ENOLA GAY CREW - PRINTED ART SIGNED IN INK CO-SIGNED BY: ENOLA GAY CREW (THEODORE VAN KIRK), ENOLA GAY CREW (PAUL W. TIBBETS), ENOLA GAY CREW (COLONEL THOMAS W. FEREBEE) - HFSID 167501

ENOLA GAY CREW: PAUL TIBBETS, THOMAS FEREBEE, and THEODORE VAN KIRK
Captioned color print of the B-29 leaving Hiroshima as the mushroom cloud rises behind it. Signed by the pilot, bombardier, and navigator on the historic flight
Printed Art Signed in Ink: "Thomas W. Ferebee/ Bombardier", "Paul W. Tibbets/ Pilot" and "Theodore J. 'Dutch' Van Kirk/ Navigator". Color, 10x8. Captioned: "Atomic Warfare is Born. Precisely at 17 seconds past 8:15 a.m. on 6 August, 1945, Colonel Paul W. Tibbets and the crew of the ENOLA GAY 44-86292, a B-29 45-MO, released the first atomic weapon nicknamed 'Little Boy'. Forty-three seconds later, Hiroshima ceased to exist as a city and the course of warfare changed forever." "Little Boy," a 9,000-pound uranium-235 core-fissionable atomic bomb 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. Japan surrendered on August 14, 1945. 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. Fine condition.