Robert Lewis died in Virginia in 1983, Tibbets in 2007 in Ohio. Japan surrendered six days later, ending the war.
Three days after the Hiroshima bombing, another US B-29 dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki. “People don’t realise how many times he flew aboard the Enola Gay,” Steven Lewis said. But Tibbets only flew the Enola Gay a couple of times, while Lewis had piloted the aircraft 16 times during test flights leading up to the Hiroshima mission. The move made Tibbets a household name after his crew completed the world’s first atomic bombing mission, which destroyed much of the Japanese city and killed tens of thousands of its citizens. Photograph: NY Daily News via Getty ImagesĪs commander of the Hiroshima mission, Colonel Paul Tibbets was also the pilot of the Enola Gay, relegating the lower-ranked Lewis to co-pilot.
The crew of the Enola Gay, with Captain Robert Lewis third from right.