Hiroshima

[DA SWO]

I was going to post this yesterday, but life interfered.
The photo is of the Enola Gay being pushed back over the bomb.
Today is the 75th Anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. Lots of scientific discussion over the years regarding yield. The last item I read said 12-13Kt, look at Beriut and double the boom.
66K died, 20K of the Imperial Army Troops, anti-war protestors tend to forget that fact.
Tibbets was given command of the plane the day before, and had Enola Gay affixed to the nose.
The weapon was armed after takeoff because the weapons officer was afarid it would detonate should the plane crash on take-off (which leads one to think that may have been a common occurrence).

 

[Arf]

Meet the Only Man to Witness All 3 WWII Atomic Bomb Blasts

 

[DA SWO]

In the FWIW category, SAC had weapons officers on it's planes through the B-36.
Arming after takeoff and de-arming prior to landing.
Makes ya wonder how safe they were.

 

[Devildoc]

In the FWIW category, SAC had weapons officers on it's planes through the B-36.
Arming after takeoff and de-arming prior to landing.
Makes ya wonder how safe they were.

Does not sound like a job which I would enjoy; or a job in which I would survive if a mission was for-real.

 

[AWP]

Mark Felton's Youtube page (at work and can't link to videos) discusses the British bombing of Hiroshima. To wit: if the Silverplate B-29's weren't ready in time, plan were underway to use Lancasters w/ British crews.

 

[ThunderHorse]

Mark Felton's Youtube page (at work and can't link to videos) discusses the British bombing of Hiroshima. To wit: if the Silverplate B-29's weren't ready in time, plan were underway to use Lancasters w/ British crews.

With the assist:

 

[Board and Seize]

Meet the man who survived both atomic bombings:

The Man Who Survived Two Atomic Bombs
Tsutomu Yamaguchi - Wikipedia

 

[DA SWO]

I pick up BG Tibbet's autobiography at a model show last year (signed copy) and he talks about all the training etc. Big AF (LeMay) wasn't read in and he wasn't happy. The other crews on Tinian fucked with them because they didn't fly daily missions, but had priority for parts. LeMay (and other Senior staffers) sat in on the debrief, and word slowly leaked out that the 509th may have won the war.

Mark Felton's Youtube page (at work and can't link to videos) discusses the British bombing of Hiroshima. To wit: if the Silverplate B-29's weren't ready in time, plan were underway to use Lancasters w/ British crews.

Lancaster crews wouldn't have survived.
B-29 was 75 mph faster and had a 10,000 higher ceiling.
Shock wave would have torn the Lancaster apart.