The morning of August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima began like any other. The weather was hot, the sky was clear, and the residents of the city engaged their normal activities—ate breakfast, departed for work, went to school, all of them completely oblivious to the three B-29’s that were flying their way. At 7:09 am Hiroshima time, the first of these three planes made a weather-run over the city, causing the warning system of the city to go on mild alert. The plane passed, and the all clear signal sounded (Marx 161:162).

At approximately 8 am, the alarm sounded again as two high flying planes were detected flying towards them, with a third plane following behind. No large flight of bombers followed, so the alarm went on mild alert once again. These alarms were routine and didn’t arouse much excitement. After all, there was no way that the air control operator could know that one of the planes was the Enola Gay, and that within several minutes Hiroshima, Japan, and all of mankind would never be the same (Marx 162).

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SOURCES:

Marx, Joseph L. Seven Hours to Zero. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1967.