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He always took at least two hours for his pre-flight check, for whatever Tibbets and Lewis might have thought, the flight engineer " knew she was my ship."įirst, Duzenbury walked slowly around the bomber, checking it visually, "watching out for the slightest thing that didn't look normal," making sure even that every rivet was in place on all the control surfaces. At 1:51 Top Secret took off for its standby role at Iwo Jima.ĭuzenbury had spent every minute since the midnight briefing with the Enola Gay.
#Where did the enola gay. depart from full#
They all wore pale green combat coveralls the only identification they carried were dog tags.Īt 1:37 the three weather-scout planes- Straight Flush, Jabbit III, and Full House-took off simultaneously from separate runways on North Field. Squeezed in the back were Van Kirk, Ferebee, Lewis, Beser, Jeppson, Caron, Shumard, Stiborik, and Nelson. Tibbets and Parsons sat up front with the driver. Three minutes later a truck picked up the crew of the Enola Gay. Amen."Īt 1: 12 trucks picked up the crews of the two observer B-29s. May the men who fly this night be kept safe in Thy care, and may they be returned safely to us. that once more we may know peace on earth.
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May they, as well as we, know Thy strength and power, and armed with Thy might may they bring this war to a rapid end. we pray Thee to be with those who brave the heights of Thy heaven and who carry the battle to our enemies. He read the prayer he had composed for this moment: "Almighty Father. Tibbets beckoned to Chaplain Downey, who invited the gathering to bow their heads. Then the communications officer read out the frequencies to be used on various stages of the mission and gave the positions of rescue ships and planes.Īt 12: 15 a.m. The weather officer stepped forward and gave the forecast: the route to Japan would be almost cloud free, with only moderate winds clouds over the target cities were likely to clear at dawn. Then, in a few crisp sentences, he spelled out the rules for the mission. He reminded the crews to wear their goggles at the time of the explosion. Twelve, including himself and the two scientists, Parsons and Jeppson, would be on the Enola Gay. The numbers were written on rice paper, explained Doll, so that Beser could swallow the message if he were in danger of being captured.Īt midnight Paul Tibbets walked to one end of the lounge and addressed the twenty-six airmen who would be flying with him to Japan. Outside the lounge, scientist Ed Doll handed Beser a piece of paper with numbers on it specifying the frequency the bomb's radar was to use. Beser was still talking when, shortly before midnight, he was called away to the briefing.
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Beser's vivid descriptions helped Laurence later to collect a Pulitzer Prize for his work.
![where did the enola gay. depart from where did the enola gay. depart from](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/603MFf1j88U/maxresdefault.jpg)
Tibbets had assigned Jake Beser to brief William Laurence, The New York Times reporter attached to the Manhattan Project. Van Kirk occupied his time making sure all his navigational instruments were in his flight bag Caron sat and thought of his wife Nelson read the latest copy of The Reader's Digest Shumard tried to sleep Stiborik went to church Parsons and Jeppson went over a checklist of what they would do once they were airborne Lewis prowled around outside the combat crew's lounge, where the final briefing would be held at midnight. Tibbets, Ferebee, and Van Kirk ate several plates of pineapple fritters.Īfter eating, Ferebee got heavily involved in a poker game. LATE on the night of August 5, some of the crewmen on Tinian went to the mess hall to sample the dishes Perry's cooks had prepared. August 6, 1945)įrom 'Ruin From The Air' by Gordon Thomas & Max Morgan Witts Fission, chap 2 'Ruin From The Air': - 8:16 a.m.