By Steve Kemme
Enquirer staff writer

EAST END - Paul Tibbets, the command pilot of the plane that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, hasn't wavered in 59 years from his belief that he did the right thing.

"We wanted to stop the killing," Tibbets said Friday, while sitting in a hangar at Lunken Airport. "That might sound odd when you blast one city off the map. But that stopped the killing."

Tibbets, who lives in Columbus, is in town for the 2004 Cincinnati Lunken Air Show today and Sunday at Lunken Airport.

The event, which will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day, will feature historic war planes, modern-day aircraft, aerobatic performances, fly-bys, sky divers and children's activities.

Tibbets will be available in Hangar 3 today and Sunday to sign his book, Return of the Enola Gay.

He named the plane he few on his historic atomic-bomb mission on Aug. 6, 1945, Enola Gay, after his mother.

"I wanted a name on my plane that could not be duplicated," he said. "Everybody remembers it."

Historic aircraft on exhibit this weekend at Lunken include:

• Corsair "Marine's Dream" - Used during World War II in the Pacific, this was the first airplane to exceed 400 mph.

Only 12 are still in flying condition, said Mint Moore, who operates an air show business that brought many historic planes to Lunken.

Jim Hill, who was a Marine Corps. pilot in the Black Sheep squadron during World War II, said the speed of these planes and the lead plates protecting their fuel tanks made them more difficult to be shot down than other American planes.

"We were happy to get them," said Hill, a Chicago resident who came to Cincinnati for the air show.

• "Spirit of Freedom" C-54 - This was one of the planes used in the Berlin Airlift in 1948 and 1949 to overcome the blockade of the city by the Soviet Union. Amassive supply airlift undertaken by the United States and England in 1948 and 1949 to aid the people of Berlin during the Soviet blockade that cut off the city from food supplies.

• P-40 Warhawk - These planes were flown by American pilots in China during World War II, one version by the famous Flying Tigers.

The face of a teeth-baring shark is painted on the front of the Warhawk on exhibit at Lunken. This plane also was used in the movie Pearl Harbor.

Another attraction is Gene Soucy, a member of two world champion U.S. aerobatic teams, who will be performing in a biplane normally used for crop spraying. Aviation artist Teresa Stokes will walk on his plane's wings during the performance.

If you go

What: 2004 Cincinnati Lunken Air Show

When: Today and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Both days will feature historic war planes, aerobatic performances, fly-bys, sky divers and children's activities. The air show performance will be 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

Where: Lunken Airport, Wilmer Road, East End

Cost: Tickets are $12 for adults. Children under 12 admitted free.

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E-mail skemme@enquirer.com