Pilot of Hiroshima bomb flight dies

The pilot of the plane that dropped the world's first atomic bomb used in warfare on Hiroshima died today aged 92.

Paul Tibbets died at his home in Columbus Ohio after a two-month illness. He had requested no funeral and no headstone, fearing it would give his critics with a focus for their protests.

Gen Tibbets's mission commanding the B-29 Enola Gay , named after his mother, was the first time man had used nuclear weaponry against man and marked the beginning of the end of World War II.

It was the morning of August 6th, 1945, when the plane and its crew of 14 dropped the five-ton "Little Boy" bomb over Hiroshima. The explosion killed 70,000 to 100,000 people and injured countless others.

AP

© 2007 ireland.com