![]() The subject isn't one he eagerly talks about. Sixty-seven years later, Bombara looks upon his involvement with the Enola Gay with a mix of emotions. ![]() ![]() The bombing claimed an estimated 170,000 lives and effectively brought about the end of World War II. The plane, which had been christened the Enola Gay by its commander shortly after it left the Nebraska airbase, went on to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. Now 90, Bombara learned what all the hubbub was about when the rest of the world did. While it was stationed at the base, the ground crew installed oversized bomb bay doors, added special propellers and modified engines, and removed protective armor and gun turrets. "All of us wondered what was up with that airplane."Īlthough there were other B-29s on the base, Bombara recalled that none had been ordered to be retrofitted like Tibbets' plane. "It was definitely the most unusual assignment I ever had," Bombara said in the living room of his Spring Hill home last week. took the B-29 through numerous test flights. For four months, Bombara and the rest of the 33-member crew worked in secrecy while the flight crew headed by Col.
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