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The thirteen-hour mission to Hiroshima began at 0245 Tinian time. The day they had so diligently prepared for arrived on 6 August 1945. From November 1944 to June 1945 they trained continually for the first atomic bomb drop. The group flew the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, with Tibbets as commander and Van Kirk as the group navigator. He served as an instructor navigator until reuniting with Tibbets and Ferebee in the 509th Composite Group at Wendover Field, Utah, in late 1944. Van Kirk returned to the States in June 1943 after flying a total of 58 missions overseas. On 16 November 1942 the crew led their group in an attack that took the Germans by complete surprise at Sidi Ahmed Air Base at Bizerte. After German reinforcements began pouring into the port of Bizerte, Tunisia, posing a serious threat to Allied strategy, a new mission emerged. Eisenhower to Gibraltar to command the North African invasion forces. In November they ferried General Dwight D. In October 1942 they flew General Mark Clark to Gibraltar for his secret North African rendezvous with the French prior to Operation Torch. They were also the lead aircraft, responsible for group navigation and bombing. From August to October 1942 the crew flew 11 missions out of England. Van Kirk would later fly with these men on the Hiroshima mission. The crew of the “Red Gremlin” also included pilot Paul Tibbets and Tom Ferebee, bombardier. On 1 April 1942 he received both his commission and navigator wings and transferred to the 97th Bomb Group, the first operational B-17 Flying Fortress unit in England. Van Kirk joined the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program in October 1941. Theodore “Dutch” Van Kirk was the navigator on this historic mission.
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On 6 August 1945 the crew of the “Enola Gay” dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.