CAF Airshow in Midland, «Bombing Run» and the 1/2 mile long Firewall...
Midland, September 29, 2007 (wMe)
Pilot of plane that dropped A-bomb dies
By JULIE CARR SMYTH, Associated Press Writer 14 minutes ago.
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Paul Tibbets, who piloted the B-29 bomber Enola Gay that
dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, died Thursday.
He was 92 and insisted for six decades after the war that he had no regrets
about the mission and slept just fine at night.
Tibbets died at his Columbus home, said Gerry Newhouse, a longtime friend. He
suffered from a variety of health problems and had
been in decline for two months.
Tibbets had requested no funeral and no headstone, fearing it would provide
his detractors with a place to protest, Newhouse said.
Tibbets' historic mission in the plane named for his mother marked the beginning
of the end of World War II and eliminated the need
for what military planners feared would have been an extraordinarily bloody
invasion of Japan. It was the first use of a nuclear weapon
in wartime.
The plane and its crew of 14 dropped the five-ton "Little Boy" bomb on the morning
of Aug. 6, 1945. The blast killed 70,000 to 100,000
people and injured countless others. Three days later, the United States dropped
a second nuclear bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, killing
an estimated 40,000 people. Tibbets did not fly in that mission. The Japanese
surrendered a few days later, ending the war.
"I knew when I got the assignment it was going to be an emotional thing," Tibbets
told The Columbus Dispatch for a story published
on the 60th anniversary of the bombing. "We had feelings, but we had to put
them in the background. We knew it was going to kill
people right and left. But my one driving interest was to do the best job I
could so that we could end the killing as quickly as possible.
Tibbets, then a 30-year-old colonel, never expressed regret over his role. He
said it was his patriotic duty and the right thing to do.
"I'm not proud that I killed 80,000 people, but I'm proud that I was able to
start with nothing, plan it and have it work as perfectly
as it did," he said in a 1975 interview.
"You've got to take stock and assess the situation at that time. We were at
war. ... You use anything at your disposal." He added:
"I sleep clearly every night.
" Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr. was born Feb. 23, 1915, in Quincy, Ill., and spent
most of his boyhood in Miami. He was a student at the
University of Cincinnati's medical school when he decided to withdraw in 1937
to enlist in the Army Air Corps. After the war, Tibbets
said in 2005, he was dogged by rumors claiming he was in prison or had committed
suicide. "They said I was crazy, said I was a
drunkard, in and out of institutions," he said. "At the time, I was running
the National Crisis Center at the Pentagon.
" Tibbets retired from the Air Force as a brigadier general in 1966. He later
moved to Columbus, where he ran an air taxi service until
he retired in 1985.
But his role in the bombing brought him fame - and infamy - throughout his life.
In 1976, he was criticized for re-enacting the bombing
during an appearance at a Harlingen, Texas, air show. As he flew a B-29 Superfortress
over the show, a bomb set off on the runway
below created a mushroom cloud. He said the display "was not intended to insult
anybody," but the Japanese were outraged.
The U.S. government later issued a formal apology.
Tibbets again defended the bombing in 1995, when an outcry erupted over a planned
50th anniversary exhibit of the Enola Gay at the
Smithsonian Institution. The museum had planned to mount an exhibit that would
have examined the context of the bombing,
including the discussion within the Truman administration of whether to use
the bomb, the rejection of a demonstration bombing
and the selection of the target. Veterans groups objected, saying the proposed
display paid too much attention to Japan's suffering
and too little to Japan's brutality during and before World War II, and that
it underestimated the number of Americans who would
have perished in an invasion. They said the bombing of Japan was an unmitigated
blessing for the United States and the exhibit
should say so.
Tibbets denounced it as "a damn big insult." The museum changed its plan and
agreed to display the fuselage of the Enola Gay
without commentary, context or analysis. He told the Dispatch in 2005 that he
wanted his ashes scattered over the English Channel,
where he loved to fly during the war. Newhouse, Tibbets' longtime friend, confirmed
that Tibbets wanted to be cremated, but he
said relatives had not yet determined how he would be laid to rest.
