Paul Warfield Tibbets
MilitaryPersonal collection of Bethany S. Huber, daughter of Herman S. Haag
Flew 1st bombing mission of WW II in B-17 'Butcher Shop' with his CO, Col. Armstrong. His regularly assigned plane was #41-24444 'The Red Gremlin'. Flew the Enola Gay, the B-29 that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan on 6 Aug 1945. He had his original Bombardier Ferebee and navigator Van Kirk on the atomic bomb drop.
Distinguished Service Cross, DFC, Legion of Merit, Purple Heart, Air Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, Commendation Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory M
Connections
See how this entry relates to other items in the archive by exploring the connections below.
Units served with
- Unit Hierarchy: Squadron
- Air Force: Twelfth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
- Unit Hierarchy: Group
- Air Force: Eighth Air Force
- Type Category: Bombardment
People
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 340th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-443490
- Highest Rank: Colonel
- Role/Job: Bombardier
- Military/Civilian/Mascot: Military
- Nationality: American
- Unit: 97th Bomb Group 340th Bomb Squadron
- Service Numbers: O-659024
- Highest Rank: Captain
- Role/Job: Navigator
Aircraft
Missions
- Date: 17 August 1942
- Official Description:
Events
Event | Location | Date | Description |
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Quincy, Illinois | 23 February 1915 | |
Died |
Columbus, Ohio, USA | 1 November 2007 | |
Buried |
Cremated, ashes scattered over English Channel | ||
Other 1st 8th AF Bombing mission |
Rouen, France | 17 August 1942 | Paul lead 1st 8th AF Bombing mission for B-17s to marshaling yards at Rouen, France. |
Revisions
Paul Tibbets bio lists DFC with one oak leaf cluster and Air Medal with three oak clusters.
Added connections to his Bombardier Ferebee and Navigator Van Kirk mentioned in the "Summary biography".
Added Middle Name per info on Wikipedia.com.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tibbets
NARA files verified officer number, DSC, PH and AM w/2 oak leaf clusters. No DFC file is readily available nor a LOM file for Tibbets.
97th Bomb Group Association, Inc., Roster - June 1, 2000 / Drawn from the records of the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force, Savannah, Georgia