ENOLA GAY. Flying helmet signed by Enola Gay commander PAUL TIBBETS (1915-2007) and bombardier THOMAS FEREBEE (1918-2000), the man who pulled the lever that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. A WWII A11 flying helmet signed on the earpiece at a later date with the attached headphones and cable, signed on the earpiece: “Paul Tibbets Pilot, Hiroshima, 6 August 1945” in gold colored ink at a later date. Additionally signed “Tom Ferebee, Bombardier, Enola Gay, 6 Aug. 1945.”

On August 6, 1945, the Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber Enola Gay became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb on an enemy, nearly destroying the Japanese city of Hiroshima and killing hundreds of thousands of civilians. Three days later, the Enola Gay served as the weather reconnaissance aircraft for the aircraft Bockscar which dropped another atom bomb on the city of Nagasaki, prompting Japan’s surrender and effectively ending World War II, the war in Europe having concluded in May with Germany’s surrender.

Tibbets had been flying anti-submarine missions over the Atlantic since the attack on Pearl Harbor and piloted 43 bombing campaigns over Europe. In 1943, he was tapped to assist with the development of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress and served as a technical advisor on the nuclear testing. It was Tibbets who selected the aircraft from the assembly line and gave the Enola Gay aircraft her name, in memory of his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets. Placed in command of the 509th Composite Group, he piloted the Enola Gay’s flight over Hiroshima. Tibbets retired as a brigadier general.

In 1944, Tibbets recruited Major Ferebee, an Army Air Forces pilot with whom he had flown over Europe and who had 60 wartime missions under his belt, to serve as bombardier aboard the Enola Gay. It was Ferebee who dropped the 9,000-pound bomb on a target he selected from aerial photographs. In media interviews over the course of his life, Ferebee reflected on his role in the atomic bombings stating, “I'm sorry an awful lot of people died from that bomb, and I hate to think that something like that had to happen to end the war,” convinced that his actions saved the lives of American soldiers who had been poised for a ground offensive, (“Man Who Bombed Hiroshima Dies,” Tampa Bay Times).

With the expected normal wear.