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Paul Tibbets, Jr., the American pilot who dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan in World War II, has died at his home in Columbus, Ohio. He was 92.
Tibbets was 30 years old when he flew his famous mission in the Enola Gay on August 6, 1945. He had been flying bombers in Europe and Asia since 1942. Tibbets painted his mother’s name on the nose of his plane the day before the mission.
Here’s a clear page on the Enola Gay and its mission. Or try the archived pages from the controversial 1998 Smithsonian exhibition.
Tibbets’ plane is now on display at the Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia.
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