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OCTOBER 29, 2015 | The Jewish Home
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Forgotten Her es
B A LT I M O R E J E W I S H H O M E . C O M
THE BALTIMORE JEWISH HOME
JULY 23, 2020
The Jews who Dropped the A-Bomb By Avi Heiligman
T
he most destructive bombs ever used in combat were the two atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki on August 6th and 9th, 1945. A few days later, Japan agreed to an unconditional surrender and many historians believe that with-
out the bombs the war would have continued on for months with untold casualties. The creation of the bombs and the Jewish scientists who were instrumental in the Manhattan Project are well documented. However, it was the men of the 20th Air Force and the 509th Composite Group (CG) that actually planned the raids and dropped the bombs. Many Jewish
the particular planes he wanted to carry the bombs. Tibbets was the commander of the 509th Composite Group since the previous September and trained the handpicked crews. The one caveat was that the men did not learn of the actual purpose of their training until they were about to go on the mission. Tests of the bomb had been successful at the
The men, including the three Jewish officers depicted in this article, who flew the missions were the best B-29 crews in the Army Air Corps and are remembered 75 years after the bombs were dropped for their part in ending World War II.
Famous picture taken by First Lieutenant Charles Levy
airmen served with the 20th Air Force and a few were crew members on the famous missions. The plane of choice was the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. The heavy bomber had four engines, cabin pressurization and most importantly, for the atomic bomb missions, had a range of over 3,000 miles. Sixty Five B-29s of the Silverplate series were designed for these missions and Lt. Col. Paul Tibbets handpicked
Trinity Site in New Mexico and the bombs were sent to the B-29 base on Tinian in the pacific. A plane named the Enola Gay, piloted by Tibbets, dropped the bomb on Hiroshima and the Boxcar, piloted by Major Charles Sweeney, dropped the bomb on Nagasaki. First Lieutenant Jacob Beser was the only person to have flown on both strike planes during the missions. He was born in Baltimore and
