Enola Gay | Natnal Air and Space Mm

Contents:

• ENOLA GAY
• THE ENOLA GAY'S HISTORY LIV ON
• WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENOLA GAY AFTER IT DROPPED THE ATOMIC BOMB
• THE CREW OF THE ENOLA GAY ON DROPPG THE ATOMIC BOMB
• EXHIBG THE ENOLA GAY
• THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY
• INSI THE ENOLA GAY

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. 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.

THE ENOLA GAY'S HISTORY LIV ON

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.

However, several plane nam of the World War II-era are known exclively by their name, cludg the famo Enola Gay, a B-29 bomber that was ed to drop an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan (via Branni). Yet the Enola Gay, another animate object, had a dark tentn — the vice was schled to drop an atomic bomb on an enemy target.

It's important to note that durg the war, not many plan which were mass-produced were given as much fanfare, so the Enola Gay stood out om the pack.

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

Pilot Pl Tibbets nam Enola Gay. On Augt 5, 1945, the 29-year-old Tibbets formally named his B-29 "Enola Gay" after his mother (née Haggard).

The Enola Gay name liv on. In 1995, the Natnal Air and Space Mm hosted a ntroversial exhib of the Enola Gay to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of WWII.

THE CREW OF THE ENOLA GAY ON DROPPG THE ATOMIC BOMB

The fully reassembled Enola Gay is now on display permanent display at the Natnal Air and Space Mm's Steven F. 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. 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.

EXHIBG THE ENOLA GAY

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. Robert Lewis wrote his journal and may have subnscly said out loud over the rad ter, “My God, what have we done?” Enola Gay land back at Tian 12 hours later at approximately 3 pm.

THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY

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.

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.

Air Force the late 1940s, Enola Gay remaed storage for s.

INSI THE 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.