He helped develop the employment capabilities of the atomic bomb in combat operations including the mating of the development of the atomic bomb to the airplane. In September 1944, the general was assigned to the Atomic Bomb Project as the Air Force officer in charge. Benning, Ga.Īfter flying multiple combat missions in Europe and North Africa, the then-B-17 Flying Fortress pilot returned to the United States in March 1943 to participate in the B-29 program. He graduated from pilot school at Kelly Field, Texas, and went to his first assignment with the 16th Observation Squadron at Lawson Field, Ft. Thomas, Ky., after attending college at University of Florida and the University of Cincinnati where he majored in chemistry. General Tibbets, a native of Quincy, Ill., entered the Army Air Corps on Feb. The general was the pilot of 'the Enola Gay,' the B-29 Superfortress which dropped the first atomic bomb, 'Little Boy' on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945, which many historian consider the end of World War II. Tibbets Jr., the pilot of the first atomic bombing mission, died of natural causes Nov. Enola Gay pilot, General Tibbets passes away
