Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Aircraft Pilot Call Sign Mission role
Straight Flush Major Claude R. Eatherly Dimples 85 Weather reconnaissance ( Hiroshima )
Jabit III Major John A. Wilson Dimples 71 Weather reconnaissance ( Kokura )
Full House Major Ralph R. Taylor Dimples 83 Weather reconnaissance ( Nagasaki )
Enola Gay Colonel Paul W. Tibbets Dimples 82 Weapon delivery
The Great Artiste Major Charles W. Sweeney Dimples 89 Blast measurement instrumentation
Necessary Evil Captain . George W. Marquardt Dimples 91 Strike observation and photography
Top Secret Captain Charles F. McKnight Dimples 72 Strike spare - did not complete mission
Hiroshima -- Bombing of Hiroshima
Hiroshima was the primary target of the first atomic bombing mission on August 6 , with Kokura and Nagasaki as alternative targets . The 393d Bombardment Squadron B-29 Enola Gay , named after Tibbets ' mother and piloted by Tibbets , took off from North Field , Tinian , about six hours ' flight time from Japan . Enola Gay was accompanied by two other B-29s : The Great Artiste , commanded by Major Charles Sweeney , which carried instrumentation , and a then-nameless aircraft later called Necessary Evil , commanded by Captain George Marquardt , which served as the photography aircraft . [ 126 ] [ clarification needed ] Strike order for the Hiroshima bombing as posted on August 5 , 1945
The United States detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945, respectively, with the consent of the United Kingdom, as required by the Quebec Agreement. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict. In the final year of World War II, the Allies prepared for a very costly invasion of the Japanese mainland. This undertaking was preceded by a conventional and firebombing campaign which devastated 67 Japanese cities. The war in Europe had concluded when Germany signed its instrument of surrender on May 8, 1945, and the Allies turned their full attention to the Pacific theater. The Allies called for the unconditional surrender of the Imperial Japanese armed forces in the Potsdam Declaration on July 26, 1945, the alternative being prompt and utter destruction. Japan ignored the ultimatum and the war continued. By August 1945, the Allies' Manhattan Project had produced two types of atomic bombs, and the 509th Composite Group of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was equipped with the specialized Silverplate version of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress that could deliver them from Tinian in the Mariana Islands. The Allies issued orders for atomic bombs to be used on four Japanese cities on July 25. On August 6, one of the modified B-29s dropped a uranium gun-type bomb (Little Boy) on Hiroshima. Another B-29 dropped a plutonium implosion bomb (Fat Man) on Nagasaki three days later. The bombs immediately devastated their targets.