What I Know About Public Relations Tells Me the Enola Gay Did Not Drop the Bomb on Hiroshima

An interesting breakfast discussion with my son recently turned me on to a fascinating historical fact and one that will forever change my view of history. This may sound a bit conspiratorial, but stick with me as I walk you through the reason I have come to believe the US government has spent 70 years lying to the American people about the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

My son, I will refer to him as T2 going forward, mentioned that on August 6, 1945, there were actually three B-29s in the formation that bombed Hiroshima. The Enola Gay, commanded by Col. Paul Tibbetts was identified as the plane that dropped the bomb. The Great Artiste accompanied carrying scientific instruments to study the blast. The third plane was, for some time, unidentified and eventually designated as Plane #91. This becomes critically important to the theory, but keep reading.

I had never heard of a third plane and knew only the first two. I tried to recall ever being taught that a third plane was in the group and simply had no recollection. I asked T2 what the name of the plane was and he had no idea.

The actual name of the third plane was Necessary Evil.

Now, as a practitioner of public relations I understand the value of proper framing when it comes to presenting both good news and bad. I understand that when the military drops a single bomb that levels an entire city and kills 100,000-150,000 people, they will undoubtedly have to answer some questions. It is no surprise that they might choose to shield the fact that a plane called Necessary Evil took part in the destruction. But the idea that the bomb itself was a necessary evil was part of the messaging. President Truman, in announcing the mission to the world, said it.

Sixteen hours ago an American airplane dropped one bomb on Hiroshima and destroyed its usefulness to the enemy. That bomb had more power than 20,000 tons of TNT. It had more than two thousand times the blast power of the British “Grand Slam” which is the largest bomb ever yet used in the history of warfare.

The Japanese began the war from the air at Pearl Harbor. They have been repaid many fold. … The force from which the sun draws its power has been loosed against those who brought war to the Far East. …

It was to spare the Japanese people from utter destruction that the ultimatum of July 26 was issued at Potsdam. Their leaders promptly rejected that ultimatum. If they do not now accept our terms they may expect a rain of ruin from the air, the like of which has never been seen on this earth.

Truman acknowledged the whole purpose of the bombing was to send the Japanese leadership a message of what to expect.

Despite that, the plane, which carried the name Necessary Evil was not disclosed. Why?

I have come to believe that the story of the Enola Gay, a plane allegedly named after Col. Tibbetts mother, is a smokescreen. A plane named after his mom dropped a bomb with enough destructive force to “destroy [an entire city’s] usefulness to the enemy”? I simply don’t buy it. After learning of the presence of the Necessary Evil, I am convinced that plane was chosen and named specifically for the task. The plane served for 11 years before becoming a target at the Naval Ordinance Test Station.

I have no conclusive proof that Necessary Evil dropped the bomb. I have no way to test the remains for traces of radiation that may indicate it had carried the ordinance. I have the full force of the US Government claiming this theory is wrong.

Despite that, everything I know about PR tells me it was the bomber. Here is the thought process:

• It was definitely in the group. – Nobody denies that it flew to Hiroshima that day.
• It has been identified as the plane that would have carried the third bomb to Koromo had the Japanese not surrendered. – It was oufitted to carry atomic weapons.
• While the Enola Gay was preserved (admittedly badly), and The Great Artiste was destroyed only after it suffered extensive damage in a landing, Necessary Evil was disposed of in a way that ensured its remains would be unrecoverable – it became a target for navy munitions despite its historical significance.
• The whole premise for the bombing is that it was ‘a necessary evil’ meant to save the lives of countless American service men by preventing a land invasion of Japan.
• Had the US publicly acknowledged it had been ‘evil’, even as a necessity, such a disclosure would have bolstered the propaganda of enemies still stinging from the war against them. – There is a reason it was originally undisclosed, and then only as Plane #91.
• The US military during World Wars I and II invested HUGE amounts of resources in propaganda and communications research. Much of the modern field of Communications owes its practice to the lessons learned in selling the war. They fully understood that language matters.

If you are the US military, and have just obliterated a city, the last thing you would do is announce the name of that plane. Your public information personnel would concoct a story that paints that event in a glowing patriotic light. You would tell the story of brave soldiers, flying a plane named after their commander’s mother, doing their solemn duty to protect their homeland. You would NEVER tell the story of a nation’s government delivering massive destruction in a plane called Necessary Evil.

Like I said, it would be nearly impossible for me to prove I am right, but everything I have witnessed in a life of communications tells me I am.

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