Atomic Bomber Dies

[BobbyMac]

http://www.reuters.com/article/asiaTopNews/idUSIndia-30281520071101

Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the U.S. bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan on Aug. 6, 1945, died on Thursday at age 92, a newspaper reported.

Tibbets, who died at his home in Columbus, Ohio, had suffered strokes and was ill from heart failure, the Columbus Dispatch said in its online edition.

 

[xrapidx]

Yeah... saw it on Sky News this morning... imagine being responsible for so many deaths in one go?

Actually, put the government, telscum, etc. in one building and I wouldn't feel so guilty.

 

[Tux]

I wonder if he had problems sleeping at night..

 

[Alan]

I wonder if he had problems sleeping at night..

I'm very sure he did . Still his actions and sacrifices saved the lives of millions.

Sad but true

 

[Claymore]

I wonder if he had problems sleeping at night..

No. He said he always slept soundly.

 

[bodhi]

Rest in peace.

 

[vespax]

and now there are thousands of more powerful bombs sitting around waiting to explode...

 

[Claymore]

From what I gather, the Hiroshima mission weren't off absolutely perfectly, like clockwork; Nagasaki, thanks to the weather, was not too good at all.

Here's some trivia for you lot: who flew on both atomic bomb missions, and had already prior to that dropped some of the largest bombs in the world?

 

[TooFastTim]

Leonard Cheshire

 

[Claymore]

Leonard Cheshire

Smart man...

 

[The Cosmos]

http://www.reuters.com/article/asiaTopNews/idUSIndia-30281520071101

ja, and?

 

[BTTB]

The Yanks had no option. Either use the Atomic Bomb or lose thousands if not millions of lives invading Japan. The Second World War could have dragged on for who knows how many more years.

If good can come out of bad let the memory of the devastation of an Atomic Explosion over an Urban Population in Japan be a reminder of why it should never be used again.
Real Military Action was probably avoided during the period of The Cold War between The East and The West as they knew that going to War with Atomic Weapons is an exercise in Self Destruction and the realisation/conclusion came with the signing of the SALT Treaties.

However there will always be the threat of someone somewhere exploding a Nuclear Device for whatever purpose and I hope this never happens as 9/11 will look like a walk in the park in comparison.

RIP Paul Tibbets.