and crew to successfully
complete a secret mission.

The aircrew, maintainers, engineers, suppliers and other support people
did not know the intent of the mission or the capability they were
creating until after the mission.  Tibbets said he did not even confirm
the mission to the aircrew until they were en route.  He went to the
back
of the aircraft to give the crew a pep talk about the weapon they
referred
to as the “gimmick.”

“We are on the way to drop a special weapon on target today, which
(happens) to be Hiroshima,” Tibbets told the crew.  “The blast and the
explosion are going to be big as hell.  You’ve never conceived anything
like what we are going to see.”

Tibbets said the reason he revealed the secret before dropping the bomb
was to inform his crew on the gravity of their work that day.  Tibbets
also confirmed that he offered cyanide to the crewmembers in case
something went wrong.  Only two from the confident crew accepted.

The leadership that Tibbets demonstrated throughout work with the
“Manhattan Project” and Enola Gay mission was his better-known
contribution to military aviation.  But he said his confidence and
capability earned him other memorable assignments before and after his
mission over Hiroshima.

For example, Tibbets’ experience of flying under pressure and unknown
circumstances included flying Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Dwight D.
Eisenhower and his air forces commander, Maj. Gen. Jimmy Doolittle, in
a
B-17 to the front lines for the invasion on North Africa in November
1942.

After World War II, Tibbets said his greatest contribution to flight
was
expediting the acquisition of Boeing’s B-47 jet bomber as commander of
the
proving grounds that tested the aircraft during its development.  He
said
the key to working fast was to get the maintainers and trainers
involved
and limit interference from the engineers who “didn’t want anybody to
hurt
that airplane,” he said.  “I wanted to bang the hell out of it because
we
were going to be the user.”

Tibbets said he lives with the fact that piloting the Enola Gay will
always overshadow other accomplishments.  He said he has also learned
to
accept the mixed reviews he has received on dropping a bomb that killed
about 80,000 people.

“I never lost a night (of sleep) over that deal,” he said.  “I thought
I
was doing the right thing, and I still think I did the right thing. 
I’ve
had thousands of enlisted men and officers come by and say ‘You saved
my
butt.’  That’s what I wanted to do, and I’m damn glad.”