Presentation Date: July 23, 1998
Capt. Theodore Dutch Van Kirk
Navigator of B-29 "Enola Gay" Navigator of B-29 "Enola Gay"
Target: HIROSHIMA, B-29 "Enola Gay"
2:45 A.M. 6 August, 1945, the B-29 Superfortress, named "Enola Gay" for its pilot's mother, lifted-off from Tinian bound for Hiroshima, Japan and history's first atomic bomb attack! Aboard as the 509th Composite Group Navigator, Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk, skillfully guided the historic mission precisely to its rendezvous with destiny, with Bombardier Tom Ferebee releasing the awesome weapon at 8:15 A.M. Hiroshima time (9:15 A.M. Tinian time), only 12 seconds later than planned. This amazing precision was planned and led primarily by 509th Group CO and Pilot Col. Paul W. Tibbets, Bombardier Maj. Thomas W. Ferebee and our special guest speaker on 23 July, 1998, Navigator Capt. Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk.
Dutch generously shared his time and historic eyewitness experiences with the Golden Gate Wing, to a full house riveted to his powerful words and natural humor. He began by reminding us he had been here about 12 years earlier as our speaker, and complimented the Wing on the "obvious progress and growth, with wonderful memorabilia and walls full of history."
The "triumvirate" of Paul Tibbetts, Tom Ferebee and Dutch VanKirk has been connected since early 1942, when they met as a B-17 crew in the 97th Bomb Group and flew as the first bomb group to England. While still training in the US, though, as Dutch related in one of many humorous anecdotes, the crew was forced to load the bomb bay with bombs, then tanks, then bombs, etc. repeatedly. Finally, Tom Ferebee reached his limit. "One day, after again loading bombs, Tom decided 'the Hell with this!'...(he) pulls the arming pins and drops all the bombs right on the runway!"
From England, Dutch and the crew flew "13 or 14 missions" against the Germans in the B-17 "Red Gremlin", before abruptly being sent to a secret base in England. There, they were equipped with civilian clothes, photos, documentation and money in case they were forced to land in Spain or Portugal enroute to participate in the North African Invasion. As Dutch said, in his unique style, "How could we pass for civilians, flying this B-17 warplane?!"
As part of the experience in North Africa, the "Red Gremlin" also flew numerous high-level commanders, including Gen. Eisenhower, around the theater of operations. Again, there were many hilarious, yet scary experiences Dutch shared with us. One example was a moonlit night when he and Tom Ferebee, among many others, were caught on foot in a bombing/strafing attack by German aircraft. Bombs fell on either side of a slit trench they temporarily occupied. Moments later they began running again through a vineyard, with machine-gun-strafing "licking their heels". Another blast blew Tom about 20 ft., and the last time Dutch saw Tom that night, Tom was still running. Ferebee ended-up spending the night with an anti-aircraft gun crew!
Another now-hilarious episode there involved Paul Tibbetts asking the RAF Commander for bombs, ammunition, fuel, etc. to "do some good with our six B-17's". The RAF response was to give Paul's crew a truck! So, with no ground crew or maintenance help, the flight crew armed and fueled their own B-17's with 5-gallon cans! Considering the B-17 held about 1,875 gallons, what a chore!
Next, the crew went to different assignments, eventually back to the USA. Paul Tibbetts was handpicked, from a final list of 5 candidates (including 3 B. Generals, 1 Col. and 1 Lt. Col.), to lead the newly-formed 509th Composite Group of B-29's, to deliver the weapon of the USA's Manhattan Project.
In the October/November, 1944 time frame, Paul called his core team together again, including Dutch as Group Navigator and Tom as Group Bombardier. They "volunteered", finding out later that Paul already had cut their orders 2 days before asking them to volunteer!
This crucial new Group possessed the highest priority - - "anything we needed: people, planes, equipment, etc.", and carried the code name "SILVERPLATE".
The selected destination for developing the 509th was Wendover, Utah, in the remote desert, ideal for secrecy. It was so sparse there that, during a brief visit to Wendover, Bob Hope exclaimed, "This is Leftover, not Wendover!"
