Nonetheless, the mission was hailed as an overall success because it reached its target against heavy and constant fighter attacks. The early American raids suffered from poor bombing accuracy which resulted in numerous civilian casualties and little damage to the rail installations. On October 9, 1942, Tibbets led the first American raid of more than 100 bombers in Europe, attacking industrial targets in the French city of Lille. Armstrong flew as Tibbets’s co-pilot.ī-17 Flying Fortresses from the 398th Bombardment Group flying a bombing mission to Neumünster, Germany, on 13 April 1945. The raid’s target was the marshaling yards in Rouen in Occupied France. On August 17, 1942, Tibbets flew the lead bomber “Butcher Shop” for the first American daylight heavy bomber mission against the Germans. was named the 97th’s new commander and quickly appointed Tibbets as his deputy. The group received the insight of the RAF pilots - who had been fighting for nearly three years - on the basics of high altitude daylight bombing. That move came in July of 1942, as the 97th became the first heavy bombardment group of the new Eighth Air Force (the Mighty Eighth) to be deployed to Britain where it was based at RAF Polebrook. Read Next: This Is Why Paul Tibbets Doesn’t Have a Grave The squadron moved from Florida to Maine to prepare for deployment to Europe. Just three weeks later he was named the commanding officer of the 340th Bombardment Squadron of the 97th Bombardment Group which was equipped with the B-17D. In February 1942, Tibbets was assigned as the 29th Bombardment Group’s engineering officer. Army prepared the Army Air Forces to transfer to England to take the bombing war to the Germans. With the United States thrust into war with both Japan and Germany, the U.S. In December 1941, he received orders to join the 29th Bombardment Group at MacDill Field, Florida, for training on the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.ĭuring a routine training flight on December 7, 1941, Tibbets and his crew heard about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor while listening to the radio. In June 1941, he was transferred to the 9th Bombardment Squadron of the 3d Bombardment Group at Hunter Field, Savannah, Georgia, as the engineering officer, and flew the A-20 Havoc. There he met Lucy Frances Wingate, and the two quietly married on June 19, 1938.Īfter being promoted to 1LT Tibbets served as the personal pilot for Brigadier General George S. Tibbets’s first assignment after graduation was with the 16th Observation Squadron, at Lawson Field. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant and received his pilot’s wings in 1938 at Kelly Field in San Antonio. His passion realized, he became an outstanding pilot. Paul Tibbets was sent to Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas, for primary and basic flight instruction. Paul Tibbets during the time he was while flying combat missions against the Germans. So, he dropped out of school and enlisted in the Army’s Aviation Cadet Training Program on February 25, 1937. While in Florida, he took flight training at Miami’s Opa-Locka Airport.Īlthough his parents wanted him to become a doctor, Tibbets wanted to become a pilot. He attended both the University of Florida at Gainesville and the University of Cincinnati pursuing a degree in medicine. Later, the family moved back to the Midwest where Tibbets graduated high school from the Western Military Academy. As part of an advertising stunt, Tibbets tossed Baby Ruth candy bars with tiny paper parachutes to the crowd. Tibbets was flying with barnstormer Doug Davis in a biplane. Tibbets had his first airplane ride when he was 12 at a carnival at the Hialeah horse track outside of Miami. As a boy, he was very interested in flying. In 1923, his family moved to Hialeah, Florida, to escape from harsh midwestern winters. was born in Quincy, Illinois, on February 23, 1915, the son of Paul Warfield Tibbets Sr. He stated that his actions had brought an end to the bloodshed of World War II and ultimately saved lives by stopping the carnage. In his later years, he would draw the ire and criticism of nuclear activists something he would make no apologies for. Paul Tibbets was a retired Air Force brigadier general who flew the Enola Gay (named after his mother) when it dropped Little Boy, on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.