All the bomber groups on Tinian, except the 509th, were involved in the devastating incendiary bombing raids launched against Tokyo - the 509th would only be utilized for the secret atomic bombing mission. Prior to being sent to Tinian, the 509th practiced accurate bomb dropping in Wendover, Utah. Preparations for the assembly of atomic bombs and the readying of the 509th Composite Group began on April 3. Tinian was chosen as the base of operations for an atomic attack against Japan in February of 1945. Norman Ramsey suggested that modifications be made to the B-29s. Robert Oppenheimer on August 9, 1945, Columbia scientist Dr. While Little Boy, a simple "gun-type" uranium bomb, would not have exploded had the Enola Gay cashed, Fat Man, a more complicated uranium bomb that had to be fully armed before takeoff, could have. This requirement made takeoff crashes common - a problem that planners of the atomic bomb had not anticipated. The ground literally shook as planes took off every minute of every day.īecause the round trip to Japan was close to 3000 miles, all bombers that took off from the island had to be overloaded with fuel. The Twentieth Bomber Command launched relentless attacks on the Philippines, Okinawa, and mainland Japan. Tinian was the forward operational base from which bombers flew to Japan. North Field consisted of four airfields and supported 269 B-29s. Six runways were completed within two months and Tinian soon became the biggest air base in the world. Navy construction battalions known as the SeaBees began bulldozing mere days after the island was secured. military referred to Tinian with the codename "Destination." Building an Airbase The invasion of Tinian, which began June 24 and ended August 1, was similarly difficult - over 300 Americans and 6,000 Japanese lost their lives. The U.S.
generals with a stark understanding that Japan would not fall easily. Fierce fighting by the 10,000 Japanese army men and the mass civilian suicides on Saipan left U.S. The taking of Tinian was preceded by the invasion of Saipan, also part of the Marianas, on June 15, 1944. military because of its key strategic importance. Tinian, easy to supply by sea and perfect for launching air attacks against Japan, was desired by the U.S. This proximity to Japan is one reason Tinian served as the headquarters of the 509th Composite Group. The round-trip flight from Tinian to Tokyo took B-29s an average of twelve hours. One of three islands in the Northern Marianas, Tinian is less than forty square miles in size and located approximately 1,500 miles south of Tokyo. It was not until August 14 that Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender.Tinian Island was the launching point for the atomic bomb attacks against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. Even a second atomic attack three days later on the city of Nagasaki failed to bring an immediate end to the hostilities. Yet, this was not enough to persuade the Japanese leadership to surrender. After the war, Supreme Allied Headquarters estimated that 129,558 were killed, wounded or missing as a result of the blast. Tibbets and his crew looked back to behold an ominous mushroom-shaped cloud boiling into the upper atmosphere. A blast of blinding light engulfed the crew as the plane made a radical turn to escape the explosion. At 8:16 the bomb was released and detonated a few thousand feet above ground. The Enola Gay arrived over the city at 7:25 a.m. The remainder of the trip to their target was unmarred by any Japanese opposition as the bomb was armed and prepared for release. Their objective was a city of approximately 350,000 located on the southwestern portion of Japan's largest island and as yet untouched by the massive bombing raids carried on by US forces. Tibbets announced to his specially trained crew that they carried the world's first atomic bomb and that their target was Hiroshima. Approximately four hours into the flight, Col. In the early morning darkness of Augthe B-29 "Enola Gay" piloted by Colonel Paul Tibbets lifted off the runway at Tinian Island and flew into history.