He and his crew didn’t completely understand what they carried, but they knew whatever was inside the nearly five-ton bomb - affectionately named “Little Boy” - would unleash a destructive power on Japan such as the world had never seen. Tibbets had ordered crewman Lt Morris Jeppson to arm their cargo about twenty minutes ago. He and his crew had taken off from the island of Tinian six hours prior to this moment, then rendezvoused briefly with escort bombers over Iwo Jima. “Ten minutes to target,” Tibbets casually mumbled over the intercom.
