ENOLA GAY CREW - AUTOGRAPHED INSCRIBED PHOTOGRAPH CIRCA 1990 CO-SIGNED BY: ENOLA GAY CREW (THEODORE VAN KIRK), ENOLA GAY CREW (PAUL W. TIBBETS), ENOLA GAY CREW (COLONEL THOMAS W. FEREBEE) - HFSID 169572

ENOLA GAY CREW: PAUL TIBBETS, TOM FEREBEE and THEODORE VAN KIRK
This black and white photograph is signed by three members of the crew that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan
Photograph signed: "Tom Ferebee/ Bombardier/ 11-5-90", "Paul W. Tibbets/ Pilot", and "Theodore J 'Dutch' Van Kirk/ Navigator". B/w, 10x8. On the morning of August 6, 1945, the Enola Gay lifted off from Tinian Island; its special payload: "Little Boy," a 9,000 pound uranium-235 core-fissionable atomic bomb. At 8:16 a.m., the bomb (which descended from the plane by parachute) exploded 1,890 feet over Hiroshima, Japan's seventh largest city. Over 78,000 people were killed by the searing heat and gamma rays, and the city, which had been home to a garrison of 150,000 Japanese troops, was virtually destroyed. This action, and the dropping of another atomic bomb on the city of Nagasaki three days later, was credited with hastening the end of World War II. U.S. Army Air Force Colonel PAUL TIBBETS (1915-2007), later an Air Force general, was responsible for the organization, training, and command of the world's first nuclear strike force. On the morning of Aug. 6, 1945, Colonel Tibbets piloted the Enola Gay, a Boeing B-29 Superfortress named after his mother, on its mission to drop the world's first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. THOMAS FEREBEE (1918-2000) was the bombardier on board the Enola Gay and was responsible for dropping the first atomic bomb. Ferebee initially trained for a position on the Boston Red Sox, but joined the Army when he didn't make the team. A knee injury put him into flight school instead of Army training. He remained in the Air Force until the 1970s, serving in Korea and retiring as a colonel. He worked as a real estate agent after retirement. THEODORE VAN KIRK (1921-2014) was the navigator of the Enola Gay. Before this, he flew 58 B-17 bomber missions over occupied France and Germany before returning to the United States as a navigational instructor. He left the Army Air Corps a major and went on hold various positions in DuPont for 35 years. Ink notes (unknown hand) on verso. .Fine condition.