Hiroshima

1945 · réf. 10754 — 1945. Van Kirk Theodore J. "Dutch." Signed photograph of the Enola Gay documenting the B 29 Superfortress used in the first atomic bombing in warfare and bearing an inscription by its navigator. Van Kirk served as navigator aboard the B 29 Enola Gay during the August 6 1945 bombing of Hiroshima guiding the aircraft during its flight from Tinian to Japan and its return. The image supports research into World War II aviation the Manhattan Project atomic warfare and the commemorative culture through which mission participants later identified and interpreted the aircraft. The National WWII Museum confirms Van Kirk's position as navigator aboard the Enola Gay. Color photographic image of the Enola Gay undated. 6 by 12 inches. The aircraft is the primary subject although its viewpoint setting markings and whether it is shown in flight or on the ground are not specified in the supplied description. Van Kirk has inscribed the photograph in blue ink: "To recipient - best wishes and thanks - Dutch Van Kirk Navigator - Enola Gay Gang 6 Aug. 1945." The personalized salutation and informal phrase "Enola Gay Gang" identify the photograph as a later commemorative presentation rather than a contemporaneously inscribed wartime image. On August 6 1945 the Enola Gay departed Tinian carrying the uranium bomb known as "Little Boy" and released it over Hiroshima initiating the use of nuclear weapons in war. The aircraft and its crew subsequently became central to competing historical interpretations of military necessity civilian destruction technological change and the beginning of the atomic age. Van Kirk's full mission inscription connects the pictured aircraft directly to the navigator responsible for plotting its course and records the date through the language of a surviving participant. Blue-ink inscription remains bold and legible; no defects are reported. Near fine. A personally inscribed aircraft portrait joining the material history of the Enola Gay with the later commemoration of the Hiroshima mission. unknown books