Tibbets is survived by his wife, Andrea, and two sons, Paul and Gene, as well
as a number of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
A grandson named after Tibbets followed his grandfather into the military as
a B-2 bomber pilot stationed in Belgium.
November 1, 2007 (wMe)
CAF Airshow in Midland, «Bombing Run» and the 1/2 mile long Firewall...
Midland, September 29, 2007 (wMe)
CAF NAMES BROWN PRESIDENT / CEO MIDLAND, TEXAS
(Oct. 2, 2007) - Stephan C. Brown has been named president and chief executive
officer of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF).
A former Army aviator and private pilot with more than 1,800 hours logged in
military and civilian aircraft, Brown will assume
his new post on Oct. 17, 2007.
«The CAF's Board of Directors looks forward to working with Steve Brown
in furthering the mission of the Commemorative Air Force»
said CAF Chief of Staff Gordon Stevenson. We believe he will continue our tradition
of capable leadership that began with our
founder, Lloyd Nolen, in 1957.
 |
CONVOY TO REMEMBER Birmenstorf, August 11, 2007, (wMe) |
Hans Geog Schmid killed attempting to emulate Lindbergh
Hans Georg Schmid was attempting a solo non stop aviation speed record flight across the Atlantic to commemorate
the 1927
flight from New York to Paris by Charles Lindbergh. The plane, which Schmid built himself over several years,
contained 1,700 litres
of kerosene and had taken off from the Euro Airport, north of Basel just inside French territory.
The crash happened just before midday west of the city near the French border. The top floor of the apartment block
went up in flames
and residents were evacuated.
Problems after takeoff
Sabrina Walter from the communications department at EuroAirport said the pilot was attempting a world record to fly
solo in 30 hours to
Oshkosh in the US state of Wisconsin for an aviation show. The experienced pilot, whose project was
called «St Louis memory flight», had
wanted to travel 8,000km in memory of the non stop Atlantic crossing by Lindbergh
80 years ago. According to the deputy director
of EuroAirport, Vincent Devauchelle, the aircraft had problems shortly
after take off at 11.25 am, with the
crash happening a few minutes later.
Special permit
The Federal Civil Aviation Office said the aircraft had been given a special permit last week, allowing the pilot to fly with
extra weight in
view of the amount of fuel needed for the flight. Spokesman Daniel Göring said the permit was valid
until October. He added that it was
temporary because the pilot was also planning polar flights in November 2007,
which required adjustments.
Göring described the adjustments as "minor things" that had nothing to do with the
basic flight capabilities of the plane.
Werner
Finally - first flight of the EXPRESS 2000 ER
Birrfeld, June 12, 2007
(Picture CAF Col Werner Meier)
George Lodge and Jim Goad (left) presenting the Award to the board of the Swiss Wing (General Assembly 2007)
March 23, 2007/wMe
 |
 CAF Midland, Texas Airshow Videos year 2002 / 03 / 04 / 05 / 06 |
«Stinsy» visiting the CAF French Wind at Le Bourget
(February 17, 2007/rBu)
Update: Express 2000 ER / HG Schmid
Max Vogelsang in action – Engine soon ready to assemble
(February 8, 2007/wMe)
Update: Express 2000 ER / HG Schmid
The status of his homebuilt experimental aircraft as per January 1 st 2007 is as follows:
• There are various reasons why an engine change has taken place. During the second half of January 2007 a Lycoming IO-580-B1A (315 hp) is scheduled to be installed.
• The interior fitting has almost been completed
• Both wings and the main gears are installed
• The instrument panel together with all avionics should be ready for installation by the end of January 2007
• The aircraft should be completed by end of March, the first flight is anticipated during April 2007.
