Toland’s account of what the crew knew differs from Richard Rhodes account in “The Making of the Atomic Bomb.” Toland states the crew had been told three days earlier. Rhodes states that Tibbets did not tell the crew it was an atomic bomb until they were on the way to Hiroshima. The crew may have known it was a really big bomb of a new type, but had not been specifically told it was an atomic bomb.
According to Rhodes, while en route to Hiroshima, Tibbets was checking on the crew in the rear of the plane when the discussion turned to what they were carrying. One of the crewmen, tailgunner Robert Caron, guessed “a chemist’s nightmare,” then guessed “a physicist’s nightmare.” Tibbets resonded with “not exactly,” which after a moment’s reflection caused Caron to ask “Sir, are we splitting atoms today?” At that point Tibbets decided to tell the crew that they were carrying an atomic bomb, the first to be dropped from an airplane.
It’s not clear if the crew really understood what an atomic bomb was, how it worked or all of the research and engineering that went into building it. But they knew it was different from any other weapon ever created.
I tend to give more weight to Rhodes than Toland, for the reason that Rhodes’ book concentrated exclusively on the atomic bomb and his research was exhaustive. Toland, a fine historian, did not concentrate on one specific aspect of the war but rather the war against Japan as a whole. To the extent Toland wrote “The Rising Sun” with any specific focus, it was upon the doings of the Japanese in prosecuting the war. For those insights, his book is invaluable. But on this one point of when the crew of the Enola Gay were told it was an atomic bomb, I give the nod to Rhodes.
I wonder how long it took for any real understanding of what had hit Hiroshima to permeate the consciousness of the Japanese people as a whole.
“Sir, are we splitting atoms today?” Love it!