And months before that, pilot Paul Tibbets Jr. Preparations on the tiny Pacific island-about 1,500 miles southeast of the plane’s intended target in Japan-had begun months before on April 3. Hours before the sun would rise over Tinian island on the morning of August 6, 1945, a B-29 airplane was positioned above a specially built bomb-loading pit, as crews readied the aircraft with cargo unlike anything the world had ever known. and others explain, delivering a 10,000-pound bomb to southern Japan was a years-long endeavor that required patience, practice, and precision. This financial assistance generates community-driven stewardship of historic resources at the state, tribal and local levels.On August 6, 1945, the crew of the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb designed at Los Alamos on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. In addition, the program administers three other grants: Battlefield Land Acquisition Grants, the newly authorized Battlefield Restoration and Battlefield Interpretation grant programs. Preservation Planning Grants are the American Battlefield Protection Program's broadest and most inclusive grant program, promoting the stewardship of battlefields and sites of armed conflict on American soil. The council hopes that protection and interpretation of these sites will help a worldwide audience better understand Tinian’s role in World War II. Lasso where Japanese bunkers and a US homing beacon were positioned. The new areas of consideration include the North Airfield where the atomic bombs were assembled, and Mt. Through a Preservation Planning Grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program, the Northern Marianas Humanities Council will work to expand the boundaries of the Landmark. The current Tinian National Historic Landmark recognizes these nationally significant events but does not include all of the island’s sites associated with this World War II history. Bombers from the island took part in the attack on Tokyo during Operation Meetinghouse and later the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Over the following months, US forces quickly expanded Tinian’s airfields into some of the largest runways in World War II.
Out of 8,000 Japanese soldiers, only 252 survived.
For seven days the island’s Japanese garrison refused to surrender and were practically annihilated. Attaching mobile ramps to landing vehicles, Navy Seabees enabled Marines of the 5th Amphibious Corps to scale the lower cliffs on the northwest-side of the island. The few beaches that did exist were heavily fortified by the Japanese, assuring that any direct attack by US forces would result in heavy losses. In some places the cliffs were 15 feet tall, making them practically impassible. However, the island's coral cliffs presented a unique obstacle. Enola Gay bomber after strike at Hiroshima, entering Tinian airfieldĬourtesy Library of Congress Recipient: Northern Marianas Humanities Council Award Amount: $91,816.60Īs US forces advanced through the Pacific in the summer of 1944, they targeted islands they hoped to use as staging grounds for the bombing of Japan.