enola gay

While goggling about in search of information about the new Enola Gay
exhibit, I found that NASM has considerable information on the 1995
exhibit on its website:

http://www.nasm.si.edu/galleries/GAL...03_former.html

Excerpt:

The wall text about the mission reads: "Tibbets piloted the aircraft
on its mission to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945.
That bomb and the one dropped on Nagasaki three days later destroyed
much of the two cities and caused tens of thousands of deaths.

"However," the text continues, "the use of the bombs led to the
immediate surrender of Japan and made unnecessary the planned invasion
of the Japanese home islands. Such an invasion, especially if
undertaken for both main islands, would have led to very heavy
casualties among American and Allied troops and Japanese civilians and
military. It was thought highly unlikely that Japan, while in a very
weakened military condition, would have surrendered unconditionally
without such an invasion."





all the best -- Dan Ford
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