Bomber shot down

[butterfield]

Came across this on youtube awhile back. Makes you really think about what some of the airmen of WW2 went through....
You know the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" I guess that would apply here :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oav6...layer_embedded

Recommended full screen HQ

[dandymountfarto]

thats actually quite moving.

[butterfield]

Originally Posted by dandymountfarto

thats actually quite moving.

Yeah first time watching I remember having a lump in my throat about time the B-24 came up at 1:45s

[Camo-234]

I almost had tears in my eyes thinking what those people must have gone through.

[Camo-234]

Originally Posted by maxqubit

War is not pretty. Bizar to realize that WW2 ended by 1 bomber carrying 1 bomb.

I never really thought of that, but the guys in the picture didnt have to go through what the guys in the video went throught.

[butterfield]

Originally Posted by Camo-234

I never really thought of that, but the guys in the picture didnt have to go through what the guys in the video went throught.

The crew of the Enola Gay went through something no one else in history ever had or hopefully ever will. First, it was the overwhelming excitement knowing their actions had ended the second world war.

and second.... While laying in bed late at night their concious was haunted by the tens of thousands of women and children they had instantly vaporized.

[Flanker15]

It technically didn't end the war, there was still a string of large scale battles in Manchuria then the war ended. Some historians have argued that it was this (the stunning defeat of over 1 million Japanese soldiers and over 8 thousand pieces of equipment in less than 2 weeks) and not the atomic bombings that caused the surrender.
I believe it was a combination of both though.

[Camo-234]

At least the Enola Gay crew didnt have to see other bombers next to them get obliterated or torn in half.

[butterfield]

Originally Posted by Camo-234

At least the Enola Gay crew didnt have to see other bombers next to them get obliterated or torn in half.

Very true. I'm sure it's not much fun seeing airmen dieing to your sides and knowing you very well could be next.

[Soviet Ace]

Actually, your wrong about the Enola Gay crew not seeing others be shot down. As a matter of fact, Paul Tibbets Jr. (The man who flew the Enola Gay) first saw combat with the 8th Air Force during 1942, and later in the Italian theatre. Those were some of the worst times for American bomber crews in Europe. Many were shot down, and many didn't come back. Several other Enola Gay crew members also saw combat before being assigned to the Enola Gay.

So saying none of them didn't see others die in combat ins highly insulting in away, because they probably had friends as well die in the skies over Europe or the Pacific, and maybe even on the ground.