The Smhsonian’s Decisn to Exhib the 'Enola Gay' - Public History Weekly - The Open Peer Review Journal

Contents:

• ENOLA GAY
• THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY
• THE ENOLA GAY'S HISTORY LIV ON
• WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENOLA GAY AFTER IT DROPPED THE ATOMIC BOMB
• EXHIBG THE ENOLA GAY
• CONTROVERSY OVER THE ENOLA GAY EXHIBN
• THE CREW OF THE ENOLA GAY ON DROPPG THE ATOMIC BOMB
• HIROSHIMA’S ENOLA GAY RRIED 12 MEN, HOPE AND THE WORLD’S ADLIT WEAPON
• HERE'S WHAT THE CREW OF THE B-29 BOMBER ENOLA GAY SAW AFTER DROPPG THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB HISTORY
• ENOLA GAY: WHAT EXACTLY WAS IT AND WHO USED IT?
• THE SMHSONIAN’S DECISN TO EXHIB THE ‘ENOLA GAY’
• WHERE IS THE ENOLA GAY TODAY?

ENOLA GAY

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.

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. On permanent display at the Natnal Air and Space Mm’s Udvar-Hazy Center Chantilly, Virgia, the Enola Gay was donated to the Smhsonian Instutn by the U.

THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY

Although missg a few parts, the Enola Gay is now rtored so generatns of Amerins n see the plane that left an lible mark the annals of time.

But you have to be that wh the missn of the Enola Gay, which brgs the dimensn of the role of technology war.

As the Enola Gay ma s fal approach to Hiroshima that day, Tibbets ascend to 31, 000 feet, then turned over ntrols to Ferebee.

THE ENOLA GAY'S HISTORY LIV ON

The Enola Gay was then buffeted vlently when stck by two shock wav—one direct and the other reflected om the ground. In 1995, a 50th anniversary exhibn of the end of World War II, anized by curators and the director at the Natnal Air and Space Mm and displayg the felage of the Enola Gay, met wh unprecented cricism after veterans groups cricized the exhibn’s script for beg overly sympathetic to the Japane and the mm’s historians for beg misleadg and unpatrtic. When the rtored Enola Gay went on permanent display 2003 at the Udvar-Hazy Center, attracted que a b of attentn.

For years after the war, the crew of the Enola Gay never wavered their belief they did what they had to do.

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

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. 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.

EXHIBG THE ENOLA GAY

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.

"They want to see the spachip Disvery, they want to see the [SR-71] Blackbird, and they want to see the Enola Gay.

CONTROVERSY OVER THE ENOLA GAY EXHIBN

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.

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. 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.

THE CREW OF THE ENOLA GAY ON DROPPG THE ATOMIC BOMB

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.

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

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. 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. 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. While this exhib is now closed, Mm specialists ntued to rtore the remag ponents of the airplane, and after an addnal ne years the fully assembled Enola Gay went on permanent display at the Natnal Air and Space Mm’s Steven F.

HERE'S WHAT THE CREW OF THE B-29 BOMBER ENOLA GAY SAW AFTER DROPPG THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB HISTORY

This past 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. It ntaed several major ponents of the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber ed the atomic missn that stroyed Hiroshima, Japan. A vio prentatn about the Enola Gay's missn clud terviews wh the crew before and after the missn cludg missn pilot Col.

Another portn of the exhib tailed the pastakg efforts of Smhsonian aircraft rtoratn specialists who had spent more than a rtorg parts of the Enola Gay for this exhibn.

ENOLA GAY: WHAT EXACTLY WAS IT AND WHO USED IT?

For the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Natnal Air and Space Mm (NASM) proposed an exhibn that would clu displayg the Enola Gay, the B-29 Superfortrs that was ed to drop the bomb on Hiroshima. At first, the Enola Gay was planned to be displayed at an annex NASM facily near Washgton Dull Internatnal Airport.

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

The Enola Gay had recently fished beg renovated and the mm had been ncerned about transportatn and reassemble fe; therefore, the proposed annex appeared to be a ftg lotn.

WHERE IS THE ENOLA GAY TODAY?

They cid to exhib the Enola Gay at the annex, wh an acpanyg msage about the dangers of strategic bombg and latn. Commtee member Admiral Noel Gayler believed that any exhibn of the Enola Gay would imply “that we are celebratg the first and so far the only e of nuclear weapons agast human begs. While they were “unanimo agreeg that the Enola Gay is an artifact of pivotal signifince and that should be exhibed, ” they asked the mm to avoid discsg the cisn to drop the bomb and to nsir an alternative se, such as an armed servic mm.

The planned exhibn was replaced by a simple display of the felage of Enola Gay wh ltle historil ntext. Officials om the Universy stated was not tend as a replacement for the Enola Gay exhibn at the Smhsonian.