The Enola Gay's History Liv On > U.S. Department of Defense > Blog

Contents:

• ENOLA GAY
• MEMORI OF THE UN THAT HID THE ENOLA GAY, WHICH DROPPED THE A-BOMB ON HIROSHIMA 75 YEARS AGO TODAY
• HERE’S WHY THE PILOT OF ENOLA GAY HAD NO REGRETS ABOUT DROPPG THE FIRST ATOM BOMB
• THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY
• WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENOLA GAY AFTER IT DROPPED THE ATOMIC BOMB
• PILOT OF ENOLA GAY HAD NO REGRETS FOR HIROSHIMA
• HIROSHIMA’S ENOLA GAY RRIED 12 MEN, HOPE AND THE WORLD’S ADLIT WEAPON
• HOW BIG WAS THE ENOLA GAY?
• THE ENOLA GAY'S HISTORY LIV ON
• WHERE IS THE ENOLA GAY TODAY?
• MIC HISTORY #15: "ENOLA GAY"
• THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY
• MEMORI OF THE UN THAT HID THE ENOLA GAY, WHICH DROPPED THE A-BOMB ON HIROSHIMA 75 YEARS AGO 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. 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.

MEMORI OF THE UN THAT HID THE ENOLA GAY, WHICH DROPPED THE A-BOMB ON HIROSHIMA 75 YEARS AGO TODAY

And the air and ground crews flyg off that hard-won soil to fally reach the heart of the enemy that dared attack the Uned Stat at Pearl plane that dropped the big there was another piece of ary technologil history that some argue had a larger hand endg the war than gets cred for — the B29 Tian was where the famed “Enola Gay” lnched s fateful missn to liver the first A-bomb, was also home to the 6th Bomb Group, which served as ver for the super-secret un also hid the “Enola Gay” for a time, before load s famo payload “Ltle Boy” the first Atomic Bomb dropped war — on Hiroshima, Japan on Augt 6, 6th Bomb Group, part of the Army Air Corps’ 313th Bomb Wg, 20th Air Force, ma to Tian, one of the last Pacific islands a cha leadg to maland Japan, months after Allied forc took the island a battle that lasted jt a few days but claimed more than 5, 000 Japane forc and more than 300 U. Air Force B29 bomber, the Enola Gay, took off om the s base Tian, near Guam, and head for the cy of Hiroshima southern Japan.

So when Enola Gay approached at 8.

The Enola Gay was 10 away when the blast went off, but still felt the shockwav.

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

But how did the explosn weigh wh the 12 men aboard the Enola Gay who dropped the bomb that day?

A sgle airplane livered the new weapon of mass stctn—the Enola Gay. 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

The ckp of the B-29 Superfortrs 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 lead pilot, he named the Enola Gay after his mother.

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

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 was then buffeted vlently when stck by two shock wav—one direct and the other reflected om the ground.

This was two plan—the Enola Gay and the backup plane.

PILOT OF ENOLA GAY HAD NO REGRETS FOR HIROSHIMA

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.

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

The Enola Gay was the bt aircraft of s era, but the velopment of that technology me wh a price. When the rtored Enola Gay went on permanent display 2003 at the Udvar-Hazy Center, attracted que a b of attentn. The rtored Enola Gay is now on view at the Smhsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center Chantilly, Virgia.

HOW BIG WAS THE ENOLA GAY?

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

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.

WHERE IS THE ENOLA GAY TODAY?

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. 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.

MIC HISTORY #15: "ENOLA GAY"

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.

Enola Gay Pilot Pl Tibbets, 92, Di. 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.

THE INLIBLE ENOLA GAY

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.

MEMORI OF THE UN THAT HID THE ENOLA GAY, WHICH DROPPED THE A-BOMB ON HIROSHIMA 75 YEARS AGO TODAY

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. 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.