Brigadier General

Paul Warfield Tibbets Jnr.

Pilot, Squadron Commander, Test Pilot, B-29 Development Lead, Commander 509th Composite Bomb Group, Senior Air Force Officer USAAF / USAF.

Pilot - B-17E 'Butcher Shop', 97th Bomb Group, Lead Pilot of first USAAF heavy bomber mission of WW2, flown out of RAF Grafton Underwood - 17th August, 1942

Pilot - B-29 Superfortress 'Enola Gay', 509th Composite Bomb Group, first atomic bombing mission on Hiroshima, Japan - 6th August, 1945

Resting Place - in line with his own wishes, his ashes were scattered above the English Channel.

Paul Warfield Tibbets was born on 23rd February 1915, in Quincy, Illinois. In 1924, his family moved to Florida.

In September 1928, in line with his fathers wishes, Paul was to attend the Western Military Academy in Alton, Illinois. In the autumn of 1933 he began to attend the University of Florida, before switching to the University of Cincinnati for medical college. Many family members were employed in the medical field and it was assumed that Paul would follow in their footsteps. 

Paul had developed a fascination with aircraft from a young age, and had spent spare money in taking flying lessons whenever possible. After a year of medical college, he decided that his future was in aviation.

On 25th February 1937 Paul W. Tibbets enrolled with the Army Air Corp, for basic training. He entered Flying School at Randolph Field, Texas before graduating from Pilot School at Kelly Field in Texas, in February 1938 as a 2nd Lieutenant.

In April 1941 he was appointed Group Engineering Officer of the 3rd Attack Group at Hunter AF Base, Savannah, Georgia.

On 4th December 1941 he received orders to join the 29th Bomb Group at Macdill Field, being then given temporary orders to take a unit of 21 B-18s to Popefiled to form an anti-submarine patrol.

Shortly afterwards, 2nd Lt. Tibbets was made Commander of the 340th Bomb Squadron, 97th Bombardment Group - a newly formed group that pulled personnel from the 29th Bomb Group. This new group was slated to fly the new Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress, and in June 1942 they began training for overseas deployment.

In June 1942, the 97th Bomb Group began to arrive in the England. Utilising the airfields at RAF Polebrook and RAF Grafton Underwood in Northamptonshire, the 97th became the first USAAF heavy bomber group of the USAAF to fly a combat mission over occupied Europe, with a force of twelve aircraft departing from Gradfton Underwood to bomb the railroad marshalling yards at Rouen-Sotteville, on 17th August 1942. At the same time, a further six B-17s flying out of Polebrook, took part in a diversionary mock raid along the French coastline to attract attention of the Luftwaffe away from the main bomber force. All eighteen B-17s returned home with minimal damage flak.

Major Paul W. Tibbets was lead pilot (as he would be on all future missions flown from England with the 97th), with Group Commander Colonel Frank A. Armstrong flying as co-pilot in B-17E Butcher Shop. Also flying on this mission was 

The 97th Bombardment Group would complete 25 missions from their UK bases before being transferred to the 12th Air Force, flying missions out of Africa.

October 1942 saw 2nd Lt. Paul Tibbets