Description:

Enola Gay

A spectacular 8" x 10" black and white glossy photo of the Hiroshima mushroom cloud after the bombing on August 6, 1945, boldly signed and inscribed by four of the crew from the event. Signed Paul Tibbets in blue ink, as "Paul Tibbets/Pilot - Enola Gay"; Thomas Ferebee in blue ink, as "Tom Ferebee/Bombadier"; Theodore Van Kirk and in blue ink, as "Theodore J ‘Dutch’ Van Kirk/N navigator”; and George Robert "Bob" Caron in black ink, as "George R. Caron/Hiroshima 8/6/45". Caron was the tail gunner, the only defender of the twelve crewmen, aboard the B-29 Enola Gay. Near fine.

An incredible four times signed iconic photo taken after the release of "Little Boy" on Hiroshima, Japan. The atomic bomb was carried on board the Enola Gay, piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets. The explosion wiped out 90 percent of the city and immediately killed 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure.The Hiroshima mission went off smoothly, navigated by Theodore Dutch Van Kirk. The flight was uneventful, the weather cooperated, and, at 8:15 A.M., bombardier Major Thomas W. Ferebee released “Little Boy”. The Enola Gay landed uneventfully at Tinian. The crew was greeted by an excited crowd.Pilot Paul W. Tibbets, Jr. was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by General Spaatz. Following the ceremony, the fliers were feted at a star-studded debriefing where General LeMay told the men: "Kids, go eat, take a good shower, and sleep as much as you want!"

Three days later, Major Charles W. Sweeny was to command the mission carrying the second A-Bomb, "Fat Man" to Kokura in his plane The Great Artiste. But The Great Artiste was still outfitted with scientific gear and there wasn't time to outfit it to carry “Fat Man”. So Sweeney and his crew took over Captain Frederick C. Bock, Jr.'s plane Bock's Car, while Bock's crew switched to The Great Artiste. Difficult weather conditions resulted in the "Fat Man" being dropped on Nagasaki where it killed an estimated 40,000 people.

An incredible photo four times signed by the Enola Gay crew and the major participants of the Hiroshima mission. To this day, it still begs the question regarding how this event should have been handled. Yet the intended result was achieved, when, after the second bombing, Japan announced its surrender to the Allies on August 15, 1945.

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