The B-29 passed over the island of Shikoku, approaching Hiroshima from the east. 'This was my first mission over there, my only mission over there,' he said. Tibbets radioed their pilots to keep him in sight: 'I said, 'No formation flying. 91, two other B-29's that would accompany them, joined the Enola Gay there. Tibbets said.īy the time the Enola Gay reached Iwo Jima, the sun was coming up, a multihued daybreak that struck Mr. 'My order to the crew was to stay off the intercom,' Mr. van Kirk said.īut there was little talking aboard the plane. 'I remember hollering up at Paul, couldn't we get a couple of more thousand feet, so we weren't so bumpy,' Mr.
Initially, they flew low, about a mile above the Pacific. Once aloft, he took the aircraft's bearings, using the northern tip of Saipan island and, later, the stars above, as reference points. van Kirk spread out his charts on a tiny table just behind the pilot's and co-pilot's seats. The crew had breakfast, then headed for the plane. A final, midnight briefing was closed with a chaplain's prayer. Tibbets passed the time playing blackjack with the plane's bombardier, Tom Ferebee. The crew was told to get some sleep.īut who could? Instead, Mr. At an afternoon briefing, the primary target was announced: Hiroshima. van Kirk, who was a captain, got orders for the mission the previous day, and as navigator spent hours drawing up a flight plan.
