At the time this photo was made, smoke billowed 20,000 feet above Hiroshima while smoke from the burst of the first atomic bomb had spread over 10,000 feet on the target at the base of the rising column. Six planes of the 509th Composite Group, participated in this mission; one to carry the bomb <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enola_Gay" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Enola Gay">Enola Gay</a>, one to take scientific measurements of the blast <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Artiste" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:The Great Artiste">The Great Artiste</a>, the third to take photographs <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necessary_Evil_(aircraft)" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Necessary Evil (aircraft)">Necessary Evil</a> the others flew approximately an hour ahead to act as weather scouts, 08/06/1945. Bad weather would disqualify a target as the scientists insisted on a visual delivery, the primary target was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Hiroshima">Hiroshima</a>, secondary was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kokura" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Kokura">Kokura</a>, and tertiary was <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagasaki,_Nagasaki" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Nagasaki, Nagasaki">Nagasaki</a>.
<bdi><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:George_R._Caron" class="extiw" title="w:en:George R. Caron"><span title="US Army Air Force soldier">George R. Caron</span></a>
</bdi>
1945-08-06
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