Editing Enola Gay (section)

===Hiroshima mission===
{{Main|Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki }}
[[File:Atombombe Little Boy 2.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|''[[Little Boy]]'' unit on a trailer cradle in a bomb pit on [[Tinian]], before loading into ''Enola Gay''{{'}}s bomb bay]]
On 5 August 1945, during preparation for the first atomic mission, Tibbets assumed command of the aircraft and named it after his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets, who, in turn, had been named for the heroine of a novel.{{refn|''Enola; or Her Fatal Mistake'' (1886), by [[Mary Young Ridenbaugh]] is the only novel of the period to use "Enola".<ref name="Ridenbaugh/1886/Enola">{{cite book |last1=Ridenbaugh |first1=Mary Young |title=Enola; Or, Her Fatal Mistake |date=1886 |publisher=For the author |location=Kentucky |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4GUtAAAAYAAJ |access-date=8 August 2023 |language=en |quote=Volume 3 of Wright American fiction}}{{free access}}</ref>|group=N}} When it came to selecting a name for the plane, Tibbets later recalled that: {{blockquote|...&nbsp;my thoughts turned at this point to my courageous red-haired mother, whose quiet confidence had been a source of strength to me since boyhood, and particularly during the soul-searching period when I decided to give up a medical career to become a military pilot. At a time when Dad had thought I had lost my marbles, she had taken my side and said, "I know you will be all right, son."{{sfn|Tibbets|1998|p=203}} }}

In the early morning hours, just prior to the 6 August mission, Tibbets had a young Army Air Forces maintenance man, Private Nelson Miller, paint the name just under the pilot's window.<ref>{{cite web  |title=Boeing B-29 Superfortress "Enola Gay"  |publisher=Smithsonian Institution  |url=https://www.si.edu/object/nasm_A19500100000?width=85%25&height=85%25&iframe=true&back_link=1&destination=spotlight/awards-and-insignia  |access-date=17 August 2020  |archive-date=31 October 2020  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031020336/https://www.si.edu/object/nasm_A19500100000?width=85%25&height=85%25&iframe=true&back_link=1&destination=spotlight%2Fawards-and-insignia  |url-status=live  }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Nathan|first=Richard|date=6 August 2021|title=Literary Fallout: The legacies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki|url=https://www.redcircleauthors.com/news-and-views/literary-fallout-the-legacies-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki/|url-status=live|newspaper=Red Circle|access-date=9 August 2021|archive-date=26 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220226192717/https://www.redcircleauthors.com/news-and-views/literary-fallout-the-legacies-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki/}}</ref>{{sfn|Campbell|2005|pp=191–192}} Regularly assigned aircraft commander [[Robert A. Lewis]] was unhappy to be displaced by Tibbets for this important mission and became furious when he arrived at the aircraft on the morning of 6 August to see it painted with the now-famous nose art.{{sfn|Thomas|Morgan-Witts|1977|pp=382–383}}

[[Hiroshima]] was the primary target of the first nuclear bombing mission on 6 August, with Kokura and Nagasaki as alternative targets. ''Enola Gay'', piloted by Tibbets, took off from [[North Field (Tinian)|North Field]], in the [[Northern 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 (aircraft)|Necessary Evil]]'', commanded by Captain George Marquardt, to take photographs. The director of the [[Manhattan Project]], [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] [[Leslie R. Groves Jr.]], wanted the event recorded for posterity, so the takeoff was illuminated by floodlights. When he wanted to taxi, Tibbets leaned out the window to direct the bystanders out of the way. On request, he gave a friendly wave for the cameras.{{sfn|Polmar|2004|pp=31–32}}
[[File:Atomic cloud over Hiroshima.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|Hiroshima explosion]]

After leaving Tinian, the three aircraft made their way separately to [[Iwo Jima]], where they rendezvoused at {{convert|2440|m|ft|sp=us}} and set course for Japan. The aircraft arrived over the target in clear visibility at {{convert|9855|m|ft|sp=us}}. Navy Captain [[William Sterling Parsons|William S. "Deak" Parsons]] of [[Project Alberta]], who was in command of the mission, armed the bomb during the flight to minimize the risks during takeoff. His assistant, [[Second Lieutenant]] [[Morris R. Jeppson]], removed the safety devices 30 minutes before reaching the target area.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mphpa.org/classic/HISTORY/H-07L1.htm|title=Timeline #2 – the 509th; The Hiroshima Mission|publisher=The Atomic Heritage Foundation|access-date=5 May 2007|archive-date=1 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501233757/http://mphpa.org/classic/HISTORY/H-07L1.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

