Although buffeted by the shock, neither Enola Gay nor The Great Artiste was damaged.
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Enola Gay traveled 11.5 mi (18.5 km) before it felt the shock waves from the blast.
![b 29 enola gay plane b 29 enola gay plane](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50012914861_3f5a379f6d_o.jpg)
The release at 08:15 (Hiroshima time) went as planned, and the Little Boy took 43 seconds to fall from the aircraft flying at 31,060 feet (9,470 m) to the predetermined detonation height about 1,968 feet (600 m) above the city. Jeppson, removed the safety devices 30 minutes before reaching the target area. His assistant, Second Lieutenant Morris R. "Deak" Parsons of Project Alberta, who was in command of the mission, armed the bomb during the flight to minimize the risks during takeoff.
![b 29 enola gay plane b 29 enola gay plane](https://airandspace.si.edu/sites/default/files/images/exhibitions/hero-images/95-4625h.jpg)
The aircraft arrived over the target in clear visibility at 9,855 meters (32,333 ft). On request, he gave a friendly wave for the cameras.Īfter leaving Tinian, the aircraft made their way separately to Iwo Jima, where they rendezvoused at 2,440 meters (8,010 ft) and set course for Japan. When he wanted to taxi, Tibbets leaned out the window to direct the bystanders out of the way. Groves, Jr., wanted the event recorded for posterity, so the takeoff was illuminated by floodlights. The director of the Manhattan Project, Major General Leslie R. Enola Gay, piloted by Tibbets, took off from North Field, in the Mariana Islands, about six hours' flight time from Japan, accompanied by two other B-29s, The Great Artiste, carrying instrumentation, and a then-nameless aircraft later called Necessary Evil, commanded by Captain George Marquardt, to take photographs. Hiroshima was the primary target of the first nuclear bombing mission on 6 August, with Kokura and Nagasaki as alternative targets. Following delivery to the US Twelfth Air Force, the aircraft was assigned to the 393rd Bombardment Squadron (VH) of the 315th Bombardment Wing, receiving individual aircraft number 82. The aircraft was named for the mother of Colonel Paul Tibbets, who flew the aircraft on the Hiroshima mission.Įnola Gay was one of the 536 B-29s built at the Martin-Omaha plant from mid 1944. It is famed for dropping the world's first nuclear bomb used in warfare, which was dropping the Little Boy on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. The Enola Gay is a Boeing B-29 Superfortress. You can help the Aircraft Wiki by expanding it.Įnola Gay on the ground, showing the arrowhead painted on the tail in place of the group letter Official photograph of the Office of Chief of Engineers, now in the collections of the National Archives.This article is a stub. Boeing B-29 Superfortress, Enola Gay, returns after the strike Hiroshima, August 6, 1945. Image: 77-BT-91: Tinian Island, August 1945. Four days later, Japanese submarine, I-58, sank Indianapolis, northeast of Leyte.Ī replica of Little Boy can be found at " In Harm's Way: Pacific" exhibit area in the National Museum of the Navy, Bldg. Previously, on July 26, the bomb, along with " Fat Man" was transported to Tinian Island by USS Indianapolis (CA-35) for final assembly. A U-235 projectile fired down a gun barrel collided with a stationary element, causing a mass increase leading to nuclear fission.
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Nuclear fission was achieved by the collision of two parts of active material (Uranium-235). The gun-type weapon possessed the power of 26,000,000 pounds of high explosives. The bomb weighed 9,000 pounds and had a diameter of only 28 inches. The bomb was dropped by a USAAF B-29 bomber, Enola Gay, piloted by U.S. The atomic bomb used at Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, was "Little Boy".