After reporting the weather was good over the target, Eatherly turned Straight Flush for home, and was over 300 miles (480 km) from ground zero when the bomb exploded.Įatherly desperately wanted to remain in the air force, but assigned to meteorology training, he was caught cheating on coursework and was forced to take an honorable discharge. It departed Tinian Island at approximately 0137 hours on the morning of August 6, 1945, a little more than an hour ahead of the Enola Gay (which carried the bomb) and flew over Hiroshima with the task of reporting the weather conditions.
Main article: Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and NagasakiĮatherly was the pilot of Straight Flush, one of seven B-29s of the 393d Bomb Squadron of the 509th Composite Group that took part in the Hiroshima mission, which was the culmination of ten months of training during World War II.
