75 Years Ago: The Flight of the Enola Gay | Natnal Air and Space Mm

enola gay article

​Early the morng of Augt 6, 1945, a U.S. Air Force B29 bomber, the Enola Gay, took off wh a 9,700 top-secret bomb named Ltle Boy.

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ENOLA GAY

Enola Gay, the B-29 heavy bomber that was ed by the Uned Stat on Augt 6, 1945, to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. It was the first time the explosive vice had been ed on an enemy target, and stroyed most of the cy. The aircraft was named after the mother of pilot Pl Warfield Tibbets, Jr. * enola gay article *

Enola Gay, the B-29bomber that was ed by the Uned Stat on Augt 6, 1945, to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, the first time the explosive vice had been ed on an enemy target.

” The Enola Gay—Tibbets had a matenance man pat that name on the aircraft’s nose shortly before takeoff—was acpanied by var other plan.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENOLA GAY AFTER IT DROPPED THE ATOMIC BOMB

After the Enola Gay beme the first plane to drop an atomic bomb — on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945 — the B-29 bomber stayed airborne. * enola gay article *

Tibbets flew the Enola Gay back to Tian, where he was award the Distguished Service Cross. Three days later the Enola Gay nducted weather rennaissance the lead-up to the bombg of Nagasaki, Japan. Japan officially surrenred on September 2, Enola Gay remaed service for several years before beg given to the Smhsonian Instutn on July 3, 1949.

In 2003 the fully rtored Enola Gay was put on display at the NASM’s Steven F.

After the Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. The Enola Gay is a B-29 Superfortrs, which pilot Pl Tibbets named after his mother, and which had been stripped of everythg but the necsi, so as to be thoands of pounds lighter than an ordary plane of that make.

THE ENOLA GAY'S HISTORY LIV ON

On Augt 6, 1945, the crew of a modified Boeg B-29 Superfortrs named Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb ed warfare, lled “Ltle Boy,” on the cy of Hiroshima, Japan. * enola gay article *

While did not drop the bomb on Nagasaki, the Enola Gay did take flight to get data on the weather the lead-up to the send strike on Japan.

In the aftermath of World War II, the Army Air Forc flew the Enola Gay durg an atomic tt program the Pacific; was then livered to be stored an airfield Arizona before beg flown to Illois and transferred to the Smhsonian July 1949. But even unr the ctody of the mm, the Enola Gay remaed at an air force base Texas. The Commtee for the Rtoratn and Display of the Enola Gay now has 9, 000 signatur of prott.

EXHIBG THE ENOLA GAY

The U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, 75 years ago, brgg an end to World War II and makg the Enola Gay one of the most famo B-29s history., * enola gay article *

Adams, who is leavg his job after 10 relatively ntroversy-ee years, sent back a three-page answer stiffly turng down her requt for the Enola Gay. Demonstrators prott at the Enola Gay exhib at the the Smhsonian Natnal Air and Space Mm's Steven F. And as long as is on display, the qutns rais are likely to ntue — after all, they have been wh the Enola Gay sce first beme a hoehold name.

On Augt 6, 1945, the crew of a modified Boeg B-29 Superfortrs named Enola Gay dropped the first atomic bomb ed warfare, lled “Ltle Boy, ” on the cy of Hiroshima, Japan.

As a new and adly weapon, an atomic bomber, Enola Gay facilated a turng pot human history as hered the dawn of the Atomic Age and the threat of nuclear war.

THE CREW OF THE ENOLA GAY ON DROPPG THE ATOMIC BOMB

At the 50th anniversary of the atomic bomb, ntroversy surround the ntext which the Enola Gay was to be displayed. * enola gay article *

Tibbets and his crew took off om Tian  Enola Gay at 2:45 am on Augt 6, 1945. Upon visual lotn of Hiroshima, Tom Ferebee aimed for the cy center and Enola Gay dropped the “Ltle Boy” bomb om 31, 000 feet at 9:15 am. After “Ltle Boy” left the forward bomb bay, Enola Gay lurched upward, and Tibbets iated a high angle evasive manver to get as far away om Hiroshima as possible.

” Enola Gay land back at Tian 12 hours later at approximately 3 pm.

Enola Gay tail gunner Bob Caron took this picture of the cloud of smoke billowg 20, 000 feet above Hiroshima after the explosn of the Ltle Boy atomic bomb on Augt 6, 1945.

