Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk (b. 1921) was an American U.S. Army Air Corps navigator who flew 58 B-17 Flying Fortress combat missions with the 97th Bomb Group over Occupied France and Germany during World War II. Year 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... 1. ... The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engine heavy bomber aircraft developed for the US Army Air Corps (USAAC). ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

He was also selected to fly General Mark Clark on a secret mission to negotiate with the Free French in Algeria, and was also navigator on the aircraft that flew General Dwight Eisenhower to the invasion site in North Africa to launch Operation Torch. Mark Wayne Clark (May 1, 1896 - April 17, 1984) was an American general during World War II and the Korean War. ... The Free French Forces (Forces Françaises Libres in French) were French fighters who decided to go on fighting against Germany after the Fall of France and German occupation and to fight against Vichy France in World War II. General Charles de Gaulle was a member of the French Cabinet... Dwight David Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American General and politician, who served as the thirty-fourth President of the United States (1953–1961). ...  Northern Africa (UN subregion)  geographic, including above North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom Free French Forces Vichy France Commanders Dwight Eisenhower Andrew Cunningham François Darlan Strength 73,500 60,000 Casualties 479+ dead 720 wounded 1,346+ dead 1,997 wounded Operation Torch (initially called Operation Gymnast) was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in...

He is most famous as the navigator of the Enola Gay when it dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Colonel Paul Tibbets waving from Enola Gays cockpit before the bombing of Hiroshima. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 kilometers (11 mi) above the hypocenter A nuclear weapon derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions of fusion or fission. ... Main keep of Hiroshima Castle The city of Hiroshima (広島市; -shi) is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chugoku region of western Honshu, the largest of Japans islands. ...

Van Kirk joined the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program in October 1941. On 1 April 1942 he received both his commission and navigator wings and transferred to the 97th Bomb Group, the first operational B-17 Flying Fortress unit in England. The crew of the "Red Gremlin" also included pilot Paul Tibbets and Tom Ferebee, bombardier. Van Kirk would later fly with these men on the Hiroshima mission.

From August to October 1942 the crew flew 11 missions out of England. They were also the lead aircraft, responsible for group navigation and bombing. In October 1942 they flew General Mark Clark to Gibraltar for his secret North African rendezvous with the French prior to Operation Torch. In November they ferried General Dwight D. Eisenhower to Gibraltar to command the North African invasion forces. After German reinforcements began pouring into the port of Bizerte, Tunisia, posing a serious threat to Allied strategy, a new mission emerged. On 16 November 1942 the crew led their group in an attack that took the Germans by complete surprise at Sidi Ahmed Air Base at Bizerte.

Van Kirk returned to the States in June 1943 after flying a total of 58 missions overseas. He served as an instructor navigator until reuniting with Tibbets and Ferebee in the 509th Composite Group at Wendover Field, Utah, in late 1944. The group flew the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, with Tibbets as commander and Van Kirk as the group navigator. From November 1944 to June 1945 they trained continually for the first atomic bomb drop. The day they had so diligently prepared for arrived on 6 August 1945.

The thirteen-hour mission to Hiroshima began at 0245 Tinian time. By the time they rendezvoused with their accompanying B-29s at 0607 over Iwo Jima, the group was three hours from the target area. As they approached the target Van Kirk worked closely with the bombardier, Tom Ferebee, to confirm the winds and aimpoint. The bomb fell away from the aircraft at 0915:17 Tinian time. Van Kirk later participated in Crossroads, the first Bikini Atoll atomic bomb tests.

In August 1946 he completed his service in the Air Corps as a major. His decorations include the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross and 15 Air Medals. Van Kirk went on to receive his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Chemical Engineering from Bucknell University in 1949 and 1950. For the next 35 years he held various technical and managerial positions in research and marketing with a major US company.

See Also

• White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (2007)

External links

• White Light/Black Rain Official Website (film)
• Interview with Theodore "Dutch" Van Kirk from National Public Radio "All Things Considered" program, August 4, 2005