Description:

World War II -
Enola Gay pilot Paul Tibbets signed photograph of Japanese surrender ceremony

A black and white glossy 8" x 10" photo depicting General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) signing the Japanese Instrument of Surrender aboard the U.S.S. Missouri on September 2, 1945, signed by Enola Gay pilot Paul Tibbets in blue ink as "Paul Tibbets / Pilot - Enola Gay" at lower left. In extra fine condition.

Colonel Paul Tibbets (1915-2007) was the pilot of the B-29 bomber Enola Gay, which dropped the atomic bomb "Little Boy" on the city of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 1945. The bomb's explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, on August 9, 1945, a second atomic bomb "Fat Man" would be deployed over Nagasaki, Japan. The human cost and collateral damage of both nuclear bomb detonations prompted Emperor Hirohito (1901-1989), to announce Japan's surrender over radio broadcast on August 15, 1945. Military occupation of Japan began several days before the formal signing ceremony.

Many agree that the use of atomic weapons against the Japanese accelerated the end of the war, so the link between Tibbets and the surrender ceremony which took place one month after the Enola Gay's deadly mission is quite clear.

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June 14, 2017 10:30 AM EDT
Wilton, CT, US

University Archives

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