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In 1979 Captain Lewis began compiling records of his military career which were then passed to his son Stephen on his death in 1983. He became one of the lead test pilots for the US’s new B29 bomber, flying almost daily between 1944 to 1945 practising the bombing runs they were to carry out on Japan. “These fascinating and hugely historically important documents have never been seen before.” Captain Lewis was born in New Jersey in 1917 and after graduating in 1937 he joined the US Air Force, gaining his wings in 1942. “The bombing plans are among a collection of documents Captain Lewis put together charting his incredible career. “He wanted to keep all the mementoes of his time in the war for his family. “He felt upset afterwards and wrote on the return flight ‘My God, what have we done?’ but unlike Tibbets and Van Kirk, who took advantage of their new-found notoriety, Lewis stayed out of the limelight. “Lewis knew it was going to demolish the industrial zone of the city but he had no comprehension that it would wipe out much of the city. “These guys really had no idea of the sheer destruction that dropping the atomic bomb would cause on Hiroshima. “That error proves this plan was drawn prior to the flight because otherwise it would have the correct altitude on it. “Captain Lewis actually got the flight height wrong - it says on the plan to come in at 30,000ft but he actually flew in at 35,000ft.