In pictures: Paul Tibbets Jr

Paul Warfield Tibbets Jr, the man who commanded the first atomic bomb mission, is seen in front of Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the bomb on Hiroshima.

Born in Quincy, Illinois, in 1915, Gen Tibbets (centre) was one of the pilots who tested the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, the world's first atomic bomber.

The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima early in the morning of 6 August 1945. The explosion and radioactive fallout killed tens of thousands.

Enola Gay, named after Gen Tibbets's mother, lands on the Marianas after its mission. He said he knew it would be emotional but the crew had to put feelings to one side.

Gen Tibbets, here at a news conference in Guam after the flight, said his "one driving interest was to do the best job I could so that we could end the killing as quickly as possible".

Gen Tibbets retired from the forces in 1966, but would always be remembered for his role in the atomic mission.

Gen Tibbets said in his later years: "If Dante (Italian author of the Inferno) had been with us on the plane, he would have been terrified."

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