Paul Tibbets
Paul Warfield Tibbets, Jr. (born February 23, 1915 in Quincy , Illinois - † November 1, 2007 in Columbus , Ohio ) was an American pilot in the Air Force. He directed the dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 .
Life
Tibbets was Colonel in the US Army Air Force during World War II and commander of the 509th Composite Group . On 6 August 1945, he was pilot of the named after his mother's B-29 bomber Enola Gay , from 8:15 pm, the atomic bomb Little Boy on the Japanese city of Hiroshima was dropped. Between 70,000 and 166,000 people were killed as a result of the operation, including the long-term consequences. He also held the post of Air Force Attaché at the US Embassy in New Delhi. Paul Tibbets was honored with numerous awards and remained in the Air Force until 1966.
In 1975, he became vice president of Columbus, Ohio- based air taxi company Executive Jet Aviation . The US government apologized to Japan in 1976 after Tibbets reenacted the bombing at an air show in Texas . Tibbets said he didn't mean to offend Japan.
Funeral service
Paul Tibbets decreed that there should be no funeral service and no tombstone for him. He wanted to prevent demonstrations and not create a place of pilgrimage for possible opponents of the atomic bomb. His body was cremated and the ashes scattered across the English Channel at his request .
Awards
- Distinguished Service Cross (USA)
- Purple heart
- Legion of Merit
- Distinguished Flying Cross
- Air Medal
- Army Commendation Medal
- European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
- Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
- American Defense Service Medal
- American Campaign Medal
- World War II Victory Medal
- National Defense Service Medal
Web links
- Interview with Paul Tibbets . In: Spiegel Online , Spiegel Special 1/2003
- Interview with Paul Tibbets . In: The Guardian , August 6, 2002 (English)
- Ronald Gerste: Death of the legendary «Hiroshima pilot» . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , November 2, 2007.
Individual evidence
- ^ Paul W. Tibbets: Return Of The Enola Gay . Enola Gay Remembered, New Hope, Pennsylvania 1998, ISBN 0-9703666-0-4 , pp. 288-291.
- ↑ Hiroshima bomb pilot dies aged 92 , BBC News Online . November 1, 2007.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Tibbets, Paul |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Tibbets, Paul Warfield junior (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American pilot and soldier |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 23, 1915 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Quincy , Illinois , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 1, 2007 |
| Place of death | Columbus , Ohio , United States |