HERE’S WHY THE PILOT OF ENOLA GAY HAD NO REGRETS ABOUT DROPPG THE FIRST ATOM BOMB

* enola gay article *

The history and memory of Enola Gay and s part the atomic attacks on Japan, and their effect on endg the war the Pacific and the nuclear tensns of the Cold War, reflects differg viewpots. The Smhsonian has been at the center of bat over those differg perspectiv terms of the terpretatn and public display of Enola Gay.

Enola Gay was to be the central artifact a planned exhibn at the Mm examg the atomic bombgs durg the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II. The Boeg B-29 Superfortrs Enola Gay is now on display at the Steven F. In a revised exhibn, Enola Gay’s forward felage and bomb bay, two eng, a propeller, and other ponents, cludg a activated Ltle Boy bomb, went on display the Natnal Mall Buildg om June 1995 to May 1998.

Udvar-Hazy Center opened December 2003, the fully-assembled Enola Gay went on permanent display the World War II Aviatn display area the Boeg Aviatn Hangar. The display of the Enola Gay has generated a variety of rpons rangg om public protts  1995 and 2003 to opposg pots of view exprsed  alternative exhibns, petns, and reports, and ntu to serve as a se study  prentg history the public sphere that is vigoroly discsed and bated to this day.

HIROSHIMA’S ENOLA GAY RRIED 12 MEN, HOPE AND THE WORLD’S ADLIT WEAPON

This exhibn, cidg wh the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, told the story of the role of the Enola Gay securg Japane surrenr. * enola gay article *

The flight of the Enola Gay on Augt 6, 1945, signifi an end and a begng terms of our evolvg unrstandg of technology and warfare the twentieth century. Seventy-five years ago, the Uned Stat dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, brgg an end to a long and vastatg World War II and makg the Enola Gay, the B-29 that livered , one of the most famo history. He handpicked the plane the night before the missn, to the surprise of s crew, and had his mother’s name -- Enola Gay -- pated on s si.

6, 1945, the Enola Gay took off for Hiroshima, an important Japane ary center.

THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY

On the morng of Augt 6, 1945, the Amerin B-29 bomber Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the Japane cy of Hiroshima. * enola gay article *

It was a moment for which none of the Enola Gay’s crew -- away by then, but still rocked by the blast -- was que prepared. Some fly ahead to check the weather to see what ’s like at the actual target, and Enola Gay was part of that for Nagasaki, " Kney said. After the bombgs and the war’s quick end, the Enola Gay remaed wh the Army Air Forc, takg part the Biki Atoll atomic tts before beg shipped to the Smhsonian 1960.

While no members of the crew that flew the Enola Gay rema to tell s story, the aircraft liv on for visors.

THE NEW ENOLA GAY CONTROVERSY: PRO AND CON

Bound for sty and Hiroshima, the Enola Gay rried 12 men, hope, and the power for epic stctn. The silver airplane, named for the pilot’s mother, barely got off the ground that morng wh the world’s first atomic bomb. * enola gay article *

"Enola Gay is a regnized airplane of World War II, and people want to see , " Kney said. "They want to see the spachip Disvery, they want to see the [SR-71] Blackbird, and they want to see the Enola Gay. Many veterans had advoted for the display of the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortrs ed to drop the bombs, as a celebratn of Amerin triumph over Japan, but there were already ncerns that the Smhsonian was creatg a polilly rrect, revisnist terpretatn of the events.

THE SMHSONIAN’S DECISN TO EXHIB THE ‘ENOLA GAY’

The Enola Gay, fully rtored and on view at the Smhsonian, left an lible mark * enola gay article *

Harw rigned on May 2, 1995, jt days before he was schled to ttify Senate June 28, 1995, an exhibn, simply tled "Enola Gay, " opened at the Natnal Air and Space Mm. Unlike the ncelled exhibn, "Enola Gay" ntaed no terpretatn, no graphic imag, and no melted objects.

Only the felage was on display, acpanied by basic facts and rmatn about the plane's entire Enola Gay bomber is currently on display the "World War II Aviatn" exhibn at the Natnal Air and Space Mm's Steven F. Related RourcCollectns related to the Enola Gay, Smhsonian Instutn ArchivThe Enola Gay: A Natn's, and a Mm's, Dilemma, Edorial by Mart Harw, The Washgton Post, Augt 7, 1994Special Report: The Smhsonian and the Enola Gay, Air Force Associatn, March 15, 1994Smhsonian Cancels Exhib on Atomic Bomb, The Baltimore Sun, January 31, 1995Recent Acquisn - Rerds om Mart Harw, Director, NASM, 1986-1995, The Bigger Picture, Smhsonian Instutn Archiv.

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