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National Museum of Nuclear Science & History

Robert A. Lewis

Copilot and Aircraft Commander on the Enola GayHiroshima Mission

Tinian IslandWendover, UT
509th Composite GroupHiroshima MissionManhattan Project VeteranMilitary Veteran
Enola Gay Crew Members

Robert A. Lewis served as a captain in the 393rd Bombardment Squadron of the 509th Composite Group. He trained in Wendover, Utah before leaving for Tinian Island. Lewis was hand selected by Colonel Paul Tibbets to serve as captain of the Enola Gay for his calm demeanor and quick reflexes in previous missions. Captain Lewis was the co-pilot of the Enola Gay on the flight to Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 when the crew dropped the first atomic bomb. 

After the war, Lewis continued flying through a career with American Overseas Airway. Later in life, he entered the candy manufacturing business. 

Robert A. Lewis’s Timeline
1917 Oct 18th Born in Brooklyn, New York.

1945 Aug 6th Served as co-pilot of the Enola Gay in the mission to drop the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

1983 Jun 18th Died in Newport News, Virginia.

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