Pilot of Enola Gay Had No Regrets for Hiroshima

NPR | By Robert Siegel,

Published November 1, 2007 at 4:00 PM EDT

Paul Tibbets, who piloted the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb, has died at age 92.

On Aug. 6, 1945, Tibbets' B-29 dropped the nearly five-ton bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima.

Tibbets always insisted that he did not have regrets. He told NPR in 2000 that the suggestion that the atomic attack was morally wrong was "hogwash."

Robert Siegel

Prior to his retirement, Robert Siegel was the senior host of NPR's award-winning evening newsmagazine All Things Considered. With 40 years of experience working in radio news, Siegel hosted the country's most-listened-to, afternoon-drive-time news radio program and reported on stories and happenings all over the globe, and reported from a variety of locations across Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. He signed off in his final broadcast of All Things Considered on January 5, 2018.

See stories by Robert Siegel

Melissa Block

As special correspondent and guest host of NPR's news programs, Melissa Block brings her signature combination of warmth and incisive reporting. Her work over the decades has earned her journalism's highest honors, and has made her one of NPR's most familiar and beloved voices.

See stories by Melissa Block