The release at 08:15 (Hiroshima time) went as planned, and the Little Boy took 53 seconds<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CknAtJFGgos| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211104/CknAtJFGgos| archive-date=2021-11-04 | url-status=live|title=World at War &#124; Hiroshima &#124; Atomic Bomb &#124; Interviews &#124; 1974|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> to fall from the aircraft flying at {{convert|31060|ft|m|sp=us}} to the predetermined detonation height about {{convert|1968|ft|m|sp=us}} above the city. ''Enola Gay'' traveled {{convert|11.5|mi|abbr=on}} before it felt the shock waves from the blast.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm| title=The Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima, Aug&nbsp;6, 1945| publisher=[[United States Department of Energy]]| access-date=25 June 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100624065430/http://www.cfo.doe.gov/me70/manhattan/hiroshima.htm| archive-date=24 June 2010| url-status=dead}}</ref> Although buffeted by the shock, neither ''Enola Gay'' nor ''The Great Artiste'' was damaged.{{sfn|Polmar|2004|p=33}}

The detonation created a blast equivalent to {{convert|15|ktonTNT|lk=in}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Nwfaq/Nfaq8.html#nfaq8.1.3 |title=Section 8.0 The First Nuclear Weapons |publisher=Nuclear Weapons Archive |access-date=13 April 2013}}</ref> The U-235 weapon was [[Nuclear weapon design#Gun-type assembly|considered very inefficient]], with only 1.7% of its [[fissile material]] reacting.<ref name="cotmplitboy">{{cite web|url=http://www.mphpa.org/classic/HISTORY/little_boy.htm|title=The Bomb-"Little Boy"|publisher=The Atomic Heritage Foundation|access-date=5 May 2007|archive-date=17 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417070729/https://www.atomicheritage.org/history|url-status=live}}</ref> The radius of total destruction was about {{convert|1|mi|km|spell=in}}, with resulting fires across {{convert|4.4|sqmi|km2}}.<ref>{{cite web| title=Radiation Dose Reconstruction U.S. Occupation Forces in Hiroshima And Nagasaki, Japan, 1945–1946 (DNA 5512F)| url=http://www.dtra.mil/toolbox/directorates/td/programs/nuclear_personnel/docs/DNATR805512F.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060624185903/http://www.dtra.mil/toolbox/directorates/td/programs/nuclear_personnel/docs/DNATR805512F.pdf | archive-date=24 June 2006 | access-date=9 June 2006}}</ref> Americans estimated that {{convert|4.7|sqmi|km2}} of the city were destroyed. Japanese officials determined that 69% of Hiroshima's buildings were destroyed and another 6–7% damaged.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web|publisher=Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. |title=U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey: The Effects of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, June 19, 1946. President's Secretary's File, Truman Papers. |url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=14&documentid=65&documentdate=1946-06-19&studycollectionid=abomb |page=9 |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-date=8 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608210328/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=14&documentdate=1946-06-19&documentid=65&studycollectionid=abomb |url-status=live}}</ref> Some 70,000–80,000 people, 30% of the city's population, were killed by the blast and resultant firestorm,<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. |title=U. S. Strategic Bombing Survey: The Effects of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, June 19, 1946. President's Secretary's File, Truman Papers. |url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=11&documentid=65&documentdate=1946-06-19&studycollectionid=abomb |page=6 |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-date=8 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608035058/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=11&documentdate=1946-06-19&documentid=65&studycollectionid=abomb |url-status=live }}</ref> and another 70,000 injured.<ref>{{cite web |title=Harry S. Truman Library & Museum. U. S. Strategic Bombing Survey: The Effects of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, June 19, 1946. President's Secretary's File, Truman Papers. |url=http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=42&documentid=65&documentdate=1946-06-19&studycollectionid=abomb |page=37 |access-date=15 March 2009 |archive-date=8 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608191453/http://www.trumanlibrary.org/whistlestop/study_collections/bomb/large/documents/index.php?pagenumber=42&documentdate=1946-06-19&documentid=65&studycollectionid=abomb |url-status=live }}</ref> Out of those killed, 20,000 were soldiers and 20,000 were Korean slave laborers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hiroshimacommittee.org/Facts_NagasakiAndHiroshimaBombing.htm |title=Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bombing: Facts about the Atomic Bomb |publisher=Hiroshima Day Committee |access-date=13 April 2013 |archive-date=2 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602010751/http://www.hiroshimacommittee.org/Facts_NagasakiAndHiroshimaBombing.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:Enola Gay2-PS.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.4|''Enola Gay'' landing at its base]]
''Enola Gay'' returned safely to its base on Tinian to great fanfare, touching down at 2:58 pm, after 12 hours 13 minutes. ''The Great Artiste'' and ''Necessary Evil'' followed at short intervals. Several hundred people, including journalists and photographers, had gathered to watch the planes return. Tibbets was the first to disembark and was presented with the [[Distinguished Service Cross (United States)|Distinguished Service Cross]] on the spot.{{sfn|Polmar|2004|p=33}}