Beyond Paul Tibbetts' handpicked crew, other crews came from many other groups in the USAAF, and were told they were training for a special mission in the Pacific. No one was ever told about an "atomic bomb" or "nuclear weapon". Instead, the words were "gimmick" or simply "weapon". Of course, as Dutch said, "If you had any smarts at all or basic observation powers, you could figure it out. You can't fly around people like Dr. Enrico Fermi or Dr. Robert Oppenheimer and not realize this had something to do with an atomic bomb!"
Again, secrecy was supreme. "If you talked to anyone about what was going on, you were sent immediately to the Aleutian Islands!" said Dutch. The highest-ranking officer that Paul Tibbetts sent to the Aleutians was a Lt. Col. There even were CIC "plants" among the crews watching for violators. One, a poker-playing buddy of Dutch and Tom, posing as Capt. McClanahan, turned-out to be a Col. in the Counter Intelligence Corps (C.I.C.), Dutch later learned after the war.
The intense training at Wendover focused on very high-altitude bombing and an immediate "breakaway" maneuver, where the pilot banked the B-29 sharply into a 150 degree turn with maximum power, in order to maximize distance separation from the impact point. The B-29's were lightened as much as possible by removing armor plating and all guns except the tail-gun.
Finally, after getting 15 brand-new B-29's - - by invoking the "SILVERPLATE" priority - - Paul Tibbetts and the 509th Composite Group ("composite", because it was essentially self-sufficient with its own maintenance, logistics, armament, etc.) left Wendover June 25, 1945 bound for Tinian. Little more than 2 weeks later, on July 16, 1945, the Manhattan Project scientists exploded in the New Mexico desert the world's first atomic device. Paul asked Dr. Oppenheimer what the odds were the bomb would fail. When told "1 in 10,000", Paul said "good enough; we'll go!"
By the end of July, while the 509th endured the jealousy and ridicule of other B-29 groups on Tinian (because of the 509th's special treatment and isolation), President Harry Truman issued Gen. Curtis LeMay and the USAAF blanket authority "OK" to drop the bomb at the earliest opportunity. Meanwhile, the cruiser USS Indianapolis brought the first 2 atomic bombs to Tinian.
On the night of August 5, 1945, several briefings were held; then, the crew was told to get some sleep and be ready for takeoff at 2:15 A.M. Tinian time. Of course they couldn't sleep; instead they played poker most of the night!
Target selection had been made: Hiroshima (#1), Kokura, Nagasaki and Kyoto (deleted before the mission). Rules governing the mission demanded the target be visible! "No radar sighting was permitted - - with radar we couldn't hit anything anyway!" Dutch said.
Prior to takeoff, the "Enola Gay" was splashed in floodlights, reminding one California crewmember of a supermarket opening! Surrounded by hordes of top brass and Manhattan Project officials, the historic B-29 began its momentous flight at 2:45 A.M., right on schedule.
Three B-29's participated, one at each of three candidate targets, with the weather plane about one hour ahead of the Enola Gay. After a low altitude flight to Iwo Jima, Enola Gay began its slow climb to Japan, with the Navy's Capt. Parsons arming the (U-235) atomic bomb enroute.
"Everything was picture perfect. The whole mission couldn't have gone better, weather and everything!" said Dutch. He navigated the big B-29 precisely to the target and Tom Ferebee released the 1st atomic bomb right on target, a mere 12 seconds later than originally planned, at 8:15 A.M. Japan time; 9:15 A.M. Tinian time.
Immediately, Paul Tibbetts executed the "breakaway maneuver", and, by the time detonation occurred 45 seconds later, Enola Gay was about 11-12 miles away from ground zero. Two massive shock waves tossed the B-29, but everything went, as Dutch said again, "picture perfect!"
Thanks again to Dutch Van Kirk for an unforgettable first-person account of this revolutionary, historic event! Dutch reveals a powerful voice and clear memory, as shown by the many other details and anecdotes he related about the whole climactic experience.