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Dutch Van Kirk Diary

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles Start Price:500.00 USD
Dutch Van Kirk Diary
Amazing handwritten diary by Enola Gay Navigator Dutch Van Kirk, detailing with precision the events of 6 August 1945, the day of the atomic bomb explosion on Hiroshima. Diary comprised of 16 handwritten pages and 5 hand drawings is entitled ''First Atomic Air Strike on Hiroshima 6, August 1945 - By Dutch Van Kirk - Navigator Enola Gay.'' Written contemporaneously. Van Kirk writes in his hand: ''…Col. Paul Tibbets, C.O. of the 509 Comp Group, was in charge of the planning and execution of the mission. Tibbets who was an outstanding pilot naturally decided to be the pilot and he selected me as Navigator and Tom Ferebee as the navigator Bombardier. The three of us had done many bombing missions together…Our plane was a B-29 bomber which we named the Enola Gay. It was stripped of most guns for this mission in order to increase speed and altitude essential for getting away from the bomb. [Van Kirk adds here a simple drawing of the 2 leg flight plan.]…Our Atomic Bomb was named Little Boy. The Atomic bomb was armed in flight by Capt. (USN) Parson…So we men were now flying with an armed Atomic bomb just a few feet away. Basically, the idea was: A Projectile Uranium 235 would hit a target U235 and create Critical mass, a nuclear explosion would result. The bomb was never tested before our mission. Our Atomic Bomb was about…9400 pounds weight, and would equal 20,000 tons of TNT. [Van Kirk makes a schematic drawing of the Little Boy bomb with handwritten labels for its components.]…Tibbets said over the interphone: 'Its Hiroshima' which was our primary target…If weather had not been good we would have gone to our secondary target Kikina. Hiroshima had: Population 350,000. About 100 military targets worth bombing…Above Hiroshima we easily spotted the distinctive T-shaped Aioi Bridge, our aiming point. [Van Kirk draws a map of Hiroshima with the exact target labeled 'Aiming point Aioi Bridge' and also labels 7 surrounding military targets]…The bomb fell away from the aircraft at 0915:17 Tinian time. It took 43 seconds from the time the bomb left the plane until it exploded about 1110 above the aiming point. I watched every second pass. Our plane had to be 9 miles from the explosion to prevent destruction. The explosion happened 1980 ft. above the ground, in mid air to get maximum blast effect. The radius of total destruction was about 1.6 km (1 mile), with resulting fires across 11.4 km² (4.4 square miles) In all the excitement of the moment I forgot to put on my dark goggles…The first thing we saw was a large multi-colored cloud. I could see from my small window: The cloud was boiling up, mushrooming. It was amazing and evidence a tremendous amount of energy had been released…the damage was obviously horrendous. We needed a major shock to get the Japanese to accept surrender. The bomb hit on target only 400 ft from the Aioi Bridge in Hiroshima. We were going away from the bomb as fast as possible. At the time of the explosion; all we saw inside the plane was a flash of bright light. [Van Kirk draws a 2 page picture of the Atomic mushroom cloud and signs Theodore Van Kirk, Navigator Enola Gay, Hiroshima 6 Aug. 1945]…When the bomb left the plane we immediately went into a sharp right 150 degree turn and advanced the throttle. This was to get away from the bomb explosion and the resulting shock waves…the first shock wave hit the plane, and shortly afterwards a second unexpected shock wave. It felt like an extremely close flak burst but it turned out to be a visible shock wave measured at about 2.5 to 3 G. The plane was OK after the shock waves so we turned to observe the damage to Hiroshima. We could make no visual observation because the city was covered by black smoke and debris from the fires and the blast. But we had to get out of there and fast. [Van Kirk adds a complex drawing of the Enola Gay's escape plan]…The entire city of Hiroshima covered with smoke and debris and the mushroom of white cloud was still growing. Our mission was a complete success. Given the destruction of Hiroshima we had witnessed, we expected the Japanese to immediately sue for peace. We could still see the mushroom cloud over Hiroshima for an hour and a half as we flew back to Tinian. Japan was a defeated nation long before we dropped the bomb, but refused to surrender. The number of killed and missing was around 80,000. Unfortunately in modern warfare you cannot separate civilian and military targets and there were about 100 military targets in Hiroshima. There is no morality in war of any type and in modern war innocents as well as military get killed. I feel that President Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb was justified as it ended the war with minimum loss of life of both Japanese and Allied. Dutch Van Kirk, Navigator Enola Gay Hiroshima 6 Aug. 1945.'' Much more, as the manuscript describes in great detail all the events of the Hiroshima mission in 16 handwritten pages. One of the few diaries by Enola Gay crew members ever to come to market, and the only one by Van Kirk. A diary by co-pilot Robert Lewis sold at auction in 2002 for $350,000 and one by Assistant Weaponeer Morris Jeppson sold for $20,000.
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