He was a lieutenant colonel selected over a colonel from Gen.
I was the junior of the outfit,” Tibbets said. “They said, 'this is what you are going to do,' and I saluted and said ‘yes, sir.’ I do know that they spent enough time to narrow it down to three people. He said he was “definitely selected,” but only makes educated assumptions about the reason why because he never questioned his superior officers about the assignment. The 88-year-old retiree, who refers to himself as a proud airman, recounted how he got the job of flying the Enola Gay on its famous mission and his approach to accomplishing the mission. He needed to fly high enough with the 10,000-pound atomic bomb to evade anti-aircraft fire and escape the blast and fallout of the explosion. To prepare the B-29 Superfortress known as the Enola Gay, Tibbets said he wanted altitude and airspeed, which he got by stripping down the airplane to make it lighter. He also spoke with about 200 people at the Pentagon as he autographed his book.
17 celebration of the centennial of flight. Tibbets spent several days in the nation’s capital attending events leading up to the Dec. WASHINGTON - “Airspeed and altitude” was the flight strategy that positioned the Enola Gay to deliver the first atomic bomb used as a weapon nearly 60 years ago, said the pilot who planned and flew the